HBA-KDB H.B. 2796 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2796
By: Goolsby
House Administration
4/1/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The 76th Legislature created the capitol renewal account (account) as a
special account in the general revenue fund to maintain and preserve the
Capitol, the General Land Office Building, their contents, and their
grounds.  However, the 76th Legislature also passed legislation that
provided that all funds and accounts created or recreated in the state
treasury by an Act of the 76th Legislature that became law are abolished.
House Bill 2796 reenacts provisions relating to the account and renames the
account as the capital renewal trust fund. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2796 amends the Government Code to rename the capitol renewal
account as the capital renewal trust fund (fund).  The fund is created as a
trust fund outside the treasury, rather than as a special account in the
general revenue fund, with the  comptroller of public accounts
(comptroller) and is required to be administered by the State Preservation
Board (board).  The fund consists of money transferred to the fund at the
direction of the legislature or in accordance with provisions relating to
the fund.  The bill requires the interest received from the investment of
money in the fund to be credited to the fund.   The bill authorizes the
board to transfer money from any account of the Capitol fund to the fund,
other than money that was donated to the board, derived from a security or
other thing of value donated to the board, or earned as interest or other
income on a donation to the board, if the board determines that after the
transfer there will be a sufficient amount of money in the applicable
account of the Capitol fund to accomplish the purposes for which the
account was created.   

The bill requires the comptroller, on August 31, 2001, to transfer the
unexpended balance of the appropriations to the board for the state fiscal
biennium ending on that date, not to exceed $6.7 million, to the fund. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

August 31, 2001.