CHAPTER 486. ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL AREA AFFECTED BY DEFENSE RESTRUCTURING
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
SUBTITLE F. COMMERCE AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 486. ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL AREA AFFECTED BY DEFENSE
RESTRUCTURING
SUBCHAPTER A. GRANTS TO LOCAL AREAS AFFECTED BY DEFENSE BASE
RESTRUCTURING
Sec. 486.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Military Preparedness
Commission.
(2) "Defense worker" means:
(A) an employee of the United States Department of Defense,
including a member of the armed forces and a government civilian
worker;
(B) an employee of a government agency or private business, or
entity providing a department of defense related function, who is
employed on a defense facility;
(C) an employee of a business that provides direct services or
products to the department of defense and whose job is directly
dependent on defense expenditures; or
(D) an employee or private contractor employed by the United
States Department of Energy working on a defense or department of
energy facility in support of a department of defense related
project.
(3) "Defense worker job" means a department of defense
authorized permanent position or a position held or occupied by
one or more defense workers for more than 12 months.
(3-a) "Office" means the Texas Economic Development and Tourism
Office in the office of the governor.
(4) "Panel" means the Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance
Panel.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
43, Sec. 17, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 486.002. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The commission
shall administer and monitor the implementation of this chapter.
(a) The commission shall administer this chapter, and the office
shall monitor the implementation of this chapter.
(b) The commission shall establish criteria and procedures and
award grants equitably based on evaluations. In awarding grants
under this chapter, the commission shall give a preference to
adversely affected defense communities over positively affected
defense communities.
(c) The commission may use an amount equal to not more than two
percent of the total amount of grants authorized during each
biennium to administer this chapter and other law relating to
readjustment of defense communities.
(d) The commission shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the
purposes of this chapter.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1280, Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
43, Sec. 18, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 486.003. ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) A local governmental
entity is eligible for a grant under this chapter if it is:
(1) a municipality or county that is a defense community;
(2) a regional planning commission that has a defense community
within its boundaries;
(3) a public junior college district all or part of which is
located in a defense community;
(4) a campus or extension center for education purposes of the
Texas State Technical College System located in a defense
community;
(5) a defense base development authority created under Chapter
379B, Local Government Code; or
(6) a political subdivision having the power of a defense base
development authority created under Chapter 379B, Local
Government Code.
(b) A municipality or county is an adversely affected defense
community if the department determines that:
(1) the municipality or county includes within its boundaries a
defense facility that the department of defense or applicable
military department has publicly proposed for closure or
realignment; or
(2) the municipality or county:
(A) requires assistance because of:
(i) the proposed or actual establishment, realignment, or
closure of a defense facility;
(ii) the cancellation or termination of a United States
Department of Defense contract or the failure of the department
of defense to proceed with an approved major weapon system
program;
(iii) a publicly announced planned major reduction in department
of defense spending that would directly and adversely affect the
municipality or county; or
(iv) the closure or a significant reduction of the operations of
a defense facility as the result of a merger, acquisition, or
consolidation of a defense contractor operating the facility; and
(B) is expected to experience, during the period between the
beginning of the federal fiscal year during which an event
described by Subdivision (2)(A) is finally approved and the date
that the event is to be substantially completed, a direct loss
of:
(i) 2,500 or more defense worker jobs in any area of the
municipality or county that is located in an urbanized area of a
metropolitan statistical area;
(ii) 1,000 or more defense worker jobs in any area of the
municipality or county that is not located in an urbanized area
of a metropolitan statistical area; or
(iii) defense worker jobs representing one percent of the jobs
in the municipality or county.
(c) A municipality or county is a positively affected defense
community if the commission determines that a military facility
located in or near the local governmental entity receives new or
expanded military missions as a result of the United States
Department of Defense base realignment process.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1242, Sec. 1, eff.
June 18, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1280, Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
43, Sec. 19, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 486.004. GRANT CRITERIA. (a) From money appropriated for
this purpose, the commission may make a grant to an eligible
local governmental entity to:
(1) allow the entity to meet a matching money or investment
requirement in order to receive from the United States assistance
that is provided to allow the local governmental entity to
respond to or recover from an event described by Section
486.003(b)(1);
(2) match the entity's contribution for a purpose described in
Section 486.005 on a closed or realigned defense facility; or
(3) construct infrastructure and other projects necessary to
accommodate the new or expanded military missions at a military
facility located in or near the local governmental entity.
(b) A grant may not be less than $50,000 or more than the least
of:
(1) 50 percent of the amount of matching money or investment
that the local governmental entity is required to provide,
subject to Subsection (c);
(2) 50 percent of the local governmental entity's investment for
purposes described in Section 486.005, in cases where United
States assistance is not available; or
(3) $2 million.
(c) If the local governmental entity demonstrates to the
commission that, because of a limited budget, resources are not
available to provide 50 percent of the amount of matching money
or investment that the local governmental entity is required to
provide, the grant may be not more than 80 percent of the amount
of that matching money or investment requirement, but may not be
more than $2 million.
(d) The commission may make a grant to an eligible local
governmental entity described by Section 486.003(a)(3) or (4)
without regard to the availability or acquisition of matching
money.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1242, Sec. 2, eff.
June 18, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1280, Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Sec. 486.005. USE OF PROCEEDS. (a) The local governmental
entity may use the proceeds of the grant for purchase of property
from the department of defense or its designated agent, new
construction, rehabilitation, or renovation of facilities or
infrastructure, or purchase of capital equipment or facilities
insurance.
(b) The local governmental entity may deliver the money to a
special district, development corporation, or other
instrumentality of the state or the local governmental entity for
use as provided by this chapter and other applicable law.
(c) An eligible local governmental entity described by Section
486.003(a)(3) or (4) may use the proceeds of the grant to
purchase or lease equipment to train defense workers whose jobs
have been threatened or lost because of an event described by
Section 486.003(b)(2)(A).
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1242, Sec. 3, eff.
June 18, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Sec. 486.006. DEFENSE ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE PANEL. The
commission shall establish a defense economic adjustment
assistance panel. The panel consists of at least three and not
more than five professional full-time employees of the Office of
the Governor appointed by the director of the commission.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Sec. 486.007. APPLICATION FOR GRANT. (a) A local governmental
entity may apply for a grant under this chapter to the commission
on a form prescribed by the commission. The commission shall
establish periodic application cycles to enable the panel and
commission to evaluate groups of applicants in relation to each
other.
(b) The office may assist a local governmental entity in
applying for a grant under this chapter.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
43, Sec. 20, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 486.008. EVALUATION OF APPLICATION. The panel shall
evaluate each application and assign the applicant a score based
on:
(1) the significance of the adverse or positive effect within
the local governmental entity, including the number of jobs lost
or gained in relation to the workforce in the local governmental
entity's jurisdiction and the effect on the area's economy and
tax revenue;
(2) the extent to which the local governmental entity has used
its existing resources to promote local economic development;
(3) the amount of any grant that the local governmental entity
has previously received under this chapter;
(4) the anticipated number of jobs to be created or retained in
relation to the amount of the grant sought; and
(5) the extent to which the grant will affect the region in
which the local governmental entity is located.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
43, Sec. 21, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 486.009. MAKING OF GRANT. The panel shall submit its
scores to the commission. The commission shall use the scores to
determine whether to make a grant to an applicant. The
commission may not make a grant unless the legislature has
appropriated the money for the grant.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 918, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,
1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Sec. 486.010. DEFENSE COMMUNITY WITH MORE THAN ONE MILITARY
FACILITY. For purposes of the preference for adversely affected
defense communities under Section 486.002(b), a defense community
that contains or is near more than one military facility is
considered an adversely affected defense community if the local
governmental entity is applying for a grant under this subchapter
for a project relating to the military facility that is closed or
whose operations are significantly reduced.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1280, Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2005.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
437, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.