Sec. 16.003. BUDGET, REVENUES, AND EXPENSES. (a) A financial regulatory agency shall submit to the policy-making body of the financial regulatory agency a budget annually using generally accepted accounting principles. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the General Appropriations Act, the budget shall be adopted and approved only by the policy-making body of the financial regulatory agency.

(b) A financial regulatory agency shall be responsible for all direct and indirect costs of the agency's existence and operation. The financial regulatory agency may not directly or indirectly cause the general revenue fund to incur any cost.

(c) Subject to any limitations in a financial regulatory agency's enabling legislation, a financial regulatory agency may set the amounts of fees, penalties, charges, and revenues required or permitted by statute or rule as necessary for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the financial regulatory agency and funding the budget adopted and approved under Subsection (a).

(d) All fees and funds collected by a financial regulatory agency and any funds appropriated to the financial regulatory agency shall be deposited in interest-bearing deposit accounts in the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company. The comptroller shall contract with the financial regulatory agency for the maintenance of the deposit accounts under terms comparable to a contract between a commercial banking institution and the institution's customers.

(e) Periodically, each financial regulatory agency shall submit to the agency's policy-making body, as directed by the policy-making body, a report of the receipts and expenditures of the financial regulatory agency.

(f) The fiscal year for a financial regulatory agency begins on September 1 and ends on August 31.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1317 (H.B. 2774), Sec. 28(a), eff. September 1, 2009.