Sec. 481.078. TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND. (a) The Texas Enterprise Fund is a dedicated account in the general revenue fund.

(b) The following amounts shall be deposited in the fund:

(1) any amounts appropriated by the legislature for the fund for purposes described by this section;

(2) interest earned on the investment of money in the fund; and

(3) gifts, grants, and other donations received for the fund.

(c) Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (d-1), the fund may be used only for economic development, infrastructure development, community development, job training programs, and business incentives.

(d) The fund may be temporarily used by the comptroller for cash management purposes.

(d-1) The fund may be used for the Texas homeless housing and services program administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs under Section 2306.2585. The governor may transfer appropriations from the fund to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to fund the Texas homeless housing and services program. Subsections (e-1), (f), (f-1), (f-2), (g), (h), (h-1), (i), and (j) and Section 481.080 do not apply to a grant awarded for a purpose specified by this subsection.

(e) The administration of the fund is considered to be a trusteed program within the office of the governor. The governor may negotiate on behalf of the state regarding awarding, by grant, money appropriated from the fund. The governor may award money appropriated from the fund only with the prior approval of the lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of representatives. For purposes of this subsection, an award of money appropriated from the fund is considered disapproved by the lieutenant governor or speaker of the house of representatives if that officer does not approve the proposal to award the grant before the 31st day after the date of receipt of the proposal from the governor. The lieutenant governor or the speaker of the house of representatives may extend the review deadline applicable to that officer for an additional 14 days by submitting a written notice to that effect to the governor before the expiration of the initial review period.

(e-1) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, the entity must:

(1) be in good standing under the laws of the state in which the entity was formed or organized, as evidenced by a certificate issued by the secretary of state or the state official having custody of the records pertaining to entities or other organizations formed under the laws of that state; and

(2) owe no delinquent taxes to a taxing unit of this state.

(f) Before awarding a grant under this section, the governor shall enter into a written agreement with the entity to be awarded the grant money specifying that:

(1) if the governor finds that the grant recipient has not met each of the performance targets specified in the agreement as of a date certain provided in the agreement:

(A) the recipient shall repay the grant and any related interest to the state at the agreed rate and on the agreed terms;

(B) the governor will not distribute to the recipient any grant money that remains to be awarded under the agreement; and

(C) the governor may assess specified penalties for noncompliance against the recipient;

(2) if all or any portion of the amount of the grant is used to build a capital improvement, the state may:

(A) retain a lien or other interest in the capital improvement in proportion to the percentage of the grant amount used to pay for the capital improvement; and

(B) require the recipient of the grant, if the capital improvement is sold, to:

(i) repay to the state the grant money used to pay for the capital improvement, with interest at the rate and according to the other terms provided by the agreement; and

(ii) share with the state a proportionate amount of any profit realized from the sale; and

(3) if, as of a date certain provided in the agreement, the grant recipient has not used grant money awarded under this section for the purposes for which the grant was intended, the recipient shall repay that amount and any related interest to the state at the agreed rate and on the agreed terms.

(f-1) A grant agreement must contain a provision:

(1) requiring the creation of a minimum number of jobs in this state; and

(2) specifying the date by which the recipient intends to create those jobs.

(f-2) A grant agreement must contain a provision providing that if the recipient does not meet job creation performance targets as of the dates specified in the agreement, the recipient shall repay the grant in accordance with Subsection (j).

(g) The grant agreement may include a provision providing that a reasonable percentage of the total amount of the grant will be withheld until specified performance targets are met by the entity as of the date described by Subsection (f)(1).

(h) The governor, after consultation with the speaker of the house of representatives and the lieutenant governor, shall determine:

(1) the performance targets and date required to be contained in the grant agreement as provided by Subsection (f)(1); and

(2) if the grant agreement includes the provision authorized by Subsection (g), the percentage of grant money required to be withheld.

(h-1) At least 14 days before the date the governor intends to amend a grant agreement, the governor shall notify and provide a copy of the proposed amendment to the speaker of the house of representatives and the lieutenant governor.

(i) An entity entering into a grant agreement under this section shall submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives an annual progress report containing the information compiled during the previous calendar year regarding the attainment of each of the performance targets specified in the agreement.

(j) Repayment of a grant under Subsection (f)(1)(A) shall be prorated to reflect a partial attainment of job creation performance targets, and may be prorated for a partial attainment of other performance targets.

(k) To encourage the development and location of small businesses in this state, the governor shall consider making grants from the fund:

(1) to recipients that are small businesses in this state that commit to using the grants to create additional jobs;

(2) to recipients that are small businesses from outside the state that commit to relocate to this state; or

(3) for individual projects that create 100 or fewer additional jobs.

(l) For purposes of Subsection (k), "small business" means a legal entity, including a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship, that:

(1) is formed for the purpose of making a profit;

(2) is independently owned and operated; and

(3) has fewer than 100 employees.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 978, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 602 (H.B. 1938), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1254 (H.B. 394), Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2009.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1297 (H.B. 2457), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 1), Sec. 35.01, eff. September 28, 2011.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 4 (S.B. 1), Sec. 43.01, eff. September 28, 2011.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 915 (H.B. 26), Sec. 3.01, eff. September 1, 2015.