CHAPTER 772. GOVERNMENTAL PLANNING
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 7. INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
CHAPTER 772. GOVERNMENTAL PLANNING
Sec. 772.001. PLANNING AS GOVERNMENTAL PURPOSE AND FUNCTION.
Planning is a governmental purpose and function of the state and
agencies and political subdivisions of the state.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 38, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 772.002. CHIEF PLANNING OFFICER. The governor is the chief
planning officer of the state.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 38, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 772.003. INTERAGENCY PLANNING COUNCILS. (a) The governor
shall appoint interagency planning councils in functional areas
of government, including natural resources, health, education,
and other areas that may require coordinated planning efforts.
(b) Each council shall coordinate joint planning efforts in its
functional area.
(c) Each council is composed of:
(1) a member of the governor's office; and
(2) the administrative head of each state agency, department, or
institution of higher education that is represented on that
council.
(d) Two or more councils may participate jointly in studies that
provide information common to their planning efforts.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 38, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 772.004. GOVERNOR'S DIVISION OF PLANNING COORDINATION. (a)
The governor shall establish a division of planning coordination
within the governor's office.
(b) The division shall coordinate the activities of the
interagency planning councils.
(c) The division is the state clearinghouse for all state agency
applications for federal grant or loan assistance.
(d) The division may provide for the review of and comment on:
(1) any state plan of a state agency that is required as a
condition of federal assistance; and
(2) any application by a state agency for federal grant or loan
assistance.
(e) The division shall establish policies and guidelines for an
effective review and comment process under this section and
cooperate with the Legislative Budget Board in developing the
information requirements relating to the review and comment
process.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 38, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 772.005. NOTIFICATION OF PLANNING COORDINATION DIVISION BY
STATE AGENCY. A state agency shall notify the division of
planning coordination of each application for federal grant or
loan assistance before the agency submits the application.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 38, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 772.006. GOVERNOR'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION. (a) The
governor shall establish a criminal justice division in the
governor's office to:
(1) advise and assist the governor in developing policies,
plans, programs, and proposed legislation for improving the
coordination, administration, and effectiveness of the criminal
justice system;
(2) administer the criminal justice planning fund;
(3) prepare a state comprehensive criminal justice plan, to
update the plan annually based on an analysis of the state's
criminal justice problems and needs, and to encourage identical
or substantially similar local and regional comprehensive
criminal justice planning efforts;
(4) establish goals, priorities, and standards for programs and
projects to improve the administration of justice and the
efficiency of law enforcement, the judicial system, prosecution,
criminal defense, and adult and juvenile corrections and
rehabilitation;
(5) award grants to state agencies, units of local government,
school districts, and private, nonprofit corporations from the
criminal justice planning fund for programs and projects on
consideration of the goals, priorities, and standards recommended
by the Criminal Justice Policy Council;
(6) apply for, obtain, and allocate for the purposes of this
section any federal or other funds which may be made available
for programs and projects that address the goals, priorities, and
standards established in local and regional comprehensive
criminal justice planning efforts or assist those efforts;
(7) administer the funds provided by this section in such a
manner as to ensure that grants received under this section do
not supplant state or local funds;
(8) monitor and evaluate programs and projects funded under this
section, cooperate with and render technical assistance to state
agencies and local governments seeking to reduce crime or enhance
the performance and operation of the criminal justice system, and
collect from any state or local government entity information,
data, statistics, or other material necessary to carry out the
purposes of this section;
(9) submit a biennial report to the legislature reporting the
division's activities during the preceding biennium including the
comprehensive state criminal justice plans and other studies,
evaluations, crime data analyses, reports, or proposed
legislation that the governor determines appropriate or the
legislature requests; and
(10) perform other duties as necessary to carry out the duties
listed in this subsection and adopt rules and procedures as
necessary.
(b) The governor shall appoint a director for the division to
serve at the pleasure of the governor.
(c) The criminal justice division and any project funded by the
division is subject to examination, inspection, and audit by the
State Auditor's Office, the Legislative Budget Board, and the
division of planning coordination to determine compliance with
this section and the approved annual comprehensive criminal
justice plans.
(d) The trafficking of persons investigation and prosecution
account is created in the general revenue fund. The account is
composed of legislative appropriations and other money required
by law to be deposited in the account. Income from money in the
account shall be credited to the account. Sections 403.095 and
404.071 do not apply to the account.
(e) The legislature may appropriate money from the trafficking
of persons investigation and prosecution account created under
Subsection (d) only to the criminal justice division for the
purposes of this subsection. The division may use the
appropriated money solely to distribute grants to:
(1) counties that apply for the grants and that have dedicated
full-time or part-time personnel to identify, prevent,
investigate, or prosecute offenses under Chapter 20A, Penal Code;
and
(2) nongovernmental organizations that apply for the grants and
that provide comprehensive services in this state to prevent the
commission of offenses under Chapter 20A, Penal Code, or to
address the needs of victims of those offenses, including public
awareness activities, community outreach and training, victim
identification services, legal services, and other services
designed to assist victims.
(f) The total amount of grants that may be distributed to
counties and nongovernmental organizations from the trafficking
of persons investigation and prosecution account during each
state fiscal year may not exceed $10 million.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 38, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 998, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1002, Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 772.007. TEXAS ANTI-GANG GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The criminal
justice division established under Section 772.006 shall
administer a competitive grant program to support regional,
multidisciplinary approaches to combat gang violence through the
coordination of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression
activities.
(b) The grant program administered under this section must be
directed toward regions of this state that have demonstrably high
levels of gang violence.
(c) The criminal justice division shall award grants to
qualified applicants, as determined by the division, that
demonstrate a comprehensive approach that balances gang
prevention, intervention, and suppression activities to reduce
gang violence.
(d) The criminal justice division shall include in the biennial
report required by Section 772.006(a)(9) detailed reporting of
the results and performance of the grant program administered
under this section.
(e) The criminal justice division may use any revenue available
for purposes of this section.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1130, Sec. 42, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 772.008. PLANNING ASSISTANCE FOR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.
(a) The governor may, on request of the governing body of a
political subdivision or the authorized agency of a group of
political subdivisions:
(1) arrange planning assistance, including surveys, community
renewal plans, technical services, and other planning; and
(2) arrange for a study or report on a planning problem
submitted to the governor.
(b) The governor and the governing body may agree on the amount,
if any, to be paid to the governor's office for planning
services.
(c) The governor may apply for and accept grants from, and
contract with, the federal government or other sources for any
planning assistance, study, or report under this section.
(d) The governor may use the regular functions of the office of
the governor or another state agency in providing planning
assistance under this section.
(e) The governor may exercise powers under this section through
a designated representative.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 4.13(a), eff. Aug.
30, 1993.
Sec. 772.009. GRANT ASSISTANCE. (a) The director of the
Governor's Office of Budget and Planning shall establish a state
grant writing team. The grant writing team shall:
(1) develop a plan for increased state access to available
federal funds;
(2) coordinate with state agencies to develop a plan for the use
of federal grant funds;
(3) monitor the federal register, the Texas Register, and other
federal or state publications to identify federal and state
funding opportunities, with special emphasis on discretionary
grants or other funding opportunities that the state is not
pursuing;
(4) develop procedures to formally notify appropriate state and
local agencies of the availability of discretionary federal funds
and coordinate the application process; and
(5) periodically review the funding strategies and methods of
those states that rank significantly above the national average
in the per capita receipt of federal funds to determine whether
those strategies and methods could be successfully employed by
this state.
(b) The grant writing team may:
(1) establish a clearinghouse of information relating to the
availability of state, federal, and private grants;
(2) establish an automated information system database for grant
information and make it available for use by state agencies and
political subdivisions;
(3) provide counseling to state agencies, political subdivisions
of the state, nonprofit charitable institutions, educational
institutions, and residents of the state concerning the
availability and means of obtaining state, federal, and private
grants;
(4) provide grant writing assistance and training to state
agencies, political subdivisions of the state, individuals, and
other entities either directly or through interagency contracts,
cooperative agreements, or contracts with third-party providers;
(5) publicize the services and activities of the grant writing
team through chambers of commerce, councils of government,
department newsletters, local governments, state agencies,
institutions of higher education, business organizations, private
philanthropic organizations, and other appropriate entities and
methods;
(6) establish and maintain a database of state agencies
designated under state and federal law to receive federal
categorical and block grant funds; and
(7) analyze the criteria for grants for which state agencies are
denied access because of state law or rules or agency
organization and suggest changes in agency rules or organization
that would increase the probability of the agency's receiving
federal or other grants.
(c) When appropriate, the grant writing team shall charge and
collect fees from a person who uses the grant writing team's
services. The fee shall be set in an amount necessary to cover
all or a part of the costs of the services.
(d) The grant writing team shall monitor and identify federal
grants that are available to state and local criminal justice
agencies and assist the agencies in applying for and obtaining
those grants.
(e) The grant writing team may initiate negotiations for and
enter into a memorandum of understanding with other state
agencies to cooperate with the grant writing team in providing:
(1) information on federal and state funding opportunities;
(2) technical assistance; or
(3) assistance in writing grant proposals for political
subdivisions of the state, nonprofit charitable institutions,
educational institutions, and residents of the state.
(f) Each state agency shall designate an employee on the
management or senior staff level to serve as the agency's federal
funds coordinator. An agency may not create a staff position for
a federal funds coordinator. The coordinator's duties are
additional duties of an employee of the agency. Each federal
funds coordinator shall:
(1) oversee and coordinate the agency's efforts in acquiring
discretionary federal funds;
(2) send the grant writing team a quarterly report listing the
grants for which the agency has applied and the catalogue of
federal domestic assistance number and giving a short description
of the grant; and
(3) notify the grant writing team of an award or denial of a
federal grant to the agency.
(g) Each state agency or institution shall file an annual report
with the grant writing team concerning the agency's efforts in
acquiring available discretionary federal funds during the
preceding state fiscal year. The grant writing team shall
establish guidelines for information included in the annual
report required by this section. The grant writing team shall
evaluate the effectiveness of each agency in acquiring
discretionary federal funds and shall report the evaluation to
the governor and the Legislative Budget Board.
(h) After reviewing the reports under Subsection (g), if the
governor or Legislative Budget Board determines that an agency's
efforts were unsatisfactory, either entity may, without a finding
of an existing emergency, take action under Chapter 317 to affect
the agency's appropriation.
(i) In this section:
(1) "Earned federal funds" means funds that are received or
earned in connection with a federally funded program but that are
not required by the governing agreement to be distributed on that
program. The term includes indirect cost receipts and interest
earned on advances of federal funds.
(2) "Federal funds" means all assistance provided or potentially
available to state agencies from the federal government in the
form of grants, contracts, loans, loan guarantees, property,
cooperative agreements, interest subsidies, insurance, direct
appropriations, or any other method of disbursement.
(3) "Indirect costs" means costs, as defined by Federal
Management Circular A-87 or subsequent revisions of that
circular, that are incurred by state agencies in support of
federally funded programs and that are eligible for reimbursement
from the federal government.
(4) "Local governmental entity" means a county, municipality,
special purpose district, including a school district, or any
other political subdivision of this state.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 306, Sec. 15, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Text of section effective if a specific appropriation is provided
in the General Appropriations Act (S.B. 1, 79R)
Sec. 772.010. BORDER COMMERCE COORDINATOR. (a) The governor
shall designate a border commerce coordinator in the governor's
office or the office of the secretary of state as determined by
the governor. The coordinator shall:
(1) examine trade issues between the United States, Mexico, and
Canada;
(2) act as an ombudsman for government agencies within the Texas
and Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by improving
communication and cooperation between federal, state, and local
governments;
(3) study the flow of commerce at ports of entry between this
state and Mexico, including the movement of commercial vehicles
across the border, and establish a plan to aid that commerce and
improve the movement of those vehicles;
(4) work with federal officials to resolve transportation issues
involving infrastructure, including roads and bridges, to allow
for the efficient movement of goods and people across the border
between Texas and Mexico;
(5) work with federal officials to create a unified federal
agency process to streamline border crossing needs;
(6) work to increase funding for the North American Development
Bank to assist in the financing of water and wastewater
facilities; and
(7) explore the sale of excess electric power from Texas to
Mexico.
(b) The governor shall appoint a border commerce coordinator to
serve at the will of the governor in the governor's office or in
the office of the secretary of state and may select the secretary
of state as the coordinator.
(c) The coordinator shall work with the interagency work group
established under Section 772.011, and with local governments,
metropolitan planning organizations, and other appropriate
community organizations adjacent to the border of this state with
the United Mexican States, and with comparable entities in
Mexican states adjacent to that border, to address the unique
planning and capacity needs of those areas. The coordinator
shall assist those governments, organizations, and entities to
identify and develop initiatives to address those needs. Before
January 1 of each year, the coordinator shall submit to the
presiding officer of each house of the legislature a report of
the coordinator's activities under this subsection during the
preceding year.
(d) The coordinator shall:
(1) work with private industry and appropriate entities of Texas
and the United States to require that low-sulfur fuel be sold
along highways in Texas carrying increased traffic related to
activities under the North American Free Trade Agreement; and
(2) work with representatives of the government of Mexico and
the governments of those Mexican states bordering Texas to
increase the use of low-sulfur fuel.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 429, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1339, Sec. 1, eff. June 19,
1999.
Reenacted and amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1215, Sec. 3(a), eff. September 1, 2005.
Sec. 772.010. BORDER COMMERCE COORDINATOR.
Text of section as added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 429, Sec. 1
(a) The governor shall designate a border commerce coordinator
in the governor's office. The coordinator shall:
(1) study the flow of commerce at ports of entry between this
state and Mexico, including the movement of commercial vehicles
across the border; and
(2) establish a plan to aid that commerce and improve the
movement of those vehicles.
(b) The governor shall appoint the coordinator to serve at the
will of the governor.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 429, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
Sec. 772.010. BORDER COMMERCE COORDINATOR.
Text of section as added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1339, Sec.
1
(a) The governor shall designate a border commerce coordinator
in the governor's office or the office of the secretary of state
as determined by the governor. The coordinator shall:
(1) examine trade issues between the United States, Mexico, and
Canada;
(2) act as an ombudsman for government agencies within the Texas
and Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by improving
communication and cooperation between federal, state, and local
governments;
(3) work with federal officials to resolve transportation issues
involving infrastructure, including roads and bridges, to allow
for the efficient movement of goods and people across the border
between Texas and Mexico;
(4) work with federal officials to create a unified federal
agency process to streamline border crossing needs;
(5) work to increase funding for the North American Development
Bank to assist in the financing of water and wastewater
facilities; and
(6) explore the sale of excess electric power from Texas to
Mexico.
(b) The governor shall appoint a border commerce coordinator to
serve at the will of the governor in the governor's office or in
the office of the secretary of state and may select the secretary
of state as the coordinator.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1339, Sec. 1, eff. June 19,
1999.
Text of section effective if a specific appropriation is provided
in the General Appropriations Act (S.B. 1, 79R)
Sec. 772.0101. BORDER INSPECTION, TRADE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The border commerce coordinator shall
establish and appoint the members of the Border Inspection,
Trade, and Transportation Advisory Committee. The members must
include representatives of the Texas Department of
Transportation, the Department of Public Safety of the State of
Texas, the Office of State-Federal Relations, the United States
Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, and other representatives of state and federal
agencies involved in border crossing issues. Chapter 2110 does
not apply to the size, composition, or duration of the Border
Inspection, Trade, and Transportation Advisory Committee.
(b) The coordinator shall work with the advisory committee and
the interagency work group established under Section 772.011 to:
(1) identify problems involved with border truck inspections and
related trade and transportation infrastructure; and
(2) develop recommendations for addressing those problems.
(c) The coordinator shall work with the advisory committee and
appropriate agencies of Texas, the United States, and Mexico to
develop initiatives to mitigate congestion at ports of entry at
the Mexican border by conducting in Mexico inspections of trucks
entering Texas. In developing the initiatives, the coordinator
shall give consideration to similar initiatives proposed or
implemented at the border of the United States and Canada.
(d) The coordinator shall report quarterly to the presiding
officer of each house of the legislature on the findings and
recommendations of the advisory committee.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1215, Sec. 3(b), eff. September 1, 2005.
Text of section effective if a specific appropriation is provided
in the General Appropriations Act (S.B. 1, 79R)
Sec. 772.0102. TRADE AND COMMERCE PLAN. (a) The border
commerce coordinator shall develop, in conjunction with
representatives of chambers of commerce, metropolitan planning
organizations adjacent to the United Mexican States, and private
industry groups, and with the advice of the interagency work
group established under Section 772.011, a comprehensive trade
and commerce plan for the region designed to:
(1) increase trade by attracting new business ventures;
(2) support expansion of existing industries; and
(3) address workforce training needs.
(b) The plan must cover five-year, 10-year, and 15-year periods.
(c) The coordinator shall work with industries and communities
on both sides of the border to develop international industry
cluster initiatives to capitalize on resources available in
communities located adjacent to each other across the border.
(d) The coordinator shall conduct annual conferences of
interested persons, working with chambers of commerce and
universities of this state along the Texas and Mexico border
region, and shall host those conferences at no cost to the
coordinator. The purposes of the conferences are to:
(1) make the trade and commerce plan public;
(2) report on updated findings and progress of implementation of
the plan; and
(3) develop new international industry cluster initiatives.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1215, Sec. 3(b), eff. September 1, 2005.
Sec. 772.011. INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP ON BORDER ISSUES. (a) An
interagency work group is created to:
(1) develop or update a process to allow agencies to work
together on issues that face border communities;
(2) discuss and coordinate programs and services offered to
border communities and residents of border communities; and
(3) develop regulatory and legislative recommendations to
eliminate duplication and combine program services.
(b) The work group is composed of the heads of the following
agencies or their designees:
(1) the Texas Department of Rural Affairs;
(2) the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs;
(3) the Texas Water Development Board;
(4) the Texas Department of Transportation;
(5) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
(6) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(7) the Department of State Health Services;
(8) the Health and Human Services Commission;
(9) the General Land Office;
(10) the Texas Education Agency;
(11) the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office;
(12) the Office of State-Federal Relations;
(13) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
(14) the attorney general's office;
(15) the secretary of state's office;
(16) the Department of Public Safety; and
(17) the Railroad Commission of Texas.
(c) The work group shall meet at least once each year in Austin
to discuss border issues and to provide information showing the
impact each agency has on border communities for use in
developing border policy.
(d) In this section, "border region" means the portion of this
state located within 100 kilometers of this state's international
border.
(e) In fulfilling its duties, the work group shall consider the
effect of policies instituted by the federal government impacting
the border region.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1215, Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2005.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
112, Sec. 95, eff. September 1, 2009.