Texas Government Code 1231.063 – Debt Affordability Study
(a) The board, in consultation with the Legislative Budget Board, shall annually prepare a study regarding the state’s current debt burden by:
(1) analyzing the state’s historical debt use and financial and economic resources to determine the amount of additional not self-supporting debt the state can accommodate; and
(2) monitoring how annual changes and new debt authorizations affect the mechanism described in Subsection (b).
(b) The study must include a mechanism that can be used to determine, at a minimum, the state’s debt affordability and serve as a guideline for debt authorizations and debt service appropriations. The mechanism must be designed to calculate:
(1) the not self-supporting debt service as a percentage of unrestricted revenues;
(2) the ratio of not self-supporting debt to personal income;
(3) the amount of not self-supporting debt per capita;
(4) the rate of debt retirement; and
(5) the ratio of not self-supporting debt service to budgeted or expended general revenue.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 1231.063
- Comptroller: means the state comptroller of public accounts. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Not later than February 15 of each year, the board shall submit the annual study to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the comptroller;
(3) the presiding officer of each house of the legislature; and
(4) the Senate Committee on Finance and House Appropriations Committee.
(d) The annual study submitted under Subsection (c) must include a target and limit ratio for not self-supporting debt service as a percentage of unrestricted revenues.