1. (a) Background. The Texas Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant Program was authorized by the 75th Legislature to provide state funds to assist communities that have been adversely impacted by decreased defense expenditures and defense worker employment. Subsequently, the 79th Legislature amended the program to include defense communities that have been positively impacted. The program provides affected municipalities, counties, public junior college districts, a campus or extension center of the Texas State Technical College System, or regional planning commission access to state funding. The funds may be used for the purpose of acquiring federal grant assistance or for sharing in the costs of property purchases from the United States Department of Defense or its designated agent, new construction, rehabilitation, or renovation of facilities or infrastructure, the purchase of capital equipment or project related insurance. If the grantee is a public junior college or technical college, grant proceeds may be used to purchase or lease equipment to train defense workers whose jobs have been threatened or lost.
2. (b) The primary goal of the program is to increase employment opportunities for dislocated defense workers and residents of adversely or positively affected defense communities and reuse vacated property as efficiently as possible.

3. (c) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

   1. (1) Awardee--The local governmental entity whose application is approved by the governing board.

   2. (2) Defense worker--

      1. (A) an employee of the United States Department of Defense, including a member of the armed forces and a government civilian worker;
      2. (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;
      3. (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;
      4. (D) an employee of a local, state or federal agency that provides direct services through contract or memorandum of agreement or an employee of a private business that provides direct services, supplies or equipment under a government contract or purchase agreement to the Department of Defense; or
      5. (E) 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. (3) Defense worker job--

      1. (A) a Department of Defense authorized permanent position, such as a position contained on the appropriate unit manning documents; or
      2. (B) a position held or occupied by one or more defense workers for more than 12 months.
   4. (4) Commission--Texas Military Preparedness Commission.
   5. (5) Executive Director--The executive director of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission or his designee.
   6. (6) Financial partners--Federal and state agencies, private and public non-profit foundations, local taxing authorities, and private investors who agree to provide money for a project eligible for funding under this grant.
   7. (7) Fiscal year--The State of Texas fiscal year, September 1 through August 31.
   8. (8) Governing board--The Commissioners of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission.
   9. (9) Local governmental entity--A municipality, county, public junior college district, campus or extension center of the Texas State Technical College System, or regional planning commission.
   10. (10) Panel--The Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Panel, a group of at least three and not more than five professional full-time employees from within the Governor's Office, who evaluate grant applications and make grant award recommendations to the governing body of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission.
   11. (11) Public junior college--A public junior college district within the State of Texas, all or part of which is located in an adversely or positively affected defense community.

Source Note:The provisions of this §4.30 adopted to be effective September 13, 2007, 32 TexReg 6127.