| (a) Role of the comptroller.
(1) General administration. As part of its general
powers under Government Code, §403.011, the comptroller shall
supervise, as the sole accounting officer of the state, the state's
fiscal concerns and manage those concerns as required by law, and
keep and settle all accounts in which the state is interested. Under
Government Code, §403.056 and §403.060 the comptroller has
authority to prepare and deliver warrants, and to print and issue
warrants. The comptroller has been granted further authority by Government
Code, §403.016 to establish and operate an EFTS to make state
payments. As part of operating the EFTS, and in accordance with Government
Code, §403.016, the comptroller:
(A) may use the services of financial institutions,
automated clearinghouses, and the federal government;
(B) shall approve the means of EFTS payments the state
may use in accordance with Government Code, §403.016;
(C) shall approve EFTS methods and forms, and post
them online as appropriate, and provide them to paying and custodial
state agencies and to state payees;
(D) may revise its policies and procedures from time
to time as appropriate to operate the EFTS;
(E) is authorized to act as originator, to initiate
an EFT;
(F) may act upon a request from a paying state agency
to initiate a reversal to correct an erroneous entry or a reclamation
for payments not due in accordance with these rules;
(G) shall use the EFTS to pay:
(i) state employee salary and travel expense reimbursements;
(ii) payments to annuitants;
(iii) recurring payments to municipalities, counties,
political subdivisions, special districts, and other governmental
entities of this state; and
(iv) payments to persons or vendors who choose to receive
payment through the EFTS:
(H) is not required to make a payment by the EFTS even
if a state payee or state agency requests payment by EFT;
(I) may, when a law requires the comptroller to make
a payment by warrant, issue a payment by EFT under Government Code, §403.016(g);
(J) shall issue a warrant to pay a person under the
terms of Government Code, §403.016(h); and
(K) may issue a payment to a state payee by warrant
in lieu of EFT pursuant to Government Code, §403.016(i).
(2) Specific procedures. As part of operating the EFTS,
and in accordance with Government Code, §403.016, the comptroller:
(A) may limit the number of state payee EFTS accounts
that a state payee may designate for payment by EFT;
(B) shall rely on the EFTS authorization from a custodial
state agency for the distribution of EFTS payments;
(C) may cancel a state payee's participation in the
EFTS without prior notice to the state payee;
(D) shall rely on an NOC from receiving depository
financial institution;
(E) may require state payees to disclose any information
necessary to support an EFT payment;
(F) may require the custodial state agency, the paying
state agency, the state payee, and the financial institution to provide
contact information as appropriate; and
(G) shall, in the case of payments issued through the
ACH network that are intended to be sent to a financial institution
outside of the United States, or an IAT:
(i) require the paying state agency or the custodial
state agency to obtain a written confirmation from state payees whether
the intended final destination of a payment or payments is a country
outside of the United States, in compliance with the law, NACHA rules,
and in accordance with comptroller policy;
(ii) shall rely on the custodial state agency, the
paying state agency, the state payee, and the financial institution
to notify state agencies, including the comptroller, of payees who
confirm the intended final destination of payment or payments is a
country outside of the United States; and
(iii) shall not use the EFTS to transmit an IAT payment
or payments.
(b) Role of the custodial state agency.
(1) The custodial state agency is responsible for establishing
and maintaining EFTS state payee account information for EFT and shall:
(A) encourage state payees to participate in the EFTS;
(B) establish and maintain the state payee's EFTS account
information for EFT in the comptroller's statewide systems in a manner
prescribed by the comptroller;
(C) obtain comptroller approval for a EFTS form or
EFTS authorization created by the custodial state agency before it
uses the EFTS form or EFTS authorization;
(D) comply with a comptroller request to withdraw or
change an EFTS form or EFTS authorization;
(E) post approved EFTS forms and EFTS authorizations
online and direct state payees to online tools for EFTS forms and
EFTS authorizations;
(F) obtain a state payee EFTS authorization or notice
under Government Code, §403.016, by submitting an EFTS authorization
with a state payee's agreement on a comptroller approved form, or
by obtaining an agreement between the custodial state agency and the
state payee in a manner deemed appropriate by that agency and the
comptroller, and as required by law and NACHA rules;
(G) obtain a written confirmation from state payees
whether the intended final destination of a payment or payments is
a country outside of the United States, in compliance with the law,
NACHA rules, and in accordance with comptroller policy; and
(H) retain a record of the state payee's EFTS forms
or EFTS authorizations in a manner deemed appropriate by that agency
and the comptroller, and as required by law and NACHA rules.
(2) The custodial state agency may cancel a state payee's
EFTS authorization without prior notice to the state payee.
(3) The custodial state agency shall provide reasonable
advance written notice to the comptroller of a regulatory requirement
related to the custodial state agency's EFTS processing.
(4) The custodial state agency shall not act as an
originator, as defined in these rules, unless specifically authorized
to do so by the comptroller or under law.
(c) Role of the paying state agency. The paying state
agency is the state agency for which the comptroller initiates payment.
The paying state agency:
(1) shall encourage state payees to participate in
the EFTS;
(2) shall act in accordance with any applicable laws
and requirements;
(3) may provide notice to the comptroller under Government
Code, §403.016(h)(2) to request payment by warrant rather than
by EFT;
(4) shall obtain a written confirmation from state
payees whether the intended final destination of a payment or payments
is a country outside of the United States, in compliance with federal
law, NACHA rules, and in accordance with comptroller policy;
(5) shall not act as an originator as defined in these
rules unless specifically authorized to do so by the comptroller or
under law;
(6) shall obtain comptroller approval for an EFTS form
or an EFTS authorization created by the paying state agency before
it uses the EFTS form or EFTS authorization;
(7) shall comply with a comptroller request to withdraw
or change an EFTS form or EFTS authorization;
(8) shall post online its comptroller-approved EFTS
forms and EFTS authorization, and payment information;
(9) shall provide payment reconciliation assistance
to state payees upon request;
(10) shall provide payment information to the comptroller's
statewide accounting system to facilitate the state payee's payment
reconciliation, in accordance with comptroller policy;
(11) shall provide reasonable advance written notice
to the comptroller of a regulatory requirement related to the paying
state agency's EFT processing;
(12) shall obtain a written confirmation from state
payees whether the intended final destination of a payment or payments
is a country outside of the United States, in compliance with the
law, NACHA rules, and in accordance with comptroller policy; and
(13) shall report to the comptroller any state payee
or state payee's beneficiary who fails to reimburse the paying state
agency for any payment amount of an unsuccessful EFTS reversal, in
accordance with Government Code, §403.055(f) and (g).
(d) Limitation of liability.
(1) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary,
the comptroller is not liable for any harm, damages, attorney's fees,
or costs in connection with the EFTS, including but not limited to
liability arising:
Cont'd... |
