Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2268 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8862 ESH-D
2	2	By: Corte H.B. No. 2268
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the use by a political subdivision of public money for
8	8	lobbying activities or payment of fees and dues of a state
9	9	association or organization.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 89.002, Local Government Code, is
12	12	transferred to Chapter 556, Government Code, redesignated as
13	13	Section 556.0056, Government Code, and amended to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 556.0056 [89.002]. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES; STATE
15	15	ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS [ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES]. (a) The
16	16	governing body of a political subdivision may not spend public
17	17	money to directly or indirectly influence or attempt to influence
18	18	the outcome of any legislation pending before the legislature.
19	19	This subsection does not prevent an officer or employee of a
20	20	political subdivision from providing information for a member of
21	21	the legislature or appearing before a legislative committee at the
22	22	request of the committee or the member of the legislature.
23	23	(b) The governing body of a political subdivision
24	24	[commissioners court] may spend, in the name of the political
25	25	subdivision [county], public money [from the county's general fund]
26	26	for membership fees and dues of a nonprofit state association or
27	27	organization of similarly situated political subdivisions only
28	28	[counties] if:
29	29	(1) a majority of the governing body [court] votes to
30	30	approve membership in the association or organization;
31	31	(2) the association or organization exists for the
32	32	betterment of local [county] government and the benefit of all
33	33	local [county] officials;
34	34	(3) the association or organization is not affiliated
35	35	with a labor organization;
36	36	(4) neither the association or organization nor an
37	37	employee of the association or organization directly or indirectly
38	38	influences or attempts to influence the outcome of any legislation
39	39	pending before the legislature, except that this subdivision does
40	40	not prevent a person from providing information for a member of the
41	41	legislature or appearing before a legislative committee at the
42	42	request of the committee or the member of the legislature; and
43	43	(5) neither the association or organization nor an
44	44	employee of the association or organization directly or indirectly
45	45	contributes any money, services, or other valuable thing to a
46	46	political campaign or endorses a candidate or group of candidates
47	47	for public office.
48	48	(c) If a political subdivision engages in an activity
49	49	described by Subsection (a) or if [(b) If] any association or
50	50	organization supported wholly or partly by payments of tax receipts
51	51	from political subdivisions engages in an activity described by
52	52	Subsection (b)(4) [(a)(4)] or (5), an action for [a taxpayer of a
53	53	political subdivision that pays fees or dues to the association or
54	54	organization is entitled to] appropriate injunctive relief to
55	55	prevent any further activity described by Subsection (a) or (b)(4)
56	56	[(a)(4)] or (5) or any further payments of fees or dues may be
57	57	brought by:
58	58	(1) a taxpayer of a political subdivision that:
59	59	(A) engages in an activity described by
60	60	Subsection (a); or
61	61	(B) pays fees or dues to an association or
62	62	organization that engages in an activity described by Subsection
63	63	(b)(4) or (5);
64	64	(2) the county or district attorney of a county that
65	65	contains any part of a political subdivision that:
66	66	(A) engages in an activity described by
67	67	Subsection (a); or
68	68	(B) pays fees or dues to an association or
69	69	organization that engages in an activity described by Subsection
70	70	(b)(4) or (5);
71	71	(3) the attorney general; or
72	72	(4) the public integrity unit of the office of the
73	73	district attorney for the 53rd Judicial District.
74	74	(d) A taxpayer who prevails in an action under Subsection
75	75	(c) is entitled to recover from the political subdivision the
76	76	taxpayer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in
77	77	bringing the action.
78	78	SECTION 2. Section 556.0056, Government Code, as
79	79	redesignated and amended by this Act, applies only to an
80	80	expenditure or payment of public funds by a political subdivision
81	81	that is made on or after September 1, 2009. An expenditure or
82	82	payment of public funds by a political subdivision that is made
83	83	before September 1, 2009, is governed by the law in effect on the
84	84	date the expenditure or payment is made, and the former law is
85	85	continued in effect for that purpose.
86	86	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.