81R2359 MTB-D
By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 2538
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the inclusion of certain financial information,
including certain school district information, in an online
database maintained by the comptroller.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 401.042, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The governor shall forward the appropriations requests
to the comptroller for inclusion in the database maintained under
Section 403.024.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 403.024, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 403.024. SEARCHABLE ONLINE FINANCE [STATE
EXPENDITURE] DATABASE.
SECTION 3. Sections 403.024(b) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) The comptroller shall establish and post on the Internet
a database of state financial information, including both revenue
and expenditures such as[, including] contracts and grants, that is
electronically searchable by the public except as provided by
Subsection (d). The database must include:
(1) the amount, date, payor, and payee of
expenditures; [and]
(2) the amount of revenue collected by the
comptroller, including taxes, fees, and assessments, categorized
according to the amount of revenue collected from each type of
revenue source;
(3) a listing of state expenditures by:
(A) object of expense with links to the warrant
or check register level; [and]
(B) to the extent maintained by state agency
accounting systems in a reportable format, class and item levels;
and
(C) state agency by month;
(4) legislative appropriations requests for each
state agency;
(5) campaign contribution information provided to the
Texas Ethics Commission under Section 2155.003(e); and
(6) for a procurement contract with a value of
$100,000 or more, the state agency that awarded the contract, the
vendor to whom the contract was awarded, and a description of the
goods or services to be procured under the contract.
(c) To the extent possible, the comptroller shall present
information in the database established under this section in a
manner that is searchable and intuitive to users. The comptroller
shall enhance and organize the presentation of the information
through the use of graphical representations, such as pie charts,
as the comptroller considers appropriate. At a minimum, the
database must:
(1) allow users to:
(A) [(1)] search and aggregate state funding by
any element of the information;
(B) [(2)] ascertain through a single search the
total amount of state funding awarded to a person by a state agency;
[and]
(C) [(3)] download information yielded by a
search of the database; and
(D) post comments on a related web page on the
website on which the database is posted; and
(2) include a pie chart indicating whether state
agency expenditures are decreasing or increasing over time.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 403, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 403.0245 to read as follows:
Sec. 403.0245. ADDITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT INFORMATION
INCLUDED IN DATABASE. (a) In the database established and
maintained under Section 403.024, the comptroller shall include:
(1) a copy of each report of political contributions
and expenditures filed with a school district under Chapter 254,
Election Code, by:
(A) a candidate for the district board of
trustees;
(B) a member of the district board of trustees;
or
(C) a political committee that supports or
opposes a candidate described by Paragraph (A) or assists an
officeholder described by Paragraph (B); and
(2) an electronic checking account transaction
register for each school district under Section 44.0031, Education
Code.
(b) A school district shall provide copies of the reports
described by Subsection (a)(1) to the comptroller.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 44, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 44.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 44.0031. ELECTRONIC CHECKING ACCOUNT TRANSACTION
REGISTER. (a) A school district shall maintain the transaction
register for the district's checking account in a searchable
electronic spreadsheet format, such as a portable document format
(PDF) or similar file type, in which the transaction register is
readily available for purposes of Subsections (d), (e), and (f).
Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (c), the electronic
checking account transaction register must include for each check
written from a district checking account:
(1) the transaction amount;
(2) the check number;
(3) the name of the payee;
(4) a detailed statement of the purpose of the
expenditure for which the check was written;
(5) if applicable, a detailed explanation of any legal
fees for which the check was written; and
(6) the function code assigned to the expenditure for
the purpose of meeting state reporting requirements.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), beginning September
1, 2009, a school district's electronic checking account
transaction register must contain the information required by
Subsections (a)(1) through (3) for each check dated on or after
August 1, 2009. Notwithstanding Subsection (a), beginning
September 1, 2010, a district's electronic checking account
transaction register must contain the information required by
Subsections (a)(1) through (5) for each check dated on or after
August 1, 2010. Beginning September 1, 2011, a district's
electronic checking account transaction register must contain the
information required by Subsections (a)(1) through (6) for each
check dated on or after August 1, 2011. This subsection expires
October 1, 2011.
(b) A school district may not include in the district's
electronic checking account transaction register a check issued to
a district employee in payment of:
(1) salary, wages, or an employment stipend; or
(2) a workers' compensation income benefit, medical
benefit, death benefit, or burial benefit that is issued by a school
district operating as a self-insurer under Chapter 504, Labor Code.
(c) This section does not apply to a checking account
maintained by a school district or school campus solely for a
student activity fund.
(d) A school district shall prominently post the electronic
checking account transaction register at all times on the
district's Internet website for viewing and downloading by
interested persons.
(e) A school district shall post on the district's Internet
website, with the checking account transaction register, an
explanation of each function code that, as determined by the State
Board of Education, relates to a direct instructional expenditure.
(e-1) Subsection (e) applies beginning September 1, 2011.
This subsection expires October 1, 2011.
(f) A school district shall share data from the electronic
checking account transaction register with the comptroller for
inclusion in the database maintained under Section 403.024,
Government Code.
(g) A school district shall:
(1) update the electronic checking account
transaction register at least once each month, not later than the
30th day after the closing date of the most recent monthly statement
for the checking account; and
(2) maintain each transaction or listing in the
electronic checking account transaction register on the district's
Internet website until the second anniversary of the date of the
transaction or listing.
SECTION 6. Not later than October 1, 2009, the comptroller
of public accounts shall include in the database the information
required by Section 403.024, Government Code, as amended by this
Act, and Section 403.0245, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.