84R13567 SCL-F
By: Isaac H.B. No. 3871
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to posting of certain financial information of certain
political subdivisions on the Internet.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Local Government
Transparency Act.
SECTION 2. Chapter 140, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 140.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 140.011. POSTING OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF POLITICAL
SUBDIVISIONS ON THE INTERNET. (a) This section applies only to a
political subdivision with taxing authority, including a county,
municipality, and school district, that has a budget greater than
$100 million.
(b) The governing body of a political subdivision shall
establish and maintain in the manner provided by this section an
electronic format for accessing financial information regarding
the political subdivision's annual budget, check register,
tax-supported debt, revenue-supported debt, unfunded pension
liabilities, and unfunded other post-employment benefit
liabilities.
(c) The governing body shall post the information described
by this section on the political subdivision's Internet website.
(d) The format for a political subdivision's annual budget
must provide a display in pie charts or other graphical
representations of the political subdivision's revenue, including
taxes, and spending. The representations must provide the ability
to readily access more detailed subaccounts to a minimum level of
the lesser of seven subaccounts or the level of available
subaccount data.
(e) The format for a political subdivision's check register
must provide a searchable database that must include, for each
check issued from the political subdivision's checking account, the
check number or other payment identification, date, amount,
description, and payee. The database must include each payment
made to a vendor or elected official, and the database may not
include a payment made to a full-time unelected employee. At a
minimum, the database must allow a person to:
(1) sort information in ascending and descending order
by column heading;
(2) ascertain through a single search the payments
made to any payee; and
(3) download information yielded by a search of the
database.
(f) For purposes of including a political subdivision's
debt information under this section, the debt must be presented as
the total of the outstanding principal of the debt and any interest
and fees that will accrue over the remaining term of the debt.
(g) To the extent possible, the political subdivision shall
present the information described by this section in a manner that
may be accessed intuitively by a person using:
(1) for the political subdivision's budget, the best
available technology that provides the ability to readily access
more specific layers of data or information; and
(2) for the political subdivision's check register,
standard searching and sorting techniques.
(h) A political subdivision may not charge a fee to access
the information described by this section.
SECTION 3. Section 140.011, Local Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a political subdivision's fiscal year
beginning on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.