Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1862 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R11004 ATP-F
2	2	By: Burton S.B. No. 1862
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 lobbyists; creating a criminal offense.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 89.002, Local Government Code, is
11	11	transferred to Chapter 556, Government Code, redesignated as
12	12	Section 556.0056, Government Code, and amended to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 556.0056 [89.002]. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES; ASSOCIATIONS
14	14	AND ORGANIZATIONS [STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES]. (a) This
15	15	section applies to:
16	16	(1) a political subdivision that imposes a tax; or
17	17	(2) a regional mobility authority, toll road
18	18	authority, or transit authority.
19	19	(b) The governing body of a political subdivision may not
20	20	spend public money to directly or indirectly influence or attempt
21	21	to influence the outcome of any legislation pending before the
22	22	legislature. This subsection does not prevent:
23	23	(1) an officer or employee of a political subdivision
24	24	from providing information for a member of the legislature or
25	25	appearing before a legislative committee at the request of the
26	26	committee or the member of the legislature;
27	27	(2) an elected officer of a political subdivision from
28	28	advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to
29	29	influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature
30	30	while acting as an officer of the political subdivision; or
31	31	(3) an employee of a political subdivision from
32	32	advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to
33	33	influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature
34	34	if those actions would not require a person to register as a
35	35	lobbyist under Chapter 305.
36	36	(c) The governing body of a political subdivision
37	37	[commissioners court] may spend, in the name of the political
38	38	subdivision [county], public money [from the county's general fund]
39	39	for membership fees and dues of a nonprofit state association or
40	40	organization of similarly situated political subdivisions only
41	41	[counties] if:
42	42	(1) a majority of the governing body [court] votes to
43	43	approve membership in the association or organization;
44	44	(2) the association or organization exists for the
45	45	betterment of local [county] government and the benefit of all
46	46	local [county] officials;
47	47	(3) the association or organization is not affiliated
48	48	with a labor organization;
49	49	(4) neither the association or organization nor an
50	50	employee of the association or organization directly or indirectly
51	51	influences or attempts to influence the outcome of any legislation
52	52	pending before the legislature[, except that this subdivision does
53	53	not prevent a person from providing information for a member of the
54	54	legislature or appearing before a legislative committee at the
55	55	request of the committee or the member of the legislature]; and
56	56	(5) [neither] the association or organization does not
57	57	[nor an employee of the association] directly or indirectly
58	58	contribute [contributes] any money, services, or other valuable
59	59	thing to a political campaign or endorse [endorses] a candidate or
60	60	group of candidates for public office.
61	61	(d) Subsection (c)(4) does not prevent a person from
62	62	providing information for a member of the legislature or appearing
63	63	before a legislative committee at the request of the committee or
64	64	the member of the legislature.
65	65	(e) An interested person, including a member of the news
66	66	media, or the attorney general on behalf of this state, may bring an
67	67	action by mandamus or injunction to stop, prevent, or reverse a
68	68	violation or threatened violation of this section by a member or
69	69	group of members of the governing body of a political subdivision or
70	70	by a lobbyist. The court may assess costs of litigation and
71	71	reasonable attorney's fees incurred by a plaintiff who
72	72	substantially prevails in an action under this subsection. In
73	73	exercising its discretion, the court shall consider whether the
74	74	action was brought in good faith and whether the conduct of the
75	75	political subdivision had a reasonable basis in law.
76	76	(f) A member or group of members of the governing body of a
77	77	political subdivision or a lobbyist commits an offense if the
78	78	member, group of members, or lobbyist knowingly conspires to
79	79	circumvent this section. An offense under this subsection is a
80	80	Class B misdemeanor.
81	81	(g) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
82	82	Subsection (f) that the person acted in reasonable reliance on a
83	83	court order or a written interpretation of this chapter contained
84	84	in an opinion of a court of record, the attorney general, or the
85	85	attorney for the political subdivision.
86	86	(h) If the state proceeds with an action under this section,
87	87	a private person who first brought the action is entitled, except as
88	88	provided by this subsection, to receive at least 15 percent but not
89	89	more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the action, depending on the
90	90	extent to which the person substantially contributed to the
91	91	prosecution of the action. If the state does not proceed with an
92	92	action under this section, the person bringing the action is
93	93	entitled, except as provided by this subsection, to receive at
94	94	least 25 percent but not more than 30 percent of the proceeds of the
95	95	action. The entitlement of a person under this subsection is not
96	96	affected by any subsequent intervention in the action by the state.
97	97	If the court finds that the action is based primarily on disclosures
98	98	of specific information, other than information provided by the
99	99	person bringing the action, relating to allegations or transactions
100	100	in a Texas or federal criminal or civil hearing, in a Texas or
101	101	federal legislative or administrative report, hearing, audit, or
102	102	investigation, or from the news media, the court may award to the
103	103	person the amount the court considers appropriate but not more than
104	104	10 percent of the proceeds of the action. The court shall consider
105	105	the significance of the information and the role of the person
106	106	bringing the action in advancing the case to litigation. A payment
107	107	to a person under this subsection shall be made from the proceeds of
108	108	the action. A person receiving a payment under this subsection is
109	109	also entitled to receive from the defendant an amount for
110	110	reasonable expenses, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs that the
111	111	court finds to have been necessarily incurred. The court's
112	112	determination of expenses, fees, and costs to be awarded under this
113	113	subsection shall be made only after the defendant has been found
114	114	liable in the action or the claim is settled. In this subsection,
115	115	"proceeds of the action" includes proceeds of a settlement of the
116	116	action.
117	117	[(b) If any association or organization supported wholly or
118	118	partly by payments of tax receipts from political subdivisions
119	119	engages in an activity described by Subsection (a)(4) or (5), a
120	120	taxpayer of a political subdivision that pays fees or dues to the
121	121	association or organization is entitled to appropriate injunctive
122	122	relief to prevent any further activity described by Subsection
123	123	(a)(4) or (5) or any further payments of fees or dues.]
124	124	SECTION 2. Section 556.0056, Government Code, as
125	125	redesignated and amended by this Act, applies only to an
126	126	expenditure or payment of public funds by a political subdivision
127	127	that is made on or after September 1, 2015. An expenditure or
128	128	payment of public funds by a political subdivision that is made
129	129	before September 1, 2015, is governed by the law in effect on the
130	130	date the expenditure or payment is made, and the former law is
131	131	continued in effect for that purpose.
132	132	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.