84R2328 TJB-D
By: Perry S.B. No. 506
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a political subdivision of this state
to execute certain contracts for the use or acquisition of personal
property.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 271.005(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Section 271.0055, the [The] governing body of
a governmental agency may execute, perform, and make payments under
a contract with any person for the use or the purchase or other
acquisition of any personal property, or the financing thereof.
The contract is an obligation of the governmental agency. The
contract may:
(1) be on the terms considered appropriate by the
governing body;
(2) be in the form of a lease, a lease with an option or
options to purchase, an installment purchase, or any other form
considered appropriate by the governing body including that of an
instrument which would be required to be approved by the attorney
general under Chapter 1202, Government Code, provided that
contracts in such form must be approved by the attorney general in
accordance with the terms of that chapter;
(3) be for a term approved by the governing body and
contain an option or options to renew or extend the term; and
(4) be made payable from a pledge of all or any part of
any revenues, funds, or taxes available to the governmental agency
for its public purposes.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 271.0055 to read as follows:
Sec. 271.0055. AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS FOR
PERSONAL PROPERTY; NOTICE; PETITION AND ELECTION. (a) This section
applies only to a contract authorized by Section 271.005 that will
require an expenditure by a governmental agency of $25,000 or more.
(b) The governing body of a governmental agency must approve
the execution of a contract by majority vote of the governing body
before the contract may be executed.
(c) Before the governing body of a governmental agency may
approve the execution of the contract, the governmental agency must
publish notice of the agency's intention to enter into the
contract. The notice must be published once a week for two
consecutive weeks in a newspaper with general circulation in the
area of the governmental agency, with the date of the first
publication to be before the 30th day before the date tentatively
set for the governing body's approval of the execution of the
contract.
(d) The notice must state:
(1) the time and place tentatively set for the
approval of the execution of the contract;
(2) the purpose and an estimate of the cost of the
contract; and
(3) the manner in which the amount required to be paid
under the contract by the agency will be paid, whether by taxes,
revenues, or a combination of funds.
(e) If, before the execution of the contract, the secretary
or clerk of the governmental agency receives a petition signed by at
least five percent of the qualified voters within the boundaries of
the governmental agency protesting the execution of the contract,
the governing body of the agency may not authorize the execution of
the contract unless the execution is approved at an election
ordered, held, and conducted in the manner provided for bond
elections under Chapter 1251, Government Code.
SECTION 3. Section 271.006(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) In entering into the contract, a municipality must
comply with the requirements of Chapter 252 and a county must comply
with the requirements of Subchapter C, Chapter 262. However, the
municipality or county is not required to submit to a referendum the
question of entering into the contract, except as provided by
Section 271.0055(e).
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by Section 271.005(a),
Local Government Code, as amended by this Act, and Section
271.0055, Local Government Code, as added by this Act, apply only to
a contract authorized by Section 271.005, Local Government Code,
that is entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.