Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB711 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R9262 ATP-F
2	2	By: Burton S.B. No. 711
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.
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; or
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.
31	31	(c) The governing body of a political subdivision
32	32	[commissioners court] may spend, in the name of the political
33	33	subdivision [county], public money [from the county's general fund]
34	34	for membership fees and dues of a nonprofit state association or
35	35	organization of similarly situated political subdivisions only
36	36	[counties] if:
37	37	(1) a majority of the governing body [court] votes to
38	38	approve membership in the association or organization;
39	39	(2) the association or organization exists for the
40	40	betterment of local [county] government and the benefit of all
41	41	local [county] officials;
42	42	(3) the association or organization is not affiliated
43	43	with a labor organization;
44	44	(4) neither the association or organization nor an
45	45	employee of the association or organization directly or indirectly
46	46	influences or attempts to influence the outcome of any legislation
47	47	pending before the legislature[, except that this subdivision does
48	48	not prevent a person from providing information for a member of the
49	49	legislature or appearing before a legislative committee at the
50	50	request of the committee or the member of the legislature]; and
51	51	(5) [neither] the association or organization does not
52	52	[nor an employee of the association] directly or indirectly
53	53	contribute [contributes] any money, services, or other valuable
54	54	thing to a political campaign or endorse [endorses] a candidate or
55	55	group of candidates for public office.
56	56	(d) Subsection (c)(4) does not prevent a person from
57	57	providing information for a member of the legislature or appearing
58	58	before a legislative committee at the request of the committee or
59	59	the member of the legislature.
60	60	(e) A political subdivision may not employ in any capacity a
61	61	person required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305.
62	62	(f) If a political subdivision engages in an activity
63	63	prohibited by Subsection (b) or (e) or if [(b) If] any association
64	64	or organization supported wholly or partly by payments of tax
65	65	receipts from political subdivisions engages in an activity
66	66	described by Subsection (c)(4) [(a)(4)] or (5), a taxpayer of a
67	67	political subdivision that pays fees or dues to the association or
68	68	organization is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief to
69	69	prevent any further activity prohibited by Subsection (b) or (e) or
70	70	described by Subsection (c)(4) [(a)(4)] or (5) or any further
71	71	payments of fees or dues.
72	72	(g) A taxpayer who prevails in an action under Subsection
73	73	(f) is entitled to recover from the political subdivision the
74	74	taxpayer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in
75	75	bringing the action.
76	76	SECTION 2. Section 556.0056, Government Code, as
77	77	redesignated and amended by this Act, applies only to an
78	78	expenditure or payment of public funds by a political subdivision
79	79	that is made on or after September 1, 2015. An expenditure or
80	80	payment of public funds by a political subdivision that is made
81	81	before September 1, 2015, is governed by the law in effect on the
82	82	date the expenditure or payment is made, and the former law is
83	83	continued in effect for that purpose.
84	84	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.