Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1438 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1438
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the applicability of certain unfunded mandates on
7	7	political subdivisions.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 320.001, Government Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 320.001. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
12	12	(1) "Interagency work group" means the unfunded
13	13	mandates interagency work group.
14	14	(2) "Mandate" [, "mandate"] means a requirement made
15	15	by a statute enacted by the legislature on or after January 1, 2017
16	16	[1997], that requires a political subdivision to establish, expand,
17	17	or modify a duty or [an] activity in a way that requires the
18	18	expenditure of revenue by the political subdivision that would not
19	19	have been required in the absence of the statutory provision.
20	20	SECTION 2. Chapter 320, Government Code, is amended by
21	21	adding Sections 320.002 and 320.003 to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 320.002. UNFUNDED MANDATES INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP.
23	23	(a) The unfunded mandates interagency work group consists of:
24	24	(1) the state auditor;
25	25	(2) the director of the Legislative Budget Board;
26	26	(3) the comptroller;
27	27	(4) a senator appointed by the lieutenant governor;
28	28	and
29	29	(5) a member of the house of representatives appointed
30	30	by the speaker of the house of representatives.
31	31	(b) A member of the interagency work group is not entitled
32	32	to additional compensation for service on the work group.
33	33	(c) A member of the interagency work group may use any
34	34	person employed by the member's agency to complete the member's work
35	35	on the interagency work group.
36	36	(d) The members of the interagency work group may enter into
37	37	an interagency memorandum of understanding regarding the
38	38	completion of the work required by this chapter.
39	39	Sec. 320.003. ADVISORY LIST OF UNFUNDED MANDATES. (a) Not
40	40	later than the September 1 following a regular session of the
41	41	legislature and not later than the 90th day after the last day of a
42	42	special session of the legislature, the interagency work group
43	43	shall publish an advisory list of mandates for which the
44	44	legislature has not provided reimbursement under Subsection (b) and
45	45	that were enacted by the legislature during that legislative
46	46	session. By that same date the interagency work group shall:
47	47	(1) remove from the advisory list of mandates for a
48	48	previous legislative session those mandates for which the
49	49	legislature has provided reimbursement under Subsection (b), those
50	50	that are no longer subject to reimbursement, and those that are no
51	51	longer in effect; and
52	52	(2) add to the advisory list a mandate from a previous
53	53	legislative session for which reimbursement was provided under
54	54	Subsection (b) in the previous session but for which reimbursement
55	55	was not provided in the most recent regular session or in any
56	56	subsequent special sessions.
57	57	(b) A mandate is considered to be a mandate for which the
58	58	legislature has provided reimbursement if the legislature:
59	59	(1) by statute enacted by a record vote of two-thirds
60	60	of the members elected to each house expressly provides that the
61	61	mandate is not subject to reimbursement under this section; or
62	62	(2) appropriates or otherwise provides for the payment
63	63	or reimbursement, from a source other than revenue of the political
64	64	subdivision, of the costs incurred in the calendar year by the
65	65	political subdivision in complying with the mandate.
66	66	(c) This section does not apply to a mandate:
67	67	(1) imposed by the legislature or a state agency to
68	68	comply with a requirement of the Texas Constitution, federal law,
69	69	or a court order or to maximize the receipt of federal funds by the
70	70	state in areas such as education, health and human services, and
71	71	criminal justice;
72	72	(2) approved by the voters of this state at a general
73	73	election; or
74	74	(3) affecting employee pensions and benefits.
75	75	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
76	76	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
77	77	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
78	78	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
79	79	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.