Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB241 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R1334 ATP-F
2	2	By: Burton S.B. No. 241
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.
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) If a political subdivision engages in an activity
66	66	prohibited by Subsection (b) or if [(b) If] any association or
67	67	organization supported wholly or partly by payments of public money
68	68	[tax receipts] from political subdivisions engages in an activity
69	69	described by Subsection (c)(4) [(a)(4)] or (5), a taxpayer of the
70	70	[a] political subdivision that engages in the prohibited activity
71	71	or that pays fees or dues to the association or organization is
72	72	entitled to appropriate injunctive relief to prevent any further
73	73	activity prohibited by Subsection (b) or described by Subsection
74	74	(c)(4) [(a)(4)] or (5) or any further payments of fees or dues.
75	75	(f) A taxpayer who prevails in an action under Subsection
76	76	(e) is entitled to recover from the political subdivision the
77	77	taxpayer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in
78	78	bringing the action.
79	79	SECTION 2. Section 556.0056, Government Code, as
80	80	redesignated and amended by this Act, applies only to an
81	81	expenditure or payment of public money by a political subdivision
82	82	that is made on or after September 1, 2017. An expenditure or
83	83	payment of public money by a political subdivision that is made
84	84	before September 1, 2017, is governed by the law in effect on the
85	85	date the expenditure or payment is made, and the former law is
86	86	continued in effect for that purpose.
87	87	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.