87R10019 TYPED
By: Harris, Goldman, et al. H.B. No. 2362
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to municipalities and counties that adopt budgets that
defund law enforcement agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 140, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Sections 140.013 and 140.014 to read as follows:
Sec. 140.013. DEFUNDING LOCAL GOVERNMENT. (a) A defunding
local government is a municipality or county:
(1) that adopts a budget for a fiscal year that, in
comparison to the local government's preceding fiscal year,
reduces:
(A) the appropriation to the local government's
law enforcement agency;
(B) the number of peace officers the local
government's law enforcement agency is authorized to employ;
(C) funding for peace officer overtime
compensation for the local government's law enforcement agency; or
(D) funding for the recruitment and training of
new peace officers to fill each vacant peace officer position in the
local government's law enforcement agency; and
(2) for which the criminal justice division of the
governor's office issues a written determination finding that the
local government has taken an action described by Subdivision (1).
(a-1) In making a determination of whether a local
government is a defunding local government according to the budget
adopted for the first fiscal year beginning on or after September 1,
2021, the criminal justice division of the governor's office shall
compare the funding and personnel in that budget to the funding and
personnel in the budget of the preceding fiscal year or the second
preceding fiscal year, whichever is greater. This subsection
expires September 1, 2023.
(b) A local government is considered to be a defunding local
government until the criminal justice division of the governor's
office issues a written determination finding that the local
government has reversed the reductions, adjusted for inflation,
described in Subsection (a)(1).
(c) The criminal justice division of the governor's office
shall:
(1) compute the inflation rate used to make
determinations under Subsection (b) each state fiscal year using a
price index that accurately reports changes in the purchasing power
of the dollar for local governments in this state; and
(2) publish the inflation rate in the Texas Register.
Sec. 140.014. LIMIT ON ANNUAL EXPENDITURES BY DEFUNDING
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. (a) This section applies to a defunding local
government under Section 140.013.
(b) A defunding local government's total expenditures from
all available sources of revenue in a fiscal year may not exceed the
defunding local government's total expenditures from all available
sources of revenue in the defunding local government's fiscal year
immediately preceding the fiscal year during which the criminal
justice division of the governor's office issued the written
determination declaring the local government to be a defunding
local government under Section 140.013.
(c) A local government is no longer considered to be a
defunding local government for purposes of this section when the
criminal justice division of the governor's office issues a written
determination in accordance with Section 140.013(b) finding that
the local government has reversed the reductions described by
Section 140.013(a)(1).
(d) Revenue received from the issuance of bonds approved by
voters or from a grant, donation, or gift is not considered an
available source of revenue for purposes of this section.
SECTION 2. Section 140.013, Local Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to the adoption of a budget by a
municipality or county for a fiscal year that begins on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.