87R9920 TYPED
By: Leman, Goldman, Harris, Meyer, et al. H.B. No. 3151
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to municipalities and counties that adopt budgets that
reduce the funding or personnel allocated for 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 Section 140.013 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.
SECTION 2. The change in law made 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.