Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4860 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R12997 CJD-F
2	2	By: Patterson H.B. No. 4860
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds for
10	10	lobbying and certain other activities.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 556, Government Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Section 556.0056 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 556.0056. RESTRICTION ON USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY
15	15	POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS FOR LOBBYING ACTIVITIES. (a) A political
16	16	subdivision may not spend public funds:
17	17	(1) to hire an individual required to register as a
18	18	lobbyist under Chapter 305 for the purpose of lobbying a member of
19	19	the legislature; or
20	20	(2) to pay a nonprofit state association or
21	21	organization that:
22	22	(A) primarily represents political subdivisions;
23	23	and
24	24	(B) hires or contracts with an individual
25	25	required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305.
26	26	(b) Subsection (a) does not prohibit:
27	27	(1) an officer or employee of a political subdivision
28	28	from providing information for a member of the legislature or
29	29	appearing before a legislative committee;
30	30	(2) an elected officer of a political subdivision from
31	31	advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to
32	32	influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature
33	33	while acting as an officer of the political subdivision;
34	34	(3) an employee of a political subdivision from
35	35	advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to
36	36	influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature
37	37	if those actions would not require a person to register as a
38	38	lobbyist under Chapter 305;
39	39	(4) a political subdivision from reimbursing an
40	40	officer or full-time employee of the political subdivision for
41	41	direct travel expenses incurred by the officer or employee for
42	42	engaging in an activity described by Subdivision (1), (2), or (3);
43	43	or
44	44	(5) a full-time employee of a nonprofit state
45	45	association or organization that primarily represents political
46	46	subdivisions of this state from:
47	47	(A) providing legislative services related to
48	48	bill tracking, bill analysis, and legislative alerts;
49	49	(B) communicating directly with a member of the
50	50	legislature to provide information if the communication would not
51	51	require a person to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305; or
52	52	(C) testifying for or against legislation before
53	53	the legislature.
54	54	(c) If a political subdivision engages in an activity
55	55	prohibited by Subsection (a), a taxpayer or resident of the
56	56	political subdivision is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief
57	57	to prevent further activity prohibited by that subsection and
58	58	further payment of public funds related to that activity.
59	59	(d) A taxpayer or resident who prevails in an action under
60	60	Subsection (c) is entitled to recover from the political
61	61	subdivision the taxpayer's or resident's reasonable attorney's fees
62	62	and costs incurred in bringing the action.
63	63	SECTION 2. Section 89.002, Local Government Code, is
64	64	amended to read as follows:
65	65	Sec. 89.002. STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES. (a) Except as
66	66	provided by Section 556.0056, Government Code, the [The]
67	67	commissioners court may spend, in the name of the county, money from
68	68	the county's general fund for membership fees and dues of a
69	69	nonprofit state association of counties if:
70	70	(1) a majority of the court votes to approve
71	71	membership in the association;
72	72	(2) the association exists for the betterment of
73	73	county government and the benefit of all county officials;
74	74	(3) the association is not affiliated with a labor
75	75	organization; and
76	76	(4) [neither the association nor an employee of the
77	77	association directly or indirectly influences or attempts to
78	78	influence the outcome of any legislation pending before the
79	79	legislature, except that this subdivision does not prevent a person
80	80	from providing information for a member of the legislature or
81	81	appearing before a legislative committee at the request of the
82	82	committee or the member of the legislature; and
83	83	[(5)] neither the association nor an employee of the
84	84	association directly or indirectly contributes any money,
85	85	services, or other valuable thing to a political campaign or
86	86	endorses a candidate or group of candidates for public office.
87	87	(b) If any association or organization supported wholly or
88	88	partly by payments of tax receipts from political subdivisions
89	89	engages in an activity described by Subsection (a)(4) [or (5)], a
90	90	taxpayer of a political subdivision that pays fees or dues to the
91	91	association or organization is entitled to appropriate injunctive
92	92	relief to prevent any further activity described by Subsection
93	93	(a)(4) [or (5)] or any further payments of fees or dues.
94	94	SECTION 3. Section 556.0056, Government Code, as added by
95	95	this Act, applies only to an expenditure or payment of public funds
96	96	by a political subdivision that is made on or after the effective
97	97	date of this Act, including an expenditure or payment of public
98	98	funds by a political subdivision that is made under a contract
99	99	entered into before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. A
100	100	contract term providing for an expenditure or payment prohibited by
101	101	Section 556.0056, Government Code, as added by this Act, is void on
102	102	the effective date of this Act.
103	103	SECTION 4. Section 89.002, Local Government Code, as
104	104	amended by this Act, applies only to the spending of money by a
105	105	county from the county's general fund that occurs on or after the
106	106	effective date of this Act. The spending of money by a county from
107	107	the county's general fund that occurs before the effective date of
108	108	this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
109	109	effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
110	110	that purpose.
111	111	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.