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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to an election to approve a reduction or reallocation of |
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funding or resources for certain municipal or county law |
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enforcement agencies. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 4, Local Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Chapter 135 to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 135. ELECTION FOR REDUCTION OF FUNDING OR RESOURCES FOR |
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PRIMARY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES |
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Sec. 135.001. ELECTION REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided by |
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Section 135.002, a municipality or county shall hold an election in |
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accordance with this chapter if the municipality or county proposes |
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to adopt a budget for a fiscal year that, compared to the budget |
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adopted by the municipality or county for the preceding fiscal |
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year: |
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(1) reduces for the law enforcement agency with |
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primary responsibility for policing, criminal investigation, and |
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answering calls for service: |
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(A) for a fiscal year in which the overall amount |
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of the budget is equal to or greater than the amount for the |
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preceding fiscal year, the appropriation to the agency; |
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(B) for a fiscal year in which the overall amount |
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of the budget is less than the amount for the preceding fiscal year, |
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the appropriation to the agency as a percentage of the total budget; |
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(C) the number of peace officer positions, |
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excluding detention officer positions; or |
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(D) the amount of funding per peace officer for |
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the recruitment and training of new peace officers to fill vacant |
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and new peace officer positions in the agency; or |
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(2) reallocates funding or resources to another law |
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enforcement agency. |
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(b) A municipality or county may not adopt a budget with a |
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proposed reduction or reallocation described by Subsection (a) |
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until the municipality or county receives voter approval for the |
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proposed reduction or reallocation at an election held for that |
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purpose. The municipality or county may, at any time, order the |
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election to be held on the 30th day after the date the municipality |
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or county orders the election. Section 41.001, Election Code, does |
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not apply to an election under this subsection. |
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(c) For purposes of this section, a municipal or county |
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budget does not include: |
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(1) a one-time extraordinary expense, as determined by |
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the comptroller, that is outside the normal costs of operating a law |
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enforcement agency, including purchasing a fleet of law enforcement |
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vehicles or constructing an additional training academy; or |
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(2) a donation or state or federal grant to the |
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municipality's or county's law enforcement agency. |
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Sec. 135.002. DISASTER EXCEPTION. Section 135.001 does not |
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apply to a municipal or county budget adopted for a fiscal year in |
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which, or the two fiscal years following the fiscal year in which, a |
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significant budget reduction from the preceding fiscal year was |
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caused by a disaster, including a tornado, hurricane, flood, |
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wildfire, or other calamity, but not including a drought, epidemic, |
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or pandemic, in an area of the municipality or county that was the |
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subject of a disaster declaration by the governor under Chapter |
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418, Government Code, or by the president of the United States. |
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Sec. 135.003. BALLOT PROPOSITION REQUIREMENTS. A |
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municipality or county holding an election under this chapter shall |
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ensure that the ballot proposition for the election includes, as |
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applicable: |
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(1) a detailed explanation of each proposed reduction; |
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(2) the amount of each proposed reduction; |
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(3) the recipient of reallocated funding or resources; |
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(4) the impact on the local tax rate, if any; and |
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(5) the expected length of time that the proposed |
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reduction or reallocation will remain in effect. |
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Sec. 135.004. USE OF PUBLIC MONEY FOR CAMPAIGN PROHIBITED. |
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A municipality or county holding an election under this chapter may |
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not use public money on promotional campaigns or advocacy related |
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to the proposed reduction or reallocation. This section may not be |
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construed to prevent a municipal or county official or employee |
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from communicating factual information about a proposed budget or |
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the reasoning behind a proposed budget to the voters in the |
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municipality or county. |
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Sec. 135.005. COMPLAINT. (a) A person who believes that a |
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municipality or county has adopted a budget with a proposed |
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reduction or reallocation described by Section 135.001(a) without |
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the required voter approval and who resides in the municipality or |
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county may file a complaint with the criminal justice division of |
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the office of the governor. |
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(b) The criminal justice division of the office of the |
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governor shall determine whether a complaint filed under Subsection |
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(a) is potentially valid or frivolous or false. |
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(c) The criminal justice division of the office of the |
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governor shall provide written notice of a potentially valid |
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complaint filed under Subsection (a) to the municipality or county |
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that is the subject of the complaint. The division shall provide |
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the municipality or county an opportunity to correct the action |
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that is the subject of the complaint before referring the complaint |
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to the comptroller. |
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Sec. 135.006. COMPTROLLER INVESTIGATION; TAX RATE |
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LIMITATION. (a) On request by the criminal justice division of the |
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office of the governor, the comptroller shall determine whether a |
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municipality or county has adopted a budget with a proposed |
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reduction or reallocation described by Section 135.001(a) without |
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the required voter approval. The comptroller shall issue a written |
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determination to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the |
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house of representatives, and governing body of the municipality or |
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county. |
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(b) The comptroller may require a municipality or county to |
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submit information for the current or preceding fiscal year to |
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assist the comptroller's investigation under this section. |
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(c) Notwithstanding any other law, if the comptroller |
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determines that a municipality or county adopted a budget with a |
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proposed reduction or reallocation described by Section 135.001(a) |
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without the required voter approval, the municipality or county may |
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not adopt an ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the municipality's or |
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county's no-new-revenue tax rate until the earlier of: |
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(1) the date the comptroller issues a written |
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determination that the municipality or county has, as applicable: |
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(A) adopted a budget that reverses each funding |
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reduction, adjusted for inflation, and personnel reduction that was |
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a subject of the determination; or |
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(B) restored all reallocated funding and |
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resources that were subjects of the determination to the original |
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law enforcement agency; or |
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(2) the date on which each reduction and reallocation |
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that was a subject of the determination has been approved in an |
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election held in accordance with this chapter. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2022. |
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* * * * * |