Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 23	Senate Author:  Huffman et al.
Effective:  1-1-22	House Sponsor:  Oliverson et al.

            Senate Bill 23 amends the Local Government Code to require a county with a population of more than one million to hold an election to obtain voter approval before implementing an applicable reduction or reallocation of funding to or resources for a primary law enforcement agency, excluding a 9‑1‑1 call center. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes a person who believes that the county in which they reside has implemented a proposed reduction or reallocation without the required voter approval to file a complaint with the criminal justice division of the governor's office and requires the division to provide written notice of a potentially valid complaint to the county that is the subject of the complaint in order to provide the county the opportunity to correct the action that is the subject of the complaint before referring the complaint to the comptroller of public accounts. The bill requires the comptroller, on request by the division, to determine whether a county has implemented the proposed reduction or reallocation without the required voter approval. If the comptroller makes an affirmative determination, the county may not adopt a property tax rate that exceeds the county's no‑new‑revenue tax rate until the earlier of the date on which each reduction and reallocation that was a subject of the determination has been approved in an election or the date the comptroller issues a written determination that the county has reversed each funding reduction, adjusted for inflation, and personnel reduction or has restored all reallocated funding and resources.