BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 626 By: Coleman 03-31-95 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND County judges in Texas have numerous administrative and ministerial duties requiring signatures or other official actions. Several examples of this are approving beer or liquor licenses, signing contracts on behalf of the commissioners court, and signing emergency orders. In various sections, the Alcoholic Beverage Code gives county judges the authority to delegate their power for approving beer or liquor licenses to someone else. In very populous counties, where county judges are faced with significant demands on their time, it is not always practical for the county judge to personally sign every administrative order and, like the Alcoholic Beverage Code, these judges should have the option of delegating certain ministerial or administrative functions to someone else. PURPOSE This bill gives the county judge the ability to delegate to another county officer or county employee the ability to sign orders or other official documents as specified by the county judge. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Adds Section 81.029 to the Local Government Code to give the county judge in a county with a population of more than one million the right to delegate to another county officer or employee the ability to sign orders or other official documents on behalf of the judge. The section also gives the judge the right to revoke the delegated authority or transfer it to someone else at any time. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The original bill added Section number 81.028. The committee substitute was renumbered to correctly reflect that Section number 81.029 is being added to Chapter 81, Subchapter B, Local Government Code. The original bill applied to counties with a population of more that 2.4 million. The committee substitute applies to counties with a population of more than one million. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION HB 626 was considered by the County Affairs Committee in a public hearing on 3/29/95. Representative Coleman opened and closed. The County Affairs Committee considered a complete substitute to HB 626. The substitute was adopted without objection. HB 626 was reported favorably, as substituted, with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed and be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars, by a record vote of 8 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, 1 absent.