HBA-CMT H.B. 1786 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1786
By: Kitchen
County Affairs
4/1/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, a county is not authorized to charge a fee for a county
government service that is provided over the Internet.  The inability to
charge a fee to recoup the cost of providing services online may deter
counties from serving their residents in this way.  House Bill 1786
authorizes a county to charge a reasonable fee for a county government
service that is provided over the Internet. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1786 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the
commissioners court of a county to set a reasonable fee for a service
provided online by a county officer or another county entity.  The fee may
not be set any higher than is necessary to pay the expense of providing the
service. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.