81R2359 MTB-D

By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 2538

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the inclusion of certain financial information, including certain school district information, in an online database maintained by the comptroller.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 401.042, Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) The governor shall forward the appropriations requests to the comptroller for inclusion in the database maintained under Section 403.024.

SECTION 2. The heading to Section 403.024, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 403.024. SEARCHABLE ONLINE FINANCE [STATE EXPENDITURE] DATABASE.

SECTION 3. Sections 403.024(b) and (c), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) The comptroller shall establish and post on the Internet a database of state financial information, including both revenue and expenditures such as[, including] contracts and grants, that is electronically searchable by the public except as provided by Subsection (d). The database must include:

(1) the amount, date, payor, and payee of expenditures; [and]

(2) the amount of revenue collected by the comptroller, including taxes, fees, and assessments, categorized according to the amount of revenue collected from each type of revenue source;

(3) a listing of state expenditures by:

(A) object of expense with links to the warrant or check register level; [and]

(B) to the extent maintained by state agency accounting systems in a reportable format, class and item levels; and

(C) state agency by month;

(4) legislative appropriations requests for each state agency;

(5) campaign contribution information provided to the Texas Ethics Commission under Section 2155.003(e); and

(6) for a procurement contract with a value of $100,000 or more, the state agency that awarded the contract, the vendor to whom the contract was awarded, and a description of the goods or services to be procured under the contract.

(c) To the extent possible, the comptroller shall present information in the database established under this section in a manner that is searchable and intuitive to users. The comptroller shall enhance and organize the presentation of the information through the use of graphical representations, such as pie charts, as the comptroller considers appropriate. At a minimum, the database must:

(1) allow users to:

(A) [(1)] search and aggregate state funding by any element of the information;

(B) [(2)] ascertain through a single search the total amount of state funding awarded to a person by a state agency; [and]

(C) [(3)] download information yielded by a search of the database; and

(D) post comments on a related web page on the website on which the database is posted; and

(2) include a pie chart indicating whether state agency expenditures are decreasing or increasing over time.

SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 403.0245 to read as follows:

Sec. 403.0245. ADDITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT INFORMATION INCLUDED IN DATABASE. (a) In the database established and maintained under Section 403.024, the comptroller shall include:

(1) a copy of each report of political contributions and expenditures filed with a school district under Chapter 254, Election Code, by:

(A) a candidate for the district board of trustees;

(B) a member of the district board of trustees; or

(C) a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate described by Paragraph (A) or assists an officeholder described by Paragraph (B); and

(2) an electronic checking account transaction register for each school district under Section 44.0031, Education Code.

(b) A school district shall provide copies of the reports described by Subsection (a)(1) to the comptroller.

SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 44, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 44.0031 to read as follows:

Sec. 44.0031. ELECTRONIC CHECKING ACCOUNT TRANSACTION REGISTER. (a) A school district shall maintain the transaction register for the district's checking account in a searchable electronic spreadsheet format, such as a portable document format (PDF) or similar file type, in which the transaction register is readily available for purposes of Subsections (d), (e), and (f). Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (c), the electronic checking account transaction register must include for each check written from a district checking account:

(1) the transaction amount;

(2) the check number;

(3) the name of the payee;

(4) a detailed statement of the purpose of the expenditure for which the check was written;

(5) if applicable, a detailed explanation of any legal fees for which the check was written; and

(6) the function code assigned to the expenditure for the purpose of meeting state reporting requirements.

(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), beginning September 1, 2009, a school district's electronic checking account transaction register must contain the information required by Subsections (a)(1) through (3) for each check dated on or after August 1, 2009. Notwithstanding Subsection (a), beginning September 1, 2010, a district's electronic checking account transaction register must contain the information required by Subsections (a)(1) through (5) for each check dated on or after August 1, 2010. Beginning September 1, 2011, a district's electronic checking account transaction register must contain the information required by Subsections (a)(1) through (6) for each check dated on or after August 1, 2011. This subsection expires October 1, 2011.

(b) A school district may not include in the district's electronic checking account transaction register a check issued to a district employee in payment of:

(1) salary, wages, or an employment stipend; or

(2) a workers' compensation income benefit, medical benefit, death benefit, or burial benefit that is issued by a school district operating as a self-insurer under Chapter 504, Labor Code.

(c) This section does not apply to a checking account maintained by a school district or school campus solely for a student activity fund.

(d) A school district shall prominently post the electronic checking account transaction register at all times on the district's Internet website for viewing and downloading by interested persons.

(e) A school district shall post on the district's Internet website, with the checking account transaction register, an explanation of each function code that, as determined by the State Board of Education, relates to a direct instructional expenditure.

(e-1) Subsection (e) applies beginning September 1, 2011. This subsection expires October 1, 2011.

(f) A school district shall share data from the electronic checking account transaction register with the comptroller for inclusion in the database maintained under Section 403.024, Government Code.

(g) A school district shall:

(1) update the electronic checking account transaction register at least once each month, not later than the 30th day after the closing date of the most recent monthly statement for the checking account; and

(2) maintain each transaction or listing in the electronic checking account transaction register on the district's Internet website until the second anniversary of the date of the transaction or listing.

SECTION 6. Not later than October 1, 2009, the comptroller of public accounts shall include in the database the information required by Section 403.024, Government Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 403.0245, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.