| TO: | Honorable Garnet Coleman, Chair, House Committee on County Affairs |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HJR95 by Gallego (Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the adoption of county home-rule charters.), As Introduced |
The cost to the state for publication of the resolution is $90,882.
The resolution woul propose a constitutional amendment to authorize counties with a population of 5,000 or more, by majority vote of the qualified voters, to adopt a county home-rule charter. The proposed resolution would be placed on the ballot of the election to be held November 3, 2009.
The constitutional amendment would set forth the procedures for a county to follow to adopt a county home-rule charter and to assume home-rule powers, and specifies what those powers would be.
It the proposed amendment is approved by the voters and enacted, and a county chose to hold an election to obtain voter approval to adopt a home-rule charter, the county would incur costs associated with the election. According to information provided by the Texas Association of Counties (TAC), those costs could range from $4,000 to $8,000. TAC reports that if approved by the voters to adopt a home-rule charter, a county would also incur costs of approximately $5,000 for legal review of the charter and approximately $15,000 to $35,000 in administrative costs. Costs would vary by county depending on the size of the county.
It is assumed that a county would seek to adopt a home-rule charter if doing so would be beneficial and if sufficient resources existed to cover costs of the election, legal review, and administration.
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | JOB, DB
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