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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to unfunded legislative mandates on local governments. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 320, Government Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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CHAPTER 320. UNFUNDED LEGISLATIVE MANDATES ON POLITICAL |
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SUBDIVISIONS |
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Sec. 320.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "legislative |
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mandate" has the meaning assigned by Section 68, Article III, Texas |
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Constitution, but does not include a legislative mandate to which |
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that section does not apply [means a requirement made by a statute
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enacted by the legislature on or after January 1, 1997, that
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requires a political subdivision to establish, expand, or modify an
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activity in a way that requires the expenditure of revenue by the
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political subdivision that would not have been required in the
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absence of the statutory provision]. |
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Sec. 320.002. UNFUNDED LEGISLATIVE MANDATES INTERAGENCY |
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WORK GROUP. (a) The unfunded legislative mandates interagency |
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work group consists of: |
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(1) the state auditor; |
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(2) the director of the Legislative Budget Board; |
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(3) the comptroller; |
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(4) a senator appointed by the lieutenant governor; |
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(5) a house member appointed by the speaker of the |
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house of representatives; |
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(6) one current or former officer or employee of a |
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political subdivision appointed by the lieutenant governor; and |
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(7) one current or former officer or employee of a |
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political subdivision appointed by the speaker of the house of |
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representatives. |
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(b) An appointed member of the interagency work group serves |
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at the pleasure of the appointing authority. |
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(c) A member of the interagency work group is not entitled |
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to additional compensation for service on the work group. |
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(d) A member of the interagency work group may use a person |
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employed by the member or by the member's agency or political |
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subdivision to assist the interagency work group in performing its |
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duties. |
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(e) The members of the interagency work group may enter into |
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a memorandum of understanding regarding the members' work under |
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this chapter. |
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Sec. 320.003. LIST OF UNFUNDED LEGISLATIVE MANDATES. (a) |
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On or before the September 1 following a regular session of the |
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legislature and on or before the 90th day after the last day of a |
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special session of the legislature, the interagency work group |
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shall publish a list of legislative mandates for which the |
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legislature has not provided reimbursement under Subsection (b) and |
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that were enacted by the legislature during that legislative |
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session. By that same date the interagency work group shall: |
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(1) remove from the list of legislative mandates for a |
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previous legislative session those legislative mandates for which |
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the legislature has provided reimbursement under Subsection (b), |
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those that are no longer subject to reimbursement, and those that |
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are no longer in effect; and |
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(2) add to the list a legislative mandate from a |
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previous legislative session for which reimbursement was provided |
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under Subsection (b) in the previous session but for which |
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reimbursement was not provided in the most recent regular session |
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or in any subsequent special sessions. |
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(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the interagency work |
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group shall publish the list of legislative mandates for which the |
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legislature has not provided reimbursement under Subsection (b) and |
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that were enacted by the legislature during the regular session of |
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the 82nd Legislature not later than November 1, 2011. This |
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subsection expires September 2, 2015. |
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(b) A legislative mandate is considered to be a legislative |
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mandate for which the legislature has provided reimbursement if the |
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legislature[:
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[(1)
by statute enacted by a record vote of two-thirds
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of the members elected to each house expressly provides that the
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mandate is not subject to reimbursement under this section; or
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[(2)] appropriates or otherwise provides for the |
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payment or reimbursement, from a source other than revenue of the |
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political subdivision, of the costs incurred in the calendar year |
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by the political subdivision in complying with the legislative |
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mandate. |
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(c) This section does not apply to a legislative mandate[:
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[(1)] not included in the appropriate list of |
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legislative mandates published by the interagency work group under |
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this section[;
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[(2)
imposed by the legislature or a state agency to
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comply with a requirement of the Texas Constitution, federal law,
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or a court order or to maximize the receipt of federal funds by the
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state in areas such as education, health and human services, and
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criminal justice;
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[(3)
approved by the voters of this state at a general
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election; or
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[(4) affecting employee pensions and benefits]. |
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Sec. 320.004. REVIEW OF UNFUNDED LEGISLATIVE MANDATES; |
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EXPIRATION OF LEGISLATIVE MANDATES. (a) Before September 1 of the |
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even-numbered year before the third anniversary of the date of |
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enactment of a legislative mandate identified by the interagency |
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work group under Section 320.003, the interagency work group shall: |
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(1) review the legislative history of the legislative |
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mandate; |
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(2) conduct an evaluation on the benefits of the |
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legislative mandate and the costs of the legislative mandate on |
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affected political subdivisions; and |
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(3) present a written report to the legislature and |
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the governor on the interagency work group's findings. |
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(b) During the regular session immediately following the |
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issuance of a report under Subsection (a), the legislature by law |
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may continue the legislative mandate for a period not to exceed |
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three years, by law may repeal the legislative mandate, or may take |
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no action on the legislative mandate. The legislature may continue |
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a legislative mandate either by general law or by identifying the |
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legislative mandate in the General Appropriations Act and providing |
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a mechanism to provide money to political subdivisions that may be |
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used to comply with the legislative mandates. If the legislature |
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does not continue or repeal the legislative mandate, the |
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legislative mandate expires on September 1 following the regular |
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session. On and after that date, a political subdivision may but is |
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not required to comply with the legislative mandate. |
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Sec. 320.005. APPLICABILITY. This chapter does not apply |
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to a legislative mandate to which Section 68, Article III, Texas |
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Constitution, does not apply. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2012, but only |
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if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 82nd Legislature, |
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Regular Session, 2011, exempting political subdivisions from |
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unfunded legislative mandates is approved by the voters. If that |
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amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect. |