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BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

H.B. 1182

By: Shaheen

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

                                                                                                                           

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Interested parties note that a county, municipality, or other political subdivision issuing new bonds is not required currently to disclose certain facts on a ballot proposition regarding the amount of debt held by the political subdivision. A steady increase in locally held public debt has led these parties to conclude that voters in bond elections need to be informed of the amounts of both current and potential debt, in principal and interest, as well as the projected amount of a tax increase attributable to a bond to be issued when voting on the authorization of new debt. H.B. 1182 seeks to address these concerns.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

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.

 

ANALYSIS

 

H.B. 1182 amends the Government Code to require a proposition submitted for an election to authorize a political subdivision to issue bonds to distinctly state the then-current combined principal and interest required to pay all outstanding debt obligations of the political subdivision on time and in full; the estimated combined principal and interest required to pay the bonds to be authorized on time and in full; and, if the bonds are supported by property taxes, the annual increase in property taxes attributable to the bonds to be issued that each homeowner of an average-priced home within the political subdivision may be required to pay. The bill specifies that the requirements for such a proposition are in addition to any other requirements prescribed by law and that the bill's provisions control to the extent of a conflict between the bill's provisions and Election Code provisions relating to ballot propositions.

 

H.B. 1182 requires a sample of the ballot printed for an election to authorize a political subdivision to issue bonds to be posted on the political subdivision's website, if the political subdivision maintains a website, as soon as practicable after the official ballots have been prepared and requires the sample to remain posted until the day following the election. The bill requires the secretary of state to prescribe a form of the ballot for such an election and requires the secretary of state to make such a form available on the secretary of state's website not later than December 1, 2015, but expressly does not require a political subdivision to use the form. The bill's provisions apply only to a bond election ordered on or after January 1, 2016.

 

 

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2015.