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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the creation of county databases containing information |
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on county expenditures. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the Transparency in |
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Local Government Act. |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 112, Local Government |
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Code, is amended by adding Section 112.011 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 112.011. SEARCHABLE COUNTY EXPENDITURE DATABASE. (a) |
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This section applies to a county with a population of 45,000 or |
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more. |
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(b) The commissioners court of a county shall establish and |
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post on the Internet a database of county expenditures that is |
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electronically searchable by the public except as provided by |
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Subsection (d). The database must include: |
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(1) the amount, date, payor, and payee of |
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expenditures; and |
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(2) a listing of county expenditures by: |
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(A) object of expense with links to the warrant |
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or check register level; and |
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(B) to the extent maintained by county accounting |
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systems in a reportable format, class and item levels. |
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(c) To the extent possible, the county shall present |
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information in the database established under this section in a |
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manner that is searchable and intuitive to users. The county shall |
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enhance and organize the presentation of the information through |
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the use of graphical representations, such as pie charts, as the |
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county considers appropriate. At a minimum, the database must |
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allow users to: |
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(1) search and aggregate county funding by any element |
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of the information; |
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(2) ascertain through a single search the total amount |
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of county funding awarded to a person by the county; and |
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(3) download information yielded by a search of the |
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database. |
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(d) The county may not allow public access under this |
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section to a payee's address, except that the county may allow |
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public access under this section to information identifying the |
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county in which the payee is located. |
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(e) The county may not charge a fee to the public to access |
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the database. |
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SECTION 3. Section 112.011, Local Government Code, as added |
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by this Act, applies only to expenditures made on or after the |
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effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |