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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to posting of certain financial information of certain |
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political subdivisions on the Internet. |
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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 Local Government |
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Transparency Act. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 140, Local Government Code, is amended |
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by adding Section 140.011 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 140.011. POSTING OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF POLITICAL |
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SUBDIVISIONS ON THE INTERNET. (a) This section applies only to a |
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political subdivision with taxing authority, including a county, |
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municipality, and school district, that has a budget greater than |
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$100 million. |
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(b) The governing body of a political subdivision shall |
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establish and maintain in the manner provided by this section an |
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electronic format for accessing financial information regarding |
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the political subdivision's annual budget, check register, |
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tax-supported debt, revenue-supported debt, unfunded pension |
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liabilities, and unfunded other post-employment benefit |
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liabilities. |
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(c) The governing body shall post the information described |
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by this section on the political subdivision's Internet website. |
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(d) The format for a political subdivision's annual budget |
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must provide a display in pie charts or other graphical |
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representations of the political subdivision's revenue, including |
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taxes, and spending. The representations must provide the ability |
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to readily access more detailed subaccounts to a minimum level of |
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the lesser of seven subaccounts or the level of available |
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subaccount data. |
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(e) The format for a political subdivision's check register |
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must provide a searchable database that must include, for each |
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check issued from the political subdivision's checking account, the |
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check number or other payment identification, date, amount, |
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description, and payee. The database must include each payment |
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made to a vendor or elected official, and the database may not |
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include a payment made to a full-time unelected employee. At a |
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minimum, the database must allow a person to: |
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(1) sort information in ascending and descending order |
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by column heading; |
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(2) ascertain through a single search the payments |
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made to any payee; and |
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(3) download information yielded by a search of the |
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database. |
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(f) For purposes of including a political subdivision's |
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debt information under this section, the debt must be presented as |
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the total of the outstanding principal of the debt and any interest |
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and fees that will accrue over the remaining term of the debt. |
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(g) To the extent possible, the political subdivision shall |
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present the information described by this section in a manner that |
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may be accessed intuitively by a person using: |
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(1) for the political subdivision's budget, the best |
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available technology that provides the ability to readily access |
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more specific layers of data or information; and |
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(2) for the political subdivision's check register, |
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standard searching and sorting techniques. |
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(h) A political subdivision may not charge a fee to access |
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the information described by this section. |
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SECTION 3. Section 140.011, Local Government Code, as added |
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by this Act, applies only to a political subdivision's fiscal year |
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beginning on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |