Honorable Jane Nelson, Chair, Senate Committee on Finance
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1041 by Bettencourt (Relating to required disclosures in ballot proposition language authorizing political subdivisions to issue bonds or impose or change a tax.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Election Code to require certain political subdivisions to include certain debt or tax information on propositions submitted to voters for approval of the issuance of bonds or the imposition, increase, or reduction of a tax.
Local Government Impact
There could be costs associated with the provisions of the bill. Depending on a local entity's resources, voting equipment, and the size and composition of a local entity, updates to existing equipment or new equipment could be needed to accommodate additional information on the ballot. There could be costs associated with mail in ballots. These costs would depend on the length of the ballot, the size and composition of the voting district, and the mailing costs of a ballot. Based on these factors, there could be varying costs for a local entity.
According to the Texas Association of Counties, El Paso County reported extending the ballot language could require additional programming equipment.
According to the Texas Association of Counties, Bexar County reported the additional information on a ballot would result in longer lines and increase waiting times at polling locations, which would cause the county to purchase additional voting systems and hire additional clerks. The county reported an estimated one time cost of $1.7 million for additional voting systems and $48,648 cost to hire additional clerks for each time an election was held and involved a bond issuance or changed a tax policy.
The Texas Municipal League reported costs cannot be determined but are not anticipated to have a significant fiscal impact on municipalities.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 592 Soil and Water Conservation Board, 701 Central Education Agency, 307 Secretary of State