Honorable Sarah Davis, Chair, House Committee on General Investigating & Ethics
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB464 by Anchia (Relating to the acceptance of political contributions by a member of the Railroad Commission of Texas and of political contributions made in connection with the office of railroad commissioner.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Natural Resources Code to prohibit a commissioner of the Railroad Commission from accepting a political contribution outside of the period beginning 17 months before the date of the next general election at which the commissioner's office is filled and ending on the 30th day after the date of that election. The bill would prohibit a commissioner from accepting a political contribution from a party in a contested case before the commission or from a political committee affiliated with such a party. The Railroad Commission would be required to maintain a list of contested cases and parties involved in those cases to aid the commissioners in complying with the provisions of the bill. Based on information provided by the Railroad Commission, this analysis assumes that duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.