Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, Chair, House Committee on Elections
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB738 by Shaheen (Relating to certain information included with ballot propositions for elections to authorize state and local general obligation bonds.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Election Code and the Government Code relating to certain information included with ballot propositions for elections to authorize state and local general obligation bonds.
Based on information provided by the Secretary of State, this analysis assumes the agency could absorb any additional work associated with implementing the provisions of the bill using existing resources.
The Bond Review Board assumes any additional work associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.
The bill would take effect on September 1, 2017.
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, Ward County reported no fiscal impact.
According to Dallas County, to accommodate additional ballot information, additional voting machines may have to be purchased which could result in a fiscal impact.
Source Agencies:
307 Secretary of State, 352 Bond Review Board, 701 Texas Education Agency