BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1495

By: Toth

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that allowing additional counties to establish ethics commissions would provide for greater government accountability at the county level. C.S.H.B. 1495 seeks to authorize the creation of such a commission in certain counties.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1495 amends the Local Government Code to include a county that has a population of 425,000 or more, is adjacent to a county with a population of 3.3 million or more, and contains a portion of the San Jacinto River among the counties in which a county ethics commission may be created by order of the county commissioners court or by voter approval at an election. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1495 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a short title for the bill.