BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1872

By: Goldman

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised that discrepancies in the redaction of certain information from a county judicial officer's or candidate's financial statement pose a security risk for those officers and candidates and their families. H.B. 1872 seeks to address these concerns by requiring the removal of certain information from financial statements and certain records.

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

H.B. 1872 amends the Local Government Code to expand the requirement that a county clerk or the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) remove certain identifying information of a county judicial officer's or candidate's dependent children from the officer's or candidate's financial statement before the statement is made available to a member of the public by including the officer's or candidate's home address as information required to be removed and by including a county or TEC record derived from the financial statement as an item from which information is required to be removed. The bill removes the condition that the information is to be removed on the written request of the officer or candidate. The bill applies to information included in a financial statement regardless of whether the statement was filed before the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

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