Honorable Joan Huffman, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB702 by Bettencourt (Relating to the authorization and reporting of expenditures for lobbying activities by certain political subdivisions and other public entities.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Based on the analysis of the Texas Education Agency and the Higher Education Coordinating Board, it is assumed that the requirements of the bill relating to lobbying activity reporting could be absorbed using existing state resources. Based on the analysis of the Texas Ethics Commission, there would be one-time technology implementation costs associated with the provisions of the bill relating to online lobbying activity registrations. However, this analysis assumes that these costs could be absorbed using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
The bill would require lobbying activity reports for certain political subdivisions. Based on the analysis of the City of Houston, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas Ethics Commission, the lobby registration requirements created by the bill could have a fiscal impact on school districts and other political subdivisions. However, due to the uncertainty of these assumptions the fiscal implications of the bill for local government cannot be determined at this time.