| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to sales and use tax revenue of municipalities that adopt |
|
|
budgets that defund municipal police departments. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 4, Local Government Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Chapter 109 to read as follows: |
|
|
CHAPTER 109. DETERMINATION OF DEFUNDING MUNICIPALITIES |
|
|
Sec. 109.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "division" |
|
|
means the criminal justice division of the office of the governor. |
|
|
Sec. 109.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter |
|
|
applies only to a municipality with a population of more than |
|
|
250,000. |
|
|
Sec. 109.003. DEFUNDING DETERMINATION. Except as provided |
|
|
by Section 109.004, a defunding municipality is a municipality: |
|
|
(1) that adopts a budget for a fiscal year that, in |
|
|
comparison to the municipality's preceding fiscal year, reduces the |
|
|
appropriation to the municipality's police department; and |
|
|
(2) for which the division issues a written |
|
|
determination finding that the municipality has made the reduction |
|
|
described by Subdivision (1). |
|
|
Sec. 109.0035. INITIAL DETERMINATION. In making a |
|
|
determination of whether a municipality is a defunding municipality |
|
|
under Section 109.003 according to the budget adopted for the first |
|
|
fiscal year beginning on or after September 1, 2021, the division |
|
|
shall compare the appropriation to the municipality's police |
|
|
department in that budget to the appropriation to that department |
|
|
in the budget of the preceding fiscal year or the second preceding |
|
|
fiscal year, whichever is greater. This section expires September |
|
|
1, 2023. |
|
|
Sec. 109.004. EXCEPTIONS. A municipality is not considered |
|
|
to be a defunding municipality under Section 109.003 if: |
|
|
(1) for a fiscal year in which the municipality adopts |
|
|
a budget that is less than the budget for the preceding fiscal year, |
|
|
the percentage reduction to the appropriation to the municipality's |
|
|
police department does not exceed the percentage reduction to the |
|
|
total budget; or |
|
|
(2) before the adoption of a budget, the municipality |
|
|
applies for and is granted approval from the division for a |
|
|
reduction to the appropriation to the municipality's police |
|
|
department to account for: |
|
|
(A) capital expenditures related to law |
|
|
enforcement during the preceding fiscal year; |
|
|
(B) the municipality's response to a state of |
|
|
disaster declared under Section 418.014, Government Code; or |
|
|
(C) another reason approved by the division. |
|
|
Sec. 109.005. TERMINATION OF DEFUNDING DETERMINATION. A |
|
|
municipality's defunding determination under Section 109.003 |
|
|
continues until the division issues a written determination finding |
|
|
that the municipality has reversed the reduction, adjusted for |
|
|
inflation, described by Section 109.003(1). |
|
|
Sec. 109.006. DIVISION DUTIES. (a) The division shall: |
|
|
(1) compute the inflation rate used to make |
|
|
determinations under Section 109.005 each state fiscal year using a |
|
|
price index that accurately reports changes in the purchasing power |
|
|
of the dollar for municipalities in this state; and |
|
|
(2) publish the inflation rate in the Texas Register. |
|
|
(b) The division shall adopt rules establishing the |
|
|
criteria the division uses to approve reductions under Section |
|
|
109.004(2). |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 321, Tax Code, is amended |
|
|
by adding Section 321.5025 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 321.5025. DISTRIBUTION OF TRUST FUNDS TO DEFUNDING |
|
|
MUNICIPALITY. (a) In this section, "defunding municipality" means |
|
|
a municipality that is considered to be a defunding municipality |
|
|
for the current state fiscal year under Chapter 109, Local |
|
|
Government Code. |
|
|
(b) Notwithstanding Section 321.502, the comptroller may |
|
|
not, before July 1 of each state fiscal year, send to a defunding |
|
|
municipality its share of the taxes collected by the comptroller |
|
|
under this chapter during the state fiscal year. Before sending the |
|
|
defunding municipality its share of the taxes, the comptroller |
|
|
shall deduct the amount reported to the comptroller for the |
|
|
defunding municipality under Subsection (c) and credit that |
|
|
deducted amount to the general revenue fund. Money credited to the |
|
|
general revenue fund under this subsection may be appropriated only |
|
|
to the Department of Public Safety. |
|
|
(c) Not later than August 1 of each state fiscal year, the |
|
|
criminal justice division of the governor's office shall report to |
|
|
the comptroller for each defunding municipality the amount of money |
|
|
the state spent in that state fiscal year to provide law enforcement |
|
|
services in that defunding municipality. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Chapter 109, Local Government Code, as added by |
|
|
this Act, applies only to a budget adopted for a fiscal year that |
|
|
begins on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 321.5025, Tax Code, as added by this Act, |
|
|
applies only to a distribution of municipal sales and use tax |
|
|
revenue to a municipality in a state fiscal year that begins on or |
|
|
after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |