BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 622

By: Shaheen

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There are a number of hurdles that political subdivisions face in publishing a required notice in a newspaper. Improvements in technology have changed the way newspaper publishers do business. Many newspapers have stopped mailing papers locally and therefore can no longer comply with the requirements necessary for a public notice submitted by a political subdivision, thereby becoming a hurdle to transparency. C.S.H.B. 622 seeks to address this issue and help provide greater accessibility to notices by authorizing certain political subdivisions to satisfy a requirement to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by publishing the notice using alternative media.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the attorney general in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 622 amends the Government Code to authorize a political subdivision to satisfy a requirement in any other law to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by publishing the notice as follows:

·         for a continuous period of not less than two weeks in a prominent location on a website maintained by the political subdivision that does not require user registration or payment for access; and

·         by the following forms of media:

o   social media;

o   free newspapers;

o   school newspapers;

o   a homeowners' association newsletter or magazine;

o   utility bills;

o   direct mailings; and

o   a print or digital newsletter.

The bill requires a political subdivision that publishes notice on a website to ensure the following:

·         the website and the notices are searchable; and

·         a user is able to search the notices by the following:

o   subject matter;

o   the location required to be provided in the notice under the other laws that require notice by publication in a newspaper; and

o   both subject matter and location.

The bill's provisions apply only to a political subdivision with a population of 75,000 or less and in which there is no newspaper of general circulation. The bill establishes that if no population is specified for a political subdivision in the federal decennial census, the political subdivision's population is the population determined by the attorney general. The bill requires a political subdivision to hold a public meeting about an alternative notice method before providing notice by the method.

C.S.H.B. 622 requires a political subdivision that provides notice using alternative media to submit notice to the attorney general describing the alternative notice method that includes the following:

·         a list of the other laws requiring notice by publication in a newspaper for which notice published under the bill's provisions is an alternative;

·         a description of the alternative media used for the notice; and

·         a link to the website maintained by the political subdivision where the public notice will be posted.

The bill requires the attorney general, after receipt of the notice, to promptly publish on the attorney general's website a list of political subdivisions that provide notice as described by the bill's provisions. The bill authorizes the attorney general to adopt rules necessary to administer such provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 622 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes provisions absent in the introduced that do the following:

·         make the bill's provisions applicable only to a political subdivision with a population of 75,000 or less and in which there is no newspaper of general circulation; and

·         establish that if no population is specified for a political subdivision in the federal decennial census, the political subdivision's population is the population determined by the attorney general.

Accordingly, the substitute omits provisions present in the introduced that did the following:

·         specify that the alternative media for publication of a notice is media that the political subdivision determines has greater circulation than the newspaper with the greatest circulation in the political subdivision;

·         require the political subdivision, during the public meeting about an alternative notice method, to demonstrate that the circulation of the alternative media will be greater than the circulation of the newspaper with the greatest circulation in the political subdivision; and

·         require a political subdivision that provides notice using alternative media to submit notice to the comptroller of public accounts describing the alternative notice method that includes the following:

o   the number of subscribers within the political subdivision of the newspaper with the greatest circulation in the political subdivision;

o   a description of the alternative media used for the notice; and

o   the circulation of the alternative media used for the notice.

The substitute includes provisions absent in the introduced that instead require such a political subdivision to submit notice to the attorney general describing the alternative notice method that includes the following:

·         a list of the other laws requiring notice by publication in a newspaper for which notice published under the bill's provisions is an alternative;

·         a description of the alternative media used for the notice; and

·         a link to the website maintained by the political subdivision where the public notice will be posted.

Whereas the introduced authorized the comptroller to adopt rules necessary to administer the bill's provisions, the substitute instead authorizes the attorney general to do so.

The substitute omits a provision present in the introduced that included the website maintained by the comptroller as a website on which a political subdivision providing notice by an alternative method must publish the notice. The substitute omits a provision present in the introduced that required notice published on a website to be made available for the period of time required by law for which the publication of the notice is required in a newspaper. The substitute includes provisions absent in the introduced that specify that the publishing of a notice on a website maintained by the political subdivision be for a continuous period of not less than two weeks in a prominent location and that specify such website as a website that does not require user registration or payment for access. The substitute includes provisions absent in the introduced that require a political subdivision that publishes notice on a website to ensure the following:

·         the website and the notices are searchable; and

·         a user is able to search the notices by the following:

o   subject matter;

o   the location required to be provided in the notice under the other laws that require notice by publication in a newspaper; and

o   both subject matter and location.

The substitute omits a provision present in the introduced that required the comptroller, after receipt of certain notice from a political subdivision that provides notice using alternative media, to promptly publish on the comptroller's website such applicable notice of the political subdivision, unless the comptroller otherwise requires notice by newspaper or waives the website notice publication requirement. The substitute includes a provision absent in the introduced that instead requires the attorney general, after such receipt, to promptly publish on the attorney general's website a list of political subdivisions that provide notice as described by the bill's provisions.

The substitute omits provisions present in the introduced that did the following:

·         authorized a political subdivision to request from the comptroller, and authorized the comptroller to grant, a waiver from the website notice publication requirements if the political subdivision provides sufficient proof that Internet access is limited in the political subdivision; and

·         required the political subdivision to provide additional notice on a public agenda board within the political subdivision if the comptroller grants the waiver.

The substitute omits temporary provisions present in the introduced that were set to expire January 1, 2027, and that did the following:

·         required the comptroller to prepare a report that identifies and compares the effectiveness of different methods of notice publication used by political subdivisions;

·         required the report to include all types of notice that are used under provisions relating to government documents, publications, and notices and laws that require the publication of a notice in a newspaper by a political subdivision; and

·         required the comptroller, not later than December 31 of each even-numbered year, to submit the report to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives.

The substitute omits provisions present in the introduced that authorized the comptroller to require a political subdivision to provide notice by newspaper if the comptroller does the following:

·         determines the alternative media used by the political subdivision to provide notice does not have a greater circulation than the newspaper with the greatest circulation in the political subdivision; and

·         provides written notice to the political subdivision of the comptroller's determination.

With respect to the authorized forms of alternative media for providing notice, the substitute omits any form of media authorized by the comptroller, which the introduced included, and includes a print or digital newsletter, which the introduced did not include.