Honorable Morgan Meyer, Chair, House Committee on Ways & Means
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB103 by Troxclair (Relating to the creation and maintenance of a database of taxing unit bonds, taxes, and bond-related projects; providing a civil penalty.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB103, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($1,258,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts is required to implement a provision of the bill only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the Comptroller of Public Accounts may, but is not required to, implement a provision of the bill using other appropriations available for that purpose.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026
($1,169,000)
2027
($89,000)
2028
($89,000)
2029
($89,000)
2030
($89,000)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2025
2026
($1,169,000)
1.0
2027
($89,000)
1.0
2028
($89,000)
1.0
2029
($89,000)
1.0
2030
($89,000)
1.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would require the Comptroller, in coordination with the Bond Review Board, to develop and maintain a database that includes current and historical information regarding taxing unit bonds, taxes, and bond-related projects. The database must include ballot language for bonds or debt obligations; projected tax rates for debt service; election results for bond approvals; lists of funded projects and accounting for bond proceeds; and tax rate changes resulting from issued bonds. The database must also track election results on tax rate increases under Chapter 26 of the Tax Code; proposed or approved maintenance tax rates for school districts; and ballot language for school district maintenance taxes under Section 45.003(d) of the Education Code. The database must also provide report generation by geographic area and a function for updates or corrections to the data.
The bill would require taxing units to provide required data to the Comptroller. The Comptroller may contract with a third party for database development and maintenance. Public access to the database must be free of charge. The Comptroller may adopt rules to implement this database.
The bill provides for a civil penalty. If a taxing unit fails to provide required information, the Comptroller must issue a written notice outlining the missing information; and the taxing unit would have 30 days to comply before the taxing unit would be subject to a $1,000 civil penalty. The Texas Attorney General would be authorized to sue to collect the penalty. A taxing unit may defend against a penalty by demonstrating it provided all non-exempt or non-confidential data.
Methodology
As the incidence of non-compliance warranting an imposition of a $1,000 civil penalty is unknown, the fiscal impact cannot be estimated.
Administrative costs include staffing costs related to hiring one (1) Program Specialist IV FTE to assist with facilitating outreach and data collection. This bill also requires the Data Analysis and Transparency division to adopt procedures, rules, and enforce compliance.
Technology
The administrative cost includes technology costs of $1,080,000 in fiscal year 2026 to implement the provisions of this bill. An estimated 7,200 programming hours would be required to develop the new database, implement noncompliance payments from taxing units and collect data to share publicly.
Local Government Impact
The bill provides for a civil penalty. If a taxing unit fails to provide required information, the Comptroller must issue a written notice outlining the missing information; and the taxing unit would have 30 days to comply before the taxing unit would be subject to a $1,000 civil penalty. The Texas Attorney General would be authorized to sue to collect the penalty. A taxing unit may defend against a penalty by demonstrating it provided all non-exempt or non-confidential data.
As the incidence of non-compliance warranting an imposition of a $1,000 civil penalty is unknown, the fiscal impact cannot be estimated.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 352 Bond Review Board