Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB2035 by Hughes (Relating to contributions, expenditures, and related activities for supporting or opposing a ballot measure; creating criminal offenses; providing a civil penalty.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB2035, As Introduced: an impact of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026
($76,750)
2027
$0
2028
$0
2029
$0
2030
$0
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2026
($76,750)
2027
$0
2028
$0
2029
$0
2030
$0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Civil Practice and Remedies Code and the Election Code to require the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) to add a new affidavit to certain reports certifying that foreign nationals did not support certain ballot measures and would also require a new report type relating to certifying that funds were not accepted from foreign nationals. The bill would create a new criminal offense and provide for certain civil penalties relating to these filings.
Methodology
According to the TEC, the bill would require modifications to the agency's Electronic Filing System (EFS). The agency estimates that modifications to the EFS related to an affidavit certifying that foreign nationals did not support certain ballot measures would require 135 hours of programming at $150 per hour for a total of $20,750. The agency estimates that modifications to allow a filer to certify that they had not knowingly accepted money from foreign nationals would require 377 hours of programming at $150 per hour totaling $56,000.
According to the Office of Court Administration, no significant impact to the state court system is anticipated.
According to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the fiscal impact on the state cannot be estimated.
It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.
Technology
Programming changes to the EFS that would be required by the bill include: modifications to the existing EFS database; creation of PDF templates and rendering algorithms; and a data entry method for TEC to add reports filed using paper forms.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
It is assumed that any fiscal impact to units of local government associated with enforcement, prosecution, supervision, or confinement would not be significant.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 356 Texas Ethics Commission