Bill Text: TX HB1692 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the amounts budgeted by certain political subdivisions for fire protection, law enforcement, or emergency medical services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-09 - Referred to State Affairs [HB1692 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB1692-Introduced.html
87R1281 SMT-D | ||
By: Tinderholt | H.B. No. 1692 |
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relating to the amounts budgeted by certain political subdivisions | ||
for fire protection, law enforcement, or emergency medical | ||
services. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Chapter 140, Local Government Code, is amended | ||
by adding Section 140.0046 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 140.0046. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REDUCE BUDGET FOR | ||
PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES. (a) In this section: | ||
(1) "Comparable service" means: | ||
(A) the services provided by a department or | ||
similar unit of a political subdivision that are identifiable in | ||
the political subdivision's budget, if the political subdivision is | ||
separated into departments or similar units; or | ||
(B) a service provided by a political subdivision | ||
that is identifiable in the political subdivision's budget, if the | ||
political subdivision is not separated into units described by | ||
Paragraph (A). | ||
(2) "Public safety service" means a fire protection, | ||
law enforcement, or emergency medical service. | ||
(b) This section does not apply to a school district. | ||
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a political | ||
subdivision may not adopt a budget that allocates an amount of money | ||
to provide a public safety service that is less than the amount | ||
allocated to provide that service in the preceding fiscal year if: | ||
(1) the reduction in the amount of money allocated to | ||
provide the public safety service is greater than the reduction in | ||
the amount of money allocated in that budget to provide a comparable | ||
service if compared to the amounts allocated to provide those | ||
services in the preceding fiscal year; and | ||
(2) the percentage difference between the amount of | ||
money allocated in that budget to provide the public safety service | ||
and the amount allocated to provide that service in the preceding | ||
fiscal year is greater than the percentage difference between the | ||
amount of money allocated in that budget to provide the comparable | ||
service and the amount allocated to provide that comparable service | ||
in the preceding fiscal year. | ||
(d) A political subdivision may adopt a budget that does not | ||
meet the requirements of Subsection (c) as it relates to a public | ||
safety service if the political subdivision will not provide that | ||
service in the fiscal year for which the budget is adopted. | ||
(e) For purposes of this section, the amount of money | ||
allocated to provide a service includes all maintenance, | ||
operations, and debt service costs associated with providing the | ||
service. | ||
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
to a budget adopted by a political subdivision on or after the | ||
effective date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |