Bill Text: TX HB268 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced

Texas House Bill 268 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to fiscal notes for city ballot propositions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-07-13 - Filed [HB268 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB268-Introduced.html

	87S10935 SMT-F

	By: Jetton	H.B. No. 268



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to fiscal notes for city ballot propositions.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 52, Election Code, is
	amended by adding Section 52.0725 to read as follows:
	Sec. 52.0725. FISCAL NOTE FOR CITY BALLOT PROPOSITION. (a)
	For an election on a city ballot proposition stating a measure, the
	city secretary shall prepare a fiscal note outlining the fiscal
	implications and projected cost of the measure.
	(b) The city secretary shall include in the fiscal note a
	projection of the annual cost of the measure for the five-year
	period that begins on the effective date of the measure. The
	projection must include all money anticipated to be spent by the
	city, regardless of the source of the money. The projection must
	include the gross anticipated annual costs of the measure and may
	not be reduced by a calculated estimate of benefits or cost savings
	created by the measure. An estimate of benefits or cost savings may
	be described separately in the fiscal note.
	(c) The city secretary shall include in the fiscal note the
	projected annual cost of the measure per resident, calculated by
	dividing the average annual cost determined under Subsection (b) by
	the number of adult residents of the city according to the most
	recent decennial census.
	(d) Not later than the 14th day before the date the ballots
	are printed, the city secretary shall make available in the city
	secretary's office and on the city's Internet website, if the city
	maintains an Internet website, a document that includes the details
	of the projection described by Subsection (b) and the methodology
	used to calculate the projection.
	(e) The projected annual cost per resident determined under
	Subsection (c) must be printed on the ballot immediately following
	the text of the applicable ballot proposition in the following
	format: "If this ballot proposition passes, the additional cost to
	each adult resident is $_____ (amount calculated as described by
	Subsection (c)) per year."
	(f) A qualified voter in the city or the attorney general
	may file a civil action in district court to compel the city
	secretary to comply with the requirements of this section,
	including the requirement that the city secretary accurately
	calculate the fiscal implications of a measure. The court shall
	give absolute preference to a suit filed under this section so that
	a decision on the suit is reached before the deadline for printing
	ballots.
	(g) A plaintiff who substantially prevails in an action
	brought under Subsection (f), through judgment or through a change
	in behavior resulting from the litigation, is entitled to court
	costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and a penalty equal to the
	greater of:
	(1) 2.5 times the party's attorney's fees; or
	(2) $10,000.
	(h) Sovereign and governmental immunity from suit and
	liability is waived and abolished to the extent of liability
	created by this section.
	SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
	an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act. An
	election ordered before the effective date of this Act is governed
	by the law in effect when the election was ordered, and the former
	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2026.