Bill Text: TX HB3871 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to posting of certain financial information of certain political subdivisions on the Internet.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-15 - Left pending in committee [HB3871 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB3871-Introduced.html
| 84R13567 SCL-F | ||
| By: Isaac | H.B. No. 3871 | |
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| relating to posting of certain financial information of certain | ||
| political subdivisions on the Internet. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Local Government | ||
| Transparency Act. | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 140, Local Government Code, is amended | ||
| by adding Section 140.011 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 140.011. POSTING OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF POLITICAL | ||
| SUBDIVISIONS ON THE INTERNET. (a) This section applies only to a | ||
| political subdivision with taxing authority, including a county, | ||
| municipality, and school district, that has a budget greater than | ||
| $100 million. | ||
| (b) The governing body of a political subdivision shall | ||
| establish and maintain in the manner provided by this section an | ||
| electronic format for accessing financial information regarding | ||
| the political subdivision's annual budget, check register, | ||
| tax-supported debt, revenue-supported debt, unfunded pension | ||
| liabilities, and unfunded other post-employment benefit | ||
| liabilities. | ||
| (c) The governing body shall post the information described | ||
| by this section on the political subdivision's Internet website. | ||
| (d) The format for a political subdivision's annual budget | ||
| must provide a display in pie charts or other graphical | ||
| representations of the political subdivision's revenue, including | ||
| taxes, and spending. The representations must provide the ability | ||
| to readily access more detailed subaccounts to a minimum level of | ||
| the lesser of seven subaccounts or the level of available | ||
| subaccount data. | ||
| (e) The format for a political subdivision's check register | ||
| must provide a searchable database that must include, for each | ||
| check issued from the political subdivision's checking account, the | ||
| check number or other payment identification, date, amount, | ||
| description, and payee. The database must include each payment | ||
| made to a vendor or elected official, and the database may not | ||
| include a payment made to a full-time unelected employee. At a | ||
| minimum, the database must allow a person to: | ||
| (1) sort information in ascending and descending order | ||
| by column heading; | ||
| (2) ascertain through a single search the payments | ||
| made to any payee; and | ||
| (3) download information yielded by a search of the | ||
| database. | ||
| (f) For purposes of including a political subdivision's | ||
| debt information under this section, the debt must be presented as | ||
| the total of the outstanding principal of the debt and any interest | ||
| and fees that will accrue over the remaining term of the debt. | ||
| (g) To the extent possible, the political subdivision shall | ||
| present the information described by this section in a manner that | ||
| may be accessed intuitively by a person using: | ||
| (1) for the political subdivision's budget, the best | ||
| available technology that provides the ability to readily access | ||
| more specific layers of data or information; and | ||
| (2) for the political subdivision's check register, | ||
| standard searching and sorting techniques. | ||
| (h) A political subdivision may not charge a fee to access | ||
| the information described by this section. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 140.011, Local Government Code, as added | ||
| by this Act, applies only to a political subdivision's fiscal year | ||
| beginning on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. | ||
