Bill Text: TX SB23 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to an election to approve a reduction or reallocation of funding or resources for certain county law enforcement agencies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 15-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-01 - Effective on 1/1/22 [SB23 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB23-Enrolled.html
S.B. No. 23 |
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relating to an election to approve a reduction or reallocation of | ||
funding or resources for certain county law enforcement agencies. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Local Government Code, is | ||
amended by adding Chapter 120 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 120. ELECTION FOR REDUCTION OF FUNDING OR RESOURCES FOR | ||
CERTAIN PRIMARY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES | ||
Sec. 120.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to | ||
a county with a population of more than one million. | ||
Sec. 120.002. ELECTION REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided by | ||
Section 120.003, a county shall hold an election in accordance with | ||
this chapter if the county adopts a budget for a fiscal year that, | ||
compared to the budget adopted by the county for the preceding | ||
fiscal year: | ||
(1) reduces for a law enforcement agency, excluding a | ||
9-1-1 call center, with primary responsibility for policing, | ||
criminal investigation, and answering calls for service: | ||
(A) for a fiscal year in which the overall amount | ||
of the budget is equal to or greater than the amount for the | ||
preceding fiscal year, the appropriation to the agency; | ||
(B) for a fiscal year in which the overall amount | ||
of the budget is less than the amount for the preceding fiscal year, | ||
the appropriation to the agency as a percentage of the total budget; | ||
(C) as applicable: | ||
(i) if the county has not declined in | ||
population since the preceding fiscal year, the number of peace | ||
officer positions, excluding detention officer positions; or | ||
(ii) if the county has declined in | ||
population since the preceding fiscal year, the number of peace | ||
officer positions, excluding detention officer positions, the law | ||
enforcement agency is authorized to employ per 1,000 county | ||
residents; or | ||
(D) the amount of funding per peace officer for | ||
the recruitment and training of new peace officers to fill vacant | ||
and new peace officer positions in the agency; or | ||
(2) reallocates funding or resources to another law | ||
enforcement agency. | ||
(b) A county may not implement a proposed reduction or | ||
reallocation described by Subsection (a) until the county receives | ||
voter approval for the proposed reduction or reallocation at an | ||
election held for that purpose. The county may, at any time, order | ||
the election to be held on the 30th day after the date the county | ||
orders the election. Section 41.001, Election Code, does not apply | ||
to an election under this subsection. | ||
(c) For purposes of this section, a county budget does not | ||
include: | ||
(1) a one-time extraordinary expense, as determined by | ||
the comptroller, that is outside the normal costs of operating a law | ||
enforcement agency, including purchasing a fleet of law enforcement | ||
vehicles or constructing an additional training academy; | ||
(2) revenues used to repay voter-approved bonded | ||
indebtedness incurred for a law enforcement purpose; | ||
(3) detention officer compensation; or | ||
(4) a donation or state or federal grant to the | ||
county's law enforcement agency. | ||
Sec. 120.003. DISASTER EXCEPTION. Section 120.002 does not | ||
apply to a county budget adopted for a fiscal year in which, or the | ||
two fiscal years following the fiscal year in which, a significant | ||
budget reduction from the preceding fiscal year was caused by a | ||
disaster, including a tornado, hurricane, flood, wildfire, or other | ||
calamity, but not including a drought, epidemic, or pandemic, in an | ||
area of the county that was the subject of a disaster declaration by | ||
the governor under Chapter 418, Government Code, or by the | ||
president of the United States. | ||
Sec. 120.004. BALLOT PROPOSITION REQUIREMENTS. A county | ||
holding an election under this chapter shall ensure that the ballot | ||
proposition for the election includes, as applicable: | ||
(1) a detailed explanation of each proposed reduction; | ||
(2) the amount of each proposed reduction; | ||
(3) the recipient of reallocated funding or resources; | ||
(4) the impact on the local tax rate, if any; and | ||
(5) the expected length of time that the proposed | ||
reduction or reallocation will remain in effect. | ||
Sec. 120.005. USE OF PUBLIC MONEY FOR CAMPAIGN PROHIBITED. | ||
A county holding an election under this chapter may not use public | ||
money on promotional campaigns or advocacy related to the proposed | ||
reduction or reallocation. This section may not be construed to | ||
prevent a county official or employee from communicating factual | ||
information about a proposed budget or the reasoning behind a | ||
proposed budget to the voters in the county. | ||
Sec. 120.006. COMPLAINT. (a) A person who believes that a | ||
county has implemented a proposed reduction or reallocation | ||
described by Section 120.002(a) without the required voter approval | ||
and who resides in the county may file a complaint with the criminal | ||
justice division of the office of the governor. | ||
(b) The criminal justice division of the office of the | ||
governor shall determine whether a complaint filed under Subsection | ||
(a) is potentially valid or frivolous or false. | ||
(c) The criminal justice division of the office of the | ||
governor shall provide written notice of a potentially valid | ||
complaint filed under Subsection (a) to the county that is the | ||
subject of the complaint. The division shall provide the county an | ||
opportunity to correct the action that is the subject of the | ||
complaint before referring the complaint to the comptroller. | ||
Sec. 120.007. COMPTROLLER INVESTIGATION; TAX RATE | ||
LIMITATION. (a) On request by the criminal justice division of the | ||
office of the governor, the comptroller shall determine whether a | ||
county has implemented a proposed reduction or reallocation | ||
described by Section 120.002(a) without the required voter | ||
approval. The comptroller shall issue a written determination to | ||
the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of | ||
representatives, and governing body of the county. | ||
(b) The comptroller may require a county to submit | ||
information for the current or preceding fiscal year to assist the | ||
comptroller's investigation under this section. | ||
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, if the comptroller | ||
determines that a county implemented a proposed reduction or | ||
reallocation described by Section 120.002(a) without the required | ||
voter approval, the county may not adopt an ad valorem tax rate that | ||
exceeds the county's no-new-revenue tax rate until the earlier of: | ||
(1) the date the comptroller issues a written | ||
determination that the county has, as applicable: | ||
(A) reversed each funding reduction, adjusted | ||
for inflation, and personnel reduction that was a subject of the | ||
determination; or | ||
(B) restored all reallocated funding and | ||
resources that were subjects of the determination to the original | ||
law enforcement agency; or | ||
(2) the date on which each reduction and reallocation | ||
that was a subject of the determination has been approved in an | ||
election held in accordance with this chapter. | ||
(d) For purposes of making the calculation required under | ||
Section 26.013, Tax Code, in a tax year the comptroller determines | ||
that a county implemented a proposed reduction or reallocation | ||
described by Section 120.002(a) without the required voter | ||
approval, the difference between the actual tax rate and | ||
voter-approval tax rate is considered to be zero. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2022. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 23 passed the Senate on | ||
April 13, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 2, one | ||
present not voting; May 27, 2021, Senate refused to concur in House | ||
amendments and requested appointment of Conference Committee; | ||
May 28, 2021, House granted request of the Senate; May 30, 2021, | ||
Senate adopted Conference Committee Report by the following | ||
vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 23 passed the House, with | ||
amendments, on May 25, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 86, | ||
Nays 59, one present not voting; May 28, 2021, House granted | ||
request of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee; | ||
May 30, 2021, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the | ||
following vote: Yeas 112, Nays 26, two present not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
Approved: | ||
______________________________ | ||
Date | ||
______________________________ | ||
Governor |