Bill Text: TX HB23 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to fiscal notes for city ballot propositions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-08-06 - Filed [HB23 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB23-Introduced.html
| 87S20042 SMT-F | ||
| By: Jetton | H.B. No. 23 | |
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| 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. | ||
