September 9, 2022, Number 36


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Download the full .pdf version here: TML Legislative Update Number 36


senate committee hearing next week on city-related issues

The Senate Local Government Committee is set to meet on Tuesday, September 13 and Wednesday, September 14 to discuss a variety of city-related issues. We strongly encourage city officials to contact their senator with any concerns or comments on these issues in advance of the hearing.

On Tuesday, the Senate Local Government Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. in Room E1.016 at the Texas Capitol to hear the following interim charges:

Extraterritorial Jurisdictions: Study issues related to municipal extraterritorial jurisdictions and annexation powers, including examining possible disannexation authority. Determine whether extraterritorial jurisdictions continue to provide value to their residents and make recommendations on equitable methods for disannexation.

Special Purpose Districts: Perform a comprehensive study on the powers and purposes of various special purpose districts and their associated legislative templates. Make recommendations to improve public transparency in operations of special purpose districts and associated legislative templates.

Community Censorship: Study how governmental entities use public funds for political lobbying purposes. Examine what types of governmental entities use public funds for lobbying purposes and what level of transparency is available to the public. Make recommendations to protect taxpayers from paying for lobbyists who may not represent the taxpayers' interests.

Affordable Housing: Study issues related to affordable housing, homelessness, and methods of providing and financing affordable housing. Make recommendations to improve transparency and accountability, as well as to better utilize existing federal, state, and local programs.

On Wednesday, the Senate Local Government Committee will meet again at 9:30 a.m. in Room E1.016 at the Texas Capitol to hear the following interim charges:

Property Tax Reform: Review the effect of Senate Bill 2 (86th Legislature), the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act of 2019, and related legislation passed by the 87th Legislature. Make recommendations for further property tax reform and relief.

Efficiency Audits: Study the concept of efficiency audits for cities, counties and special purpose districts and under what circumstances they should be performed. Evaluate whether efficiency audits provide Texans tools to combat wasteful government spending and report whether they are needed before local government tax ratification elections.

Appraisal Reform: Review the implementation of Senate Bill 63, House Bill 988, and other related legislation passed by 87th Legislature. Make recommendations to ensure appraisal guidelines are effective and taxpayers have enforcement mechanisms.

The committee will limit public testimony to three minutes and will be accepting written comments that are submitted in-person only. The League has been invited to testify on the property tax reform charge and will be submitting written comments on other charges that will be published in next week’s Legislative Update.  


house and senate committee interim hearings

The Texas House and Senate Committees are underway studying interim charges outlined by Speaker Phelan and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Below is a full list of committee hearings set to hear certain city-related charges. All hearings will be held at the Texas Capitol unless otherwise indicated. If a committee has newly posted notice and was not included in last week’s edition of the Legislative Update, it is indicated as such.

House Committee on State Affairs and Committee on Energy Resources

The two committees will meet jointly on Tuesday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m. to hear the following joint interim charge:

Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 87th Legislature. Conduct oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:

  • S.B. 3, relating to preparing for, preventing, and responding to weather emergencies and power outages.

Information on the hearing, including how to register and submit electronic comment, can be found here.


disclaimer

TML member cities may use the material herein for any purpose. No other person or entity may reproduce, duplicate, or distribute any part of this document without the written authorization of the Texas Municipal League.