by Elna Christopher
Director of Media Relations
The chairman of the powerful House Calendars Committee firmly encouraged county officials to keep him informed about the county impacts of bills that reach his committee.
Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi) said he intends to seek input on bills when they reach Calendars.
“I will open up the process, not the decisions. But you (will) have input,” Hunter told a crowd at the TAC Tuesday morning breakfast on Feb. 22.
The Calendars Committee is crucial to whether bills move to the floor or die in Calendars. The House system works like this: bills are first heard in the committee to which they are assigned (i.e. County Affairs, Ways and Means, etc.) and then go to Calendars. They must be passed out of Calendars to go to the floor for a full House vote (unless they are dubbed local bills, in which case they go to the Local and Consent Committee). Major bills with statewide impact go to Calendars.
Hunter said county officials should speak up on bills they support and bills they do not support.
He specifically mentioned Sunset bills that will encompass large agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and noted that many items could be hidden in those substantial and lengthy bills.
“Keep me posted on what you see,” he said. “Come by my office.” (The chairman’s room number is E2.808 in the Capitol Extension.) During the breakfast, the Justices of the Peace and Constables Association of Texas presented Hunter an award for his outstanding work during the previous legislative session. Hunter told the county officials that one-third of the House membership is new this session. “They don’t know what JPs do; they don’t know what constables do,” he said. “And they don’t know the constitutional responsibilities of counties.”
He said county officials must take the time to educate the new members about counties.
Jim Allison, general counsel to the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas (CJCAT), is urging counties with oil and gas properties to contact sponsors of bills that would correct a 2007 law that has caused under-valuation of oil and gas properties.
“Under the 2007 change in the Tax Code, the comptroller produces a ‘forecast’ of the estimated price of oil and gas for the coming year,” Allison wrote in a bulletin to county judges and commissioners. “That estimate is required to be used by the appraisal district in determining the value of oil and gas properties.
“During the past three years, the comptroller has produced an estimated forecast for oil prices that has averaged approximately 35 percent below the actual market price. This has resulted in the under-valuation of those properties and forced counties to either shift this burden to other taxpayers by increasing the tax rate or reduce the budget and services.
“Public education has lost over $1 billion in revenues due to this under-valuation,” Allison noted. Lost revenue for schools may concern legislators trying to wrestle with a possible $27 billion shortfall.
“During the last session, Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio), Rep. Tryon Lewis (R-Odessa) and other legislators attempted to correct this language in the Tax Code,” Allison continued. “With opposition from the industry, their bill did not make it. They are willing to try again. However, they need to hear from your county if you still consider this to be an important issue.”
Lewis has filed HB 889 to correct the under-valuations. It has been referred to House Ways and Means, but no hearing has been set. Uresti is expected to file the Senate version shortly, so now is an opportune time to contact him.
Allison asks that concerned county officials send e-mails or faxes to Uresti (carlos.uresti@senate.state.tx.us; fax: (512) 463-1017) and Lewis (tryon.lewis@house.state.tx.us; fax: (512) 463-8067) to show them that you consider the reforms a priority matter.
Affected counties should also contact their own legislators, urging them to support Uresti and Lewis so that the reforms do become a priority item during a very crowded legislative session.
Allison concluded with a request to communicate with legislators as soon as possible since legislative priorities will be set soon. If you e-mail or fax on this matter, please send copies to Jim Allison, general counsel, County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas (j.allison@allison-bass.com; fax (512) 480-0902) and Aurora Flores in the TAC Legislative Department (aurorafo@county.org; fax (512) 478-0519).
We have reached a critical time in the legislative budget process, and it is extremely important for county officials to contact their legislators and let them know how proposed state budget cuts would negatively affect counties and their taxpayers.
Members of House Appropriations and Senate Finance are currently making decisions about which cuts to make to the state budget (HB 1/SB 1). As currently written, many of these cuts will detrimentally affect how Texas counties operate, placing further strains on county budgets and local taxpayers.
To assist you in having precise information with which to talk to your lawmakers, TAC has prepared information regarding the impact of the proposed budget cuts on county government. The budget documents will be periodically revised and updated as needed.
We strongly encourage you to use these documents to determine how the state budget cuts will affect the operations of your individual county and communicate this information to your legislators.
Please let TAC know the outcome of your contact with your legislator and whether there is any additional information we may provide to you or your legislators. Contact Haley Click at (800) 456-5974 or haleyc@county.org to relay this information to us.
By Nanette Forbes
TAC Legislative Staff
Since population updates from the U.S. Census were released Feb. 17, counties that have shifted into another population bracket may find themselves faced with additional statutory responsibilities, or conversely, they may find certain statutory provisions no longer applicable.
During the 2011 Legislative Session, the Texas Legislative Council will draft legislation to amend specific statutes, effectively updating population bracketed laws so that they will continue to apply to the same political subdivisions as originally intended. This process is completed after every decennial census.
In the 2001 Legislative Session, opponents to HB 2810, which was drafted to adjust specific statutory population figures to conform to the 2000 Census, argued that the process of updating population brackets was not all-inclusive. In 2001, the standard used for determining which statutes would be revised by the bill was whether five or fewer political subdivisions would be affected by the population definition in the statute. The Legislative Council is expected to use the same standard for this year’s process.
During the 77th Legislative Session (2001), the Legislature extended the acceptance date of the federal census data to Sept. 1 of the following calendar year to allow political subdivisions an opportunity to receive the census data and determine whether the population limits are necessary (TEX. GOV’T CODE, §2058.001.).
Accordingly, the recognition of population changes in statutory provisions will not become effective until Sept. 1, 2011. TAC will continue to monitor this matter and will release an update when legislation updating population bracketed laws has been filed.
For more information, contact Nanette Forbes, legislative liaison, at nanettef@county.org or (800) 456-5974.
By Tim Brown CIP
Senior Analyst
House committees have started to hear bills and timelines for responding to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) are growing shorter as a result, which is why it’s important for TAC to receive your fiscal impact information as soon as possible.
For example, earlier this week TAC State Financial Analyst Paul Emerson had a four-hour turn around time on information he provided to the LBB for HB 215 by Rep. Pete Gallego, relating to photograph and live lineup identification procedures in criminal cases.
TAC received the LBB request Monday afternoon, Feb. 21, and Emerson responded the same day. The LBB produced the official fiscal note that same evening. The next day, HB 215 was heard, substituted and passed out of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. Emerson and I are currently working on the following bills:
Emerson:
Brown:
To provide fiscal impact information, please contact Tim Brown at timb@county.org or call (800) 456-5974. Send information on Paul Emerson’s bills to paule@county.org or (800) 456-5974.