LEGISLATIVE NOTEBOOK
Combs backs transparency
Voters would be regularly informed about pension obligations and other local government debt under legislation promoted Wednesday by Comptroller Susan Combs.
Appearing at a Capitol news conference with lawmakers who agreed to sponsor legislation at her request, Combs outlined one bill that would require government entities seeking voter approval of new bonds to disclose on the ballot how much debt already existed and another that would force pension boards to make public their investment returns and obligations.
In her travels around the state, Combs said she routinely asked groups of voters if they knew how much debt their local governments had incurred. “Not one person in one town had that information,” she said. She said it was imperative voters know what cities, counties and school districts are already obligated to pay “before they vote in more debt.”
Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, will sponsor legislation requiring the debt disclosure and prohibiting governments from issuing certificates of obligation for projects rejected by voters. Williams said he’d been contacted by constituents concerned that some local governments are circumventing the will of the voters by issuing certificates of obligation.
Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Katy, will sponsor a bill requiring local pension boards to open up their books, saying “people who pay the bills need to understand what’s happening.”
The bills also target “special purpose districts,” which Combs said are proliferating. “It’s difficult for the average taxpayer to determine who’s taxing them and how much,” she said. All taxing entities would be required to post revenues, expenditures and detailed information about debt.
Bill to restrict drones in Texas
A Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it more difficult to use unmanned aerial drones in Texas.
Terrell Republican Lance Gooden wants to make it illegal to use a drone to monitor private property without express permission or a search warrant.
Gooden’s proposed law would restrict drone operators from collecting not only images but also sounds and smells.
Drones are best known for their military application in Iraq and Afghanistan. Federal law enforcement has begun using drones along the border with Mexico, and the Texas Department of Public Safety has started using drones.
Hobbyists also have begun mounting cameras on remote-control aircraft, creating privacy concerns.
Those found guilty of using a drone illegally would be guilty of a Class Cmisdemeanor for every image they possess.
Soda tax eyed for school funding
A San Antonio lawmaker has filed a bill that would levy a pennyper-ounce tax on sugary drinks, amove he says would raise up to $2 billion in public education funding.
State Rep. Joe Farias filed HB 779 last week in hopes of establishing a new recurring funding mechanism for public schools in the state. He said he is “willing to take the heat” of levying a new tax in a conservative state in order to fund student health initiatives.
Under his bill, tax revenuewould go into Children’s Health Promotio n Account. Of that, 80 percent would go to the Texas Education Agency for school health programs. The remaining 20 percent would be the Department of State Health Services’ to use for training and assistance of the public school programs.
Coffee, no-calorie diet drinks, vegetable and fruit juices, drinks with more than 0.5 percent alcohol, sports drinks, unsweetened milk and baby formula are exempt from the tax.
Farias said the intent of the bill is not to discourage Texans from drinking sodas.