Senate Committee on Local Government
NOTE: This is archived committee information from the 87th Legislative Session.
Committee Information
CHAIR
Paul Bettencourt
VICE-CHAIR
José Menéndez
MEMBERS
Sarah Eckhardt
Roland Gutierrez
Bob Hall
Robert Nichols
Angela Paxton
Drew Springer
Judith Zaffirini
TEL:
(512) 463-2527
LOCATION:
Sam Houston Building, 475
Video/Audio — Archives
87th Session Interim
87th Second Called Session
87th First Called Session
87th Regular Session
- May 21, 2021 (Part I, Part II)
- May 19, 2021
- May 17, 2021 (Part I, Part II)
- May 12, 2021
- May 10, 2021
- May 3, 2021
- April 28, 2021 — Audio only.
- April 26, 2021
- April 22, 2021 — Audio only.
- April 19, 2021 (Part I, Part II)
- April 12, 2021 (Part I, Part II)
- April 6, 2021
- March 29, 2021 (Part I, Part II)
- March 25, 2021 — Audio only
- March 22, 2021 (Part I, Part II)
- March 15, 2021
- March 8, 2021
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bond Elections: Review and report on voter participation and bond election result differences between November and May elections. Make recommendations for improved voter turnout, increased election efficiencies, and better accountability of local debt.
- Taxpayer Funded Lobbying: 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ballot Language: Study the development of the language used for constitutional amendment and local ballot propositions. Recommend changes to make ballot propositions more easily understood by voters.
