State Affairs:
SB 61
County Emergency Authority: Allows counties to adopt an internal plan for delegation of administrative authorities, chain of succession to cover essential county functions, and meeting procedures during a catastrophic event or declared disaster. (House sponsor: Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio); Effective immediately.
SB 64
Political Action Committee Contribution Reform: Closes a loophole in the Election Code by requiring PACs to disclose contributions of more than $5,000 during the last nine days of a campaign, which is an identical requirement of candidates and their committees. (House sponsor: Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin); Effective 9/1/07.
SB 1499
Posting for Local Governments: Allows the suspension of Open Meeting posting requirements for governing bodies of communities that are expecting to receive large numbers of evacuees displaced by a catastrophic disaster. (House sponsor: Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio); Effective immediately.
SB 1502
Emergency Services District Rate Tax Increases: Encourages the provision of emergency services by allowing an emergency services district (ESD) governing board to increase the sales tax in a part of its service area that has not reached the two percent statutory cap. (Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin); Effective immediately.
HB 590
Conflicts of Interest: Clarifies and strengthens ethical standards that apply to state officials and employees by promoting consistent ethical policies among state agencies. (House author: Rep. Dianne Delisi, R-Temple); Effective 9/1/07.
HB 842
Financial Statements of Judicial Officers: Requires the Texas Ethics Commission to remove the address of a judge or justice from a financial statement before permitting a member of the public to view the statement. (House author: Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo); Effective immediately.
