The Annual State Conference in Houston adopted the following items to be developed as amendments to legislation:
Remove the Interest and Sinking Fund amount from the General Revenue Tax Levy that is part of the 8 percent levy for indigent health care.
Allow counties to retain a proportionate amount of funds from fine and fee collections when the county collects from its own collections effort.
Direct a study by the CJCAT general counsel, the Texas Association of Counties, or the Legislature to determine the amount of local resources that are spent for the support of state agencies such as Community Corrections and Supervision (Adult Probation), Department of Public Safety, Texas Cooperative Extension, etc.
Revise the definition in Chapter 387 of the Local Government Code regarding “Special Assistance Districts” to allow any county to be eligible to collect sales tax in the areas that have not reached the 8.25 percent cap.
Request that the Texas Legislature immediately appropriate the needed funds to provide the matching amount required to pull down additional federal election grant funds to meet requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
The State Conference also expressed its support on several other legislative issues through the resolutions adopted and printed in this edition of County Progress.
For more information, please call me at 1-800-733-0699.
Jim Allison, General Counsel CJCAT