Several important bills affecting county government have been signed by the governor. A summary of these bills is listed below. Many of these bills are effective on Sept. 1 and will be discussed in later articles and conferences. However, the following were effective immediately and may need your attention:
HB 383 by Rep. Heflin allows bail bond boards in counties with less than 50,000 population to meet during January, April, July and October, instead of monthly.
HB 987 by Rep. Creighton increases the county bid limit to $50,000.
HB 2665 by Rep. Ritter authorizes commissioners court to adopt standards for address number signs in unincorporated areas and requires owners to install.
HB 2859 by Rep. Miller allows counties to sell surplus property with a value of $500 or less on an Internet auction without publishing a notice in the newspaper.
HB 3003 by Rep. Homer requires approval of the commissioners court to create a bail bond board in a county under 110,000 population.
HB 3896 by Rep. Oliveira clarifies that counties may grant tax abatements for leased and personal property and ratifies existing abatement agreements.
SB 2340 by Sen. Averitt allows commissioners court, judges and sheriff to establish an electronic monitoring program for county jail inmates.
Jim Allison