Agenda Packet TC 06/07/2010 - Supplement1
May 14, 2010
Number 4
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE PONDERS
TRUTH-IN-TAXATION AND APPRAISAL CAPS
On April 14, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to discuss, among other issues, the following interim
charges: “Methods to increase public participation in the tax rate-setting process” and the “[r]equirement that
property appraisal values may not increase by more than inflation and/or population growth or another amount to be
determined by local taxing authorities, with a maximum cap of 10 percent.”
As to the first of these charges, some members of the committee and various witnesses claimed that the effective and
rollback property tax rate calculations have become so cluttered with “carve-outs” and other exceptions that local
governments can secretly raise taxes without the public knowing about it. It was also claimed that cities and
counties were responsible for these “carve-outs” and that TML and other organizations are to blame for fighting
against truth-in-taxation legislation generally. (Click here
http://www.wwwebinars.com/StateFinanceClips/SenateCommitteeonFinance.swf
to hear TML blamed for fighting truth-in-taxation and to hear cities blamed for their “boundless avarice” when it
comes to property taxes.) In reality, most of the exceptions to the effective and rollback rate formulas were either:
(1) responses to unfunded state mandates placed on cities and counties, or (2) necessary adjustments to hold cities
harmless when the legislature took property off the tax rolls through state-enacted property tax exemptions. Many
“carve-outs” were done administratively by the state comptroller in response to new state laws. In other words, if the
effective and rollback rate calculations are confusing, it’s because of legislative mandates and tax exemptions, not
city actions.
The committee also considered lowering appraisal caps from the ten percent in current law to some lower figure, but
there wasn’t as much interest in this topic. The massive fiscal hit that the state budget would receive by removing
taxable value from school district tax rolls makes appraisal caps a tough sell.
APPLICATION PERIOD FOR 2010 ASSISTANCE TO
FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS NOW OPEN
The United States Department of Homeland Security recently announced the availability of $390 million in
Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) to local fire departments nationwide. Fundable activities under the grant
program include firefighter training, firefighting equipment acquisition, firefighter wellness and fitness, and
modification to fire stations and facilities. The application deadline for AFG funding is Friday, May 28, 2010, at
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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General information on the AFG program can be found in the Guidance and Application Kit at
http://www.firegrantsupport.com/docs/2010_AFGguidance.pdf. For additional information, including a link to the
application itself, please visit http://www.firegrantsupport.com/content/html/afg/.
ACCESS LINES AND ANNEXATION: AT&T
RIGHT-OF-WAY OFFICE RELOCATES
Chapter 283 of the Texas Local Government Code requires that certificated telecommunications providers (CTPs)
pay cities quarterly based on the number of “access lines” located in the city. While there are many CTPs, AT&T is
the largest in the state.
When a city annexes territory, the newly-included area may have access lines. In order for a city to be properly
compensated for the inclusion of the access lines, the city should notify any CTPs that may be providing service in
the current city limits that, if the CTP also has access lines in the newly-annexed area, it must begin additional
compensation to the city accordingly.
The External Affairs/Municipal Relations Department of AT&T Texas has recently moved its office. AT&T has
asked TML to give notice to those cities served by AT&T that any right-of-way and annexation ordinances should
now be sent to:
AT&T – EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Angela Thornton/Bob Garza
275 N. Greenville Ave, Ste. 200
Richardson, Texas 75081
AT&T asks that, to speed the processing of annexations that impact access line counts, cities provide the following
information:
• A signed copy of the annexation ordinance.
• A list of street names and address ranges that are being annexed.
• A detailed map that clearly depicts street configuration, street names, and the geographical perspective to the
surrounding area. (If property is vacant with no streets, the city should include a written notation of that fact.)
A city that annexes property should also notify the PUC (www.puc.state.tx.us) so that the information can be posted
on the PUC’s website. City officials with questions about reporting to AT&T should contact Angela Thornton with
AT&T at 972-234-7005 or at3161@att.com.
PROPANE ASSOCIATION ATTACKS CITY REGULATION
The House Energy Resources Committee met on Friday, April 30, 2010, to consider an interim charge regarding the
establishment of uniform statutes relating to liquid petroleum gas. In addition to regulation of propane gas by the
Texas Railroad Commission, current law allows cities to regulate propane, and cities do so in varying ways based on
their specific location and topography. These municipal regulations naturally result in local rules that vary from city
to city. This fact led to objections from the Texas Propane Gas Association (TPGA) at the hearing.
During the April 30 hearing, the TPGA executive director objected to these regulatory inconsistencies and stated
support for propane “regulation that is rigorous, consistent, rational, and science-based as set forth in the
International Fire Code, NFPA 58, and the rules and regulations of the Railroad Commission of Texas.” Leonard
Smith, a representative of the TPGA, explained the association’s desire to establish an end to local rules that deviate
from national, international, and statewide standards and cited five cities as having “unreasonable, inconsistent and
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unfair local rules” (such as an ordinance allowing the use of propane to heat pools, but not homes). The TPGA also
proposes to abolish local regulations that demonstrate a bias or preference for a form of energy other than propane
gas (such as one city’s ordinance prohibiting the use of propane where natural gas is available within 200 feet).
Local flexibility is essential in this area, and municipalities need the continued ability to regulate propane gas based
on location and topography in order to ensure public health, safety, and welfare. TML will continue to monitor this
issue as it pertains to Texas cities. To listen to the House Energy Resources Committee’s discussion of propane
regulation, please CLICK HERE.
http://www.wwwebinars.com/Propane/TMLLegislativePropaneVideoClip.swf
CITY FUNDING OF CONTINUATION
OF HEALTH BENEFITS IS EXTENDED AGAIN
Federal requirements that employers pay for a portion of COBRA health benefits have been extended through May
31, 2010. Currently, an eligible employee is one whose reduction of hours causes a loss of health coverage and who
is then terminated on or after March 2, 2010, through May 31, 2010. Also, an individual whose reduction in hours
caused a loss of health coverage and who was terminated is eligible to sign up for continuation of health coverage
under COBRA and to receive the subsidy from the city, if the individual did not elect COBRA continuation
coverage when it was first offered or elected but subsequently discontinued COBRA. In the past, a city was not
responsible for paying for that continued health coverage under COBRA, but could do so if it chose to.
However, a new law, passed as part of last year’s federal stimulus package, requires cities to pay 65 percent of the
cost of the continued health benefits if an employee is involuntarily terminated for a reason other than misconduct.
The city is then reimbursed for the payment through its payroll taxes.
For more information, go to http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html. This topic is also discussed in the Legal Q&A
section of the February issue of Texas Town & City magazine.
Please contact Laura Mueller at the TML Legal Department with questions at (512) 231-7400 or laura@tml.org.
FEDERALIZED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BILL IS IN COMMITTEE
IN THE HOUSE; SENATE BILL REINTRODUCED
H.R. 413, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009, is pending in a subcommittee in the
United States House of Representatives. On March 10, Ellis Hankins, executive director of the North Carolina
League of Municipalities, testified before the subcommittee in opposition to the bill. The bill would mandate
collective bargaining for public safety officers, regardless of state and local laws. The bill has not yet been sent to
the House floor.
On April 12, 2010, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reintroduced the nearly identical Public Safety Employer-
Employee Cooperation Act of 2009 (S.3194) under a rule that allows the bill to bypass the committee process and
go straight to the Senate floor for a vote. Once both chambers have adopted the same version of bill it will be sent to
the President for his signature.
H.R. 413 and S.3194 have not yet come to a vote in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate. To track H.R. 413, click here
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-413]. To track S.3194, click here
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3194]. To read Ellis Hankins’ written testimony click here
http://nlc.staging.10floor.com/ASSETS/FAD20EEA6FFF4AD2897F850965AD6924/Hankins%20Testimony%20B
efore%20the%20House%20HELP%20Subcommittee%20Final.pdf.
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FEDERAL HEALTH CARE REFORM
BILL WILL AFFECT CITIES
On March 23, 2010, the President signed into law a bill that, over the next five years, is expected to fundamentally
change health care. City-provided health plans will be affected in the same way as other employer health plans
including new coverage requirements, new benefit requirements, limits on restrictions for pre-existing conditions,
and other mandates. Also, any city that does not provide its employees with qualified health insurance plans will
have to pay some type of penalty. Cities will still be allowed to maintain their current health insurance programs or
self-coverage so long as they meet criteria that all employers will have to meet.
For additional analysis of the bill, see the National League of Cities memorandum that was sent to the state leagues
after the bill was signed into law: http://www.tml.org/legal_pdf/20100326-HealthCareReform-NLC-Cities.pdf.
As more information becomes available, TML will provide additional guidance in a future issue of the TML
Legislative Update, or in the Texas Town & City magazine.
COMMITTEE LOOKS AT FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
On May 11, League staff was invited to testify on the following interim charge before the Senate State Affairs
Committee:
Study the Public Information Act and the Open Meetings Act to ensure that government continues to
operate in a way that is open and transparent. The study should consider how advances in technology
and the emergence of various forms of social media (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) have affected
communications by and within governmental bodies.
The League’s testimony dealt with the legal pitfalls of social media Web sites when used by mayors and city
councilmembers, and it appeared to be well-received. Several media organizations testified as well.
An interesting addition to the hearing came during public testimony. A representative from Americans for
Prosperity (AFP) testified that “city officials want to use social media to get around the Open Meetings Act, and in
doing so, they want to take the teeth out of the Act.” In addition to making unsupported statements about city
officials and open government laws, the AFP representative launched into an unsolicited attack on “taxpayer funded
lobbying.”
According to its Web site, “Americans for Prosperity…are committed to educating citizens about economic policy
and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process.” In Texas, AFP’s mission would appear to
be limited to mobilizing citizens who do not serve as local elected officials. In other words, the only reasonable
interpretation of AFP’s position is that elected officials have no role as advocates in the public policy process.
A senator on the committee quickly came to the defense of cities, and refuted AFP’s nonsensical position. To view
the AFP testimony, which lasts about eight minutes, click here.
http://www.wwwebinars.com/StateFinanceClips/TMLCommitteeonStateAffairsClip.swf
TML member cities may use the material herein for any purpose.
No other person or entity may reproduce, duplicate, or distribute any part of this
document without the written authorization of the Texas Municipal League.