Officials oppose SB 2, unfunded mandates, court record database

March 08--County government officials want their money and their records to stay local.

The Nueces County Commissioners Court Wednesday voted unanimously to oppose additional unfunded state mandates, the use of a public court record database and restrictions on county revenue via a proposed senate bill.

Senate Bill 2, cited as the Texas Property Tax Reform and Relief Act of 2017, has been proposed by the Texas Senate and will be voted on March 15. The bill has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives.

The bill would put a revenue cap on the amount that the county can tax for properties. According to the county resolution, 14 percent of the average taxpayer's property tax burden is due to county taxes.

County Judge Loyd Neal said the bill is an intrusion in the ability of the counties and cities to govern.

The bill is proposing several amendments to the state tax code, including Section 40 -- Local Government Code. Sections 140.010(d) and (e) would be amended to read that "a county or municipality that proposes a property tax rate that does not exceed the rollback tax rate."

"Any time you try to restrict the amount of revenue you have or cause an artificial restriction in the amount of revenue, it restricts the common things we do every day," Neal said. "(For example,) we don't want to have a restriction on the ability to respond to emergencies, or any of the things the county does on a regular basis."

The county's signed resolution lists a number of underfunded or unfunded state mandates including indigent health care, indigent defense, and also federal mandates like the Clean Air Act.

The county also voted to oppose additional unfunded state mandates on counties and cities. If signed into law, Senate Bill 2 would be an unfunded mandate, the resolution said.

"(These are) anything mandated by state or federal government that doesn't have a way or funding source from outside the local taxpayer," Neal said. "We're constantly looking at legislation for any requirements ... passed down to cities or counties, by law or statute, with no money attached to it."

Officials argue that Texas counties cannot achieve reliable financial planning and the necessary bond ratings sufficient to support county-related obligations when the state mandates new programs that are not fully funded or under conditions where the state reduces funding or disbursement, according to the resolution.

Commissioner John Marez has plans to testify against Senate Bill 2 in Austin. He said it's important for Nueces County and all counties in Texas to oppose this legislation.

"To me, it's worth it. The more perspective they get from different counties will make the senators reconsider this proposal," Marez said.

Also Wednesday, the court officially opposed an initiative by the Office of Court Administration called "re:SearchTX." The online database contains court records from across the state, which is now possible through legislation passed last session requiring counties to digitally file court documents.

The database is only available to Texas judges but will soon be available to lawyers. District Clerk Anne Lorentzen said eventually it would be accessible by the public.

Tyler Technologies, a Plano-based company, updated the county's case management system last year. There was a requirement in its contract to delete the images of the court files after six months. Lorentzen said the company has kept the document images since February 2016.

"We consider that a breach of contract," Lorentzen said. "I feel very strongly about being the custodian of all the court records from way back to present. The Texas constitution is very specific about what we do, and so are some other statutes. We feel (Tyler Technologies is) doing this simply for making some money."

Commissioner Mike Pusley said he felt torn on the subject because he feels that providing access to public records is important, but he understands the need for control on how those records are dispensed.

Lorentzen said that 163 counties across Texas have written letters opposing the initiative, and House Bill 1258 was introduced on behalf of district and county clerks to prohibit any kind of action from an outside agency, or state agency, to take authority from county government officials.

Lorentzen said that expunged records or nondisclosure agreements could be made accessible by judges, lawyers and the public through this database, which Commissioner Joe A. Gonzalez opposed.

"That can be a detriment to some people if those records are not kept confidential," Gonzalez said. "I'm concerned about people that have been expunged, and (the records) are made open record. They're going to be in a position where their livelihood is stained with that."

The commissioners voted unanimously to write a single letter to detail their opposition on the three items and to include the three county resolutions. Pusley also suggested a written letter to Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-Corpus Christi; Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi; and Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown.

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