Under Chairman Royce West the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee (IGR) met on Thursday, May 13, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. Some of the charges discussed during the hearing include:
Senate Interim Charge 3:
Review the process and costs for local governments to make government information available online. Consider ways to encourage local governments to provide more transparency, including the Comptroller’s experience with transparency and her offer to assist local governments, and consider penalties for entities that fail to comply with the online requirement.
There were three separate panels (the Comptroller, the Office of the Attorney General, various representatives from cities) which spoke on the online transparency charge.
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs spoke on the various online transparency programs her office has put in place. For example, in October 2007 the Comptroller’s office launched Where the Money Goes, the online checkbook register for the state. It is refreshed every night and approximately half-billion dollars a day is tracked. “Where the Money Comes From” illustrates where funding comes from and was recently launched. Additionally, in regards to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), the Comptroller’s Office is working with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), for all of its financial planning, as well as the Texas Health and Human Services System (HHSC) for all of its payroll systems and HR with an expected completion date by the end of fiscal 2011. Combs continued her testimony on her plans for various transparency databases “tools” that are and will be made available to the public.
Some members on the committee were concerned about the following issues:
• How quickly the information would be updated;
• The ability to ensure complete transparency which would include the ability to track the spending of bond funds, among other things; and
• That the information provided is accurate.
West asked if there should be a statutory requirement for local entities to put information online and should there be a penalty, if any, if they do not comply with online reporting. Combs cautioned against a one size fits all solution.
Johnathan Frehls, Deputy Attorney General (AG), offered testimony on the public information act (PIA) and open records. West asked about social mediums (ie Tweeting, Facebook, smart phone, etc) and current AG’s position. Frehls says electronic communication made in connection with government official business may be subject to the PIA. There are currently two cases pending in state district court which may add additional clarity.
The local entity panel discussed various steps taken to ensure transparency online. Paul Sugg from the Texas Association of Counties reiterated Combs comments, noting that not one size fits all. He did note that local entities are making strides towards continued online transparency and improving access to information. Sugg’s reminded the committee members of the need to redact personal information before certain information is released and that the amount of time or personnel needed can be a barrier for some counties.
Lesa Crosswhite, Taylor County Treasurer, spoke about limitations smaller counties have in posting information online which could include limited bandwidth, limited personnel and resources.
Senate Interim Charge 7:
Review the types of support state government can provide to assist local government consolidations with county governments. Evaluate budget implications for city and county government consolidations. Research the appropriateness and cost savings of eliminating duplicity between city and county governments in different regions of the state.
With regard to local government consolidations, a witness panel of local government officials explained the authority in current law for cities and counties to enter into inter-local contracts for the purpose of providing services jointly. There appeared to be little enthusiasm for mandated consolidation among the witnesses and committee members.
Senate Interim Charge 9:
Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, 81st Legislature, Regular and Called Sessions, and make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, and/or complete implementation. -Monitor the use of the expanded funds provided by the 81st Legislature to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
A review of ARRA funding directed to various programs in the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) was offered. Mike Gerber, Executive Director of TDHCA, spoke on several of the programs and problems in getting funds out. In regards to certain disaster funds, TDHCA must also work with HUD in getting funding out. Round II of Ike Funding was specifically reviewed. Federal data said certain areas of the state were overfunded and, as a result, HUD rejected the state’s initial plan. TDHCA is working on a conciliation agreement to continue to move forward and working on readjusting allocations to get more into alignment with federal numbers. Gerber spoke to ARRA funding and gave a brief overview of the TDHCA’s programs, including WAP and disaster funding. 33 sub-recipients and 11 large cities and are just shy of 5,000 completed units. Gerber notes they had a rocky start due to guidelines coming out slowly from the federal government but they are now seeing progress. TDHCA has also issued a Request for Applications (RFA) to expand network of providers including statewide, regional, and county providers who can backstop the current provider network.
Gerber said he will talk to the workforce committee who is tracking whom is being hired. He will report his findings back to the committee so they can determine if people from the local area are being hired to work on weatherization projects.
Workgroups will begin meeting now and the next meeting of IGR will take place in September.