Committee advances bill to create statewide database of local bond elections

The Senate Committee on Local Government voted to report House Bill 103, a proposal to create a statewide, publicly accessible database of local bond and tax‑election information administered by the Texas Comptroller in coordination with the Bond Review Board.

Senator M. Ben Cook moved the committee to report the bill to the full Senate. The clerk’s roll call recorded the committee’s recommendation, with the chair announcing, “There being 4 ayes, 1 nay, House Bill 103 will be reported back to the full Senate with the recommendation to pass and be printed.”

Supporters told the committee the database would centralize historical and current information on bond issues, election outcomes, proposed bond language, projected tax impacts, and accounting of bond proceeds. A witness identified as James Quintero argued the move toward centralization would help voters and researchers understand the scale of local borrowing; he provided data points showing several recent elections asking voters to consider tens of billions of dollars in new principal debt over recent cycles.

Ruben Longoria, representing the Texas Association of School Boards, told the committee the association supports centralized access but asked the panel to coordinate reporting requirements with other bills that would require submissions to different agencies so local governments would not face duplicate reporting burdens.

The committee’s favorable recommendation moves the bill to the Senate floor for further consideration.