Several bills impact general government operations for cities

This week saw the passage of bills impacting election reimbursements, municipal conflicts of interest, utility tax disclosures, and breach notification requirements.

HB 2421 requires the state to reimburse counties their prorated share of costs to conduct state and federal elections. The bill allows for all entities to share in the cost of elections, adding the state as an additional entity that will share the costs of administering elections. However, cities are now responsible for covering their share of the costs for return postage on ballots. HB 2421 passed both the House and Senate and is now headed to the Governor for signature.

HB 2889 requires cities operating their own water, sewer, wastewater, or stormwater utility to disclose fees or taxes assessed on the gross revenue of the utility. Cities can issue the disclosure on regular billing statements, on the city’s website, or through a billing insert. HB 2889 passed both the House and Senate and is now headed to the Governor for signature.

SB 6187 expands breach notification requirements to include the last four digits of a resident’s SSN. Currently, cities are required to notify residents if their full social security number, among other identifying information, is compromised during a data breach. SB 6187 passed both the House and Senate and is now headed to the Governor for signature.

SB 6326 amends exceptions to rules covering municipal officers' conflict of interest allowing municipal employment of unskilled day labor of up to $1,000 per month (previously limited to $200) and permits an employment contract for substitute teachers or educational aides to an officer of the district in second-class school districts with 300 or fewer students (previously limited to 200 or fewer). SB 6326 passed both the House and Senate and is now headed to the Governor for signature.