Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2212 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 2212
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the division of certain emergency services districts.
6	6	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
7	7	SECTION 1. Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code, is amended
8	8	by adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
9	9	SUBCHAPTER I. DIVISION OF DISTRICT
10	10	Sec. 775.221. AUTHORITY TO DIVIDE DISTRICT. The board of a
11	11	district located wholly in one county with a population of 20,000 or
12	12	less may create a new district by disannexing territory from the
13	13	existing district and ordering a new district to be created in the
14	14	disannexed territory in the manner provided by this subchapter.
15	15	Sec. 775.222. PETITION FOR DIVISION; NOTICE OF HEARING.
16	16	(a) Before the existing district may be divided, the district's
17	17	board must receive a petition for division signed by at least seven
18	18	percent of the district's qualified voters or at least 100 of the
19	19	district's qualified voters, whichever is the lesser number.
20	20	(b) A petition for division must include:
21	21	(1) the name of the new district to be created; and
22	22	(2) a description of the territory proposed to be the
23	23	new district's territory.
24	24	(c) On receipt of a petition in the proper form, the board
25	25	shall set a place, date, and time for a hearing to consider the
26	26	petition.
27	27	(d) The board shall issue a notice of the hearing that
28	28	includes:
29	29	(1) the name of the proposed district;
30	30	(2) a description of the proposed district's
31	31	boundaries; and
32	32	(3) the place, date, and time of the hearing on the
33	33	petition.
34	34	(e) The board shall publish the notice in a newspaper of
35	35	general circulation in the district once a week for two consecutive
36	36	weeks. The first publication must occur not later than the 21st day
37	37	before the date on which the hearing will be held.
38	38	Sec. 775.223. HEARING ON DIVISION OF DISTRICT. (a) At the
39	39	hearing on the petition for division of the existing district, the
40	40	board shall consider the petition and each issue relating to the
41	41	division of the district.
42	42	(b) Any interested person may appear before the board to
43	43	support or oppose the division.
44	44	(c) If the board finds that the petition contains the number
45	45	of signatures required under Section 775.222(a), the board shall
46	46	approve the petition not later than the 10th day after the date of
47	47	the hearing.
48	48	Sec. 775.224. APPEAL. A resident of the district or an
49	49	owner of real or personal property located in the district may
50	50	appeal the board's decision on the division of the district by
51	51	filing an appeal in the district court in the county in which a
52	52	district is located only on the basis that the board incorrectly
53	53	tabulated the number of signatures on the petition.
54	54	Sec. 775.225. ELECTION TO CONFIRM DIVISION. (a) On
55	55	granting a petition to divide the district, the board shall order an
56	56	election to be held in the territory of the proposed new district to
57	57	confirm the division of the existing district.
58	58	(b) Notice of the election shall be given in the same manner
59	59	as the notice of hearing under Section 775.222.
60	60	(c) The election shall be held on the first authorized
61	61	uniform election date prescribed by the Election Code that allows
62	62	sufficient time to comply with the requirements of law.
63	63	(d) The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or
64	64	against the proposition: "Dividing the ________ Emergency Services
65	65	District to create a new emergency services district."
66	66	(e) If a majority of voters voting at the election vote to
67	67	divide the district, the board shall order the division.
68	68	(f) If a majority of those voting at the election vote
69	69	against dividing the existing district, the board may not order
70	70	another election on the issue before the first anniversary of the
71	71	date of the canvass of the election.
72	72	(g) The existing district and the new district each shall
73	73	pay a pro rata share of the cost of an election held under this
74	74	section, based on the assessed value of real property in each
75	75	district subject to ad valorem taxation.
76	76	Sec. 775.226. DIVISION ORDER. A board order to divide a
77	77	district must:
78	78	(1) disannex the land of the new district from the
79	79	existing district contingent on the approval of the creation of the
80	80	new district at the election held under this subchapter;
81	81	(2) create the new district in accordance with this
82	82	chapter;
83	83	(3) name the new district; and
84	84	(4) include the metes and bounds description of the
85	85	territory of the new district and the existing district after
86	86	disannexation.
87	87	Sec. 775.227. ADMINISTRATION OF DISTRICTS AFTER DIVISION.
88	88	(a) The existing board continues in existence to govern the
89	89	territory of the existing district after disannexation.
90	90	(b) If the new district is located wholly in one county, the
91	91	commissioners court shall appoint a board in the manner described
92	92	by Section 775.034 not later than the 14th day after the date of the
93	93	board order dividing the district.
94	94	Sec. 775.228. TAXATION FOR OUTSTANDING BONDED DEBT. The
95	95	disannexation of territory from a district under this subchapter
96	96	does not diminish or impair the rights of the holders of any
97	97	outstanding and unpaid bonds, warrants, or other obligations of
98	98	that district. Property disannexed under this subchapter is not
99	99	released from its pro rata share of any of the district's bonded
100	100	indebtedness on the date of the disannexation, and the district may
101	101	continue to tax property in the disannexed territory until that
102	102	debt is paid as if the territory had not been disannexed.
103	103	Sec. 775.229. FURTHER DIVISION PROHIBITED. Once a district
104	104	has been divided under this subchapter, neither the existing
105	105	district nor the new district may be divided under this subchapter.
106	106	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
107	107	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
108	108	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
109	109	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
110	110	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
111	111	______________________________ ______________________________
112	112	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
113	113	I certify that H.B. No. 2212 was passed by the House on May 5,
114	114	2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
115	115	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
116	116	No. 2212 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
117	117	2 present, not voting.
118	118	______________________________
119	119	Chief Clerk of the House
120	120	I certify that H.B. No. 2212 was passed by the Senate, with
121	121	amendments, on May 27, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
122	122	0.
123	123	______________________________
124	124	Secretary of the Senate
125	125	APPROVED: __________________
126	126	Date
127	127	__________________
128	128	Governor