Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2788 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R21025 SJM-F
2	2	By: Miller of Comal, Bolton H.B. No. 2788
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the powers and duties of counties and emergency
8	8	services districts.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 775.0205(a), Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) If the territory in a district created under this
13	13	chapter overlaps with the boundaries of another district created
14	14	under this chapter [or a district created under Chapter 776], the
15	15	most recently created district may not provide services in the
16	16	overlapping territory that duplicate the services provided by the
17	17	other district at the time the overlapping district was created.
18	18	SECTION 2. Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code, is amended
19	19	by adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
20	20	SUBCHAPTER I. DIVISION OF DISTRICT
21	21	Sec. 775.221. AUTHORITY TO DIVIDE DISTRICT. The board of a
22	22	district located wholly in one county with a population of 125,000
23	23	or less may create a new district by disannexing territory from the
24	24	district and ordering a new district to be created in the disannexed
25	25	territory in the manner provided by this subchapter.
26	26	Sec. 775.222. PETITION FOR DIVISION; NOTICE OF HEARING.
27	27	(a) Before the district may be divided, the district's board must
28	28	receive a petition for division signed by at least seven percent of
29	29	the district's qualified voters or at least 100 of the district's
30	30	qualified voters, whichever is the lesser number.
31	31	(b) A petition for division must include:
32	32	(1) the name of the new district to be created; and
33	33	(2) a description of the territory proposed to be the
34	34	new district's territory.
35	35	(c) On receipt of a petition in the proper form, the board
36	36	shall set a place, date, and time for a hearing to consider the
37	37	petition.
38	38	(d) The board shall issue a notice of the hearing that
39	39	includes:
40	40	(1) the name of the proposed district;
41	41	(2) a description of the proposed district's
42	42	boundaries; and
43	43	(3) the place, date, and time of the hearing on the
44	44	petition.
45	45	(e) The board shall publish the notice in a newspaper of
46	46	general circulation in the district once a week for two consecutive
47	47	weeks. The first publication must occur not later than the 21st day
48	48	before the date on which the hearing will be held.
49	49	Sec. 775.223. HEARING ON DIVISION OF DISTRICT. (a) At the
50	50	hearing on the petition for division of the district, the board
51	51	shall consider the petition and each issue relating to the division
52	52	of the district.
53	53	(b) Any interested person may appear before the board to
54	54	support or oppose the division.
55	55	(c) If the board finds that the petition contains the number
56	56	of signatures required under Section 775.222(a), the board shall
57	57	approve the petition not later than the 10th day after the date of
58	58	the hearing.
59	59	Sec. 775.224. APPEAL. A resident of the district or an
60	60	owner of real or personal property located in the district may
61	61	appeal the board's decision on the division of the district by
62	62	filing an appeal in the district court in the county in which a
63	63	district is located only on the basis that the board incorrectly
64	64	tabulated the number of signatures on the petition.
65	65	Sec. 775.225. ELECTION TO CONFIRM DIVISION. (a) On
66	66	granting a petition to dissolve the district, the board shall order
67	67	an election to be held in the territory of the proposed new district
68	68	to confirm the division of the district.
69	69	(b) Notice of the election shall be given in the same manner
70	70	as the notice of hearing under Section 775.222.
71	71	(c) The election shall be held on the first authorized
72	72	uniform election date prescribed by the Election Code that allows
73	73	sufficient time to comply with the requirements of law.
74	74	(d) The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or
75	75	against the proposition: "Dividing the ________ Emergency Services
76	76	District to create a new emergency services district."
77	77	(e) If a majority of voters voting at the election vote to
78	78	divide the district, the board shall order the division.
79	79	(f) If a majority of those voting at the election vote
80	80	against dividing the district, the board may not order another
81	81	election on the issue before the first anniversary of the date of
82	82	the canvass of the election.
83	83	(g) The existing district and the new district each shall
84	84	pay a pro rata share of the cost of an election held under this
85	85	section, based on the assessed value of real property in each
86	86	district subject to ad valorem taxation.
87	87	Sec. 775.226. DIVISION ORDER. A board order to divide a
88	88	district must:
89	89	(1) disannex the land of the new district from the
90	90	existing district contingent on the approval of the creation of the
91	91	new district at the election held under this subchapter;
92	92	(2) create the new district in accordance with this
93	93	chapter;
94	94	(3) name the new district; and
95	95	(4) include the metes and bounds description of the
96	96	territory of the new district and the existing district after
97	97	disannexation.
98	98	Sec. 775.227. ADMINISTRATION OF DISTRICTS AFTER DIVISION.
99	99	(a) The existing board continues in existence to govern the
100	100	territory of the existing district after disannexation.
101	101	(b) If the new district is located wholly in one county, the
102	102	commissioners court shall appoint a board in the manner described
103	103	by Section 776.033 not later than the 14th day after the date of the
104	104	board order dividing the district.
105	105	Sec. 775.228. TAXATION FOR OUTSTANDING BONDED DEBT. The
106	106	disannexation of territory from a district under this subchapter
107	107	does not diminish or impair the rights of the holders of any
108	108	outstanding and unpaid bonds, warrants, or other obligations of
109	109	that district. Property disannexed under this subchapter is not
110	110	released from its pro rata share of any of the district's bonded
111	111	indebtedness on the date of the disannexation, and the district may
112	112	continue to tax property in the disannexed territory until that
113	113	debt is paid as if the territory had not been disannexed.
114	114	SECTION 3. Section 344.051(c), Local Government Code, is
115	115	amended to read as follows:
116	116	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a district may be
117	117	created inside the boundaries of an emergency services district
118	118	operating under Chapter 775 [or 776], Health and Safety Code, only
119	119	if the governing body of the emergency services district gives its
120	120	written consent by order or resolution not later than the 60th day
121	121	after the date the governing body receives a request for its
122	122	consent.
123	123	SECTION 4. Section 151.027(c), Tax Code, is amended to read
124	124	as follows:
125	125	(c) This section does not prohibit:
126	126	(1) the examination of information, if authorized by
127	127	the comptroller, by another state officer or law enforcement
128	128	officer, by a tax official of another state, by a tax official of
129	129	the United Mexican States, or by an official of the United States if
130	130	a reciprocal agreement exists;
131	131	(2) the delivery to a taxpayer, or a taxpayer's
132	132	authorized representative, of a copy of a report or other paper
133	133	filed by the taxpayer under this chapter;
134	134	(3) the publication of statistics classified to
135	135	prevent the identification of a particular report or items in a
136	136	particular report;
137	137	(4) the use of records, reports, or information
138	138	secured, derived, or obtained by the attorney general or the
139	139	comptroller in an action under this chapter against the same
140	140	taxpayer who furnished the information;
141	141	(5) the delivery to a successor, receiver, executor,
142	142	administrator, assignee, or guarantor of a taxpayer of information
143	143	about items included in the measure and amounts of any unpaid tax or
144	144	amounts of tax, penalties, and interest required to be collected;
145	145	(6) the delivery of information to an eligible
146	146	municipality, county, or emergency services district in accordance
147	147	with Section 321.3022 or 323.3022; or
148	148	(7) the release of information in or derived from a
149	149	record, report, or other instrument required to be furnished under
150	150	this chapter by a governmental body, as that term is defined in
151	151	Section 552.003, Government Code.
152	152	SECTION 5. Section 323.101(f), Tax Code, is amended to read
153	153	as follows:
154	154	(f) The provisions of this chapter govern the application,
155	155	collection, and administration of a sales and use tax imposed under
156	156	Chapter 285 or [,] 775, [or 776,] Health and Safety Code, to the
157	157	extent not inconsistent with the provisions of those chapters.
158	158	Provided, however, that Subsection (b) shall not apply to a tax
159	159	authorized under those chapters.
160	160	SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 323, Tax Code, is amended
161	161	by adding Section 323.3022 to read as follows:
162	162	Sec. 323.3022. TAX INFORMATION. (a) In this section,
163	163	"emergency services district" means a district created under
164	164	Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code.
165	165	(b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
166	166	comptroller on request shall provide to a county or emergency
167	167	services district that has adopted a tax under this chapter:
168	168	(1) information relating to the amount of tax paid to
169	169	the county or district under this chapter during the preceding or
170	170	current calendar year by each person doing business in the county or
171	171	district who annually remits to the comptroller state and local
172	172	sales tax payments of more than $10,000; and
173	173	(2) any other information as provided by this section.
174	174	(c) The comptroller on request shall provide to a county or
175	175	emergency services district that has adopted a tax under this
176	176	chapter information relating to the amount of tax paid to the county
177	177	or district under this chapter during the preceding or current
178	178	calendar year by each person doing business in an area, as defined
179	179	by the county or district, that is part of:
180	180	(1) an interlocal agreement;
181	181	(2) a tax abatement agreement;
182	182	(3) a reinvestment zone;
183	183	(4) a tax increment financing district;
184	184	(5) a revenue sharing agreement;
185	185	(6) an enterprise zone;
186	186	(7) any other agreement, zone, or district similar to
187	187	those listed in Subdivisions (1)-(6); or
188	188	(8) any area defined by the county or district for the
189	189	purpose of economic forecasting.
190	190	(d) The comptroller shall provide the information under
191	191	Subsection (c) as an aggregate total for all persons doing business
192	192	in the defined area without disclosing individual tax payments.
193	193	(e) If the request for information under Subsection (c)
194	194	involves not more than three persons doing business in the defined
195	195	area who remit taxes under this chapter, the comptroller shall
196	196	refuse to provide the information to the county or emergency
197	197	services district unless the comptroller receives permission from
198	198	each of the persons allowing the comptroller to provide the
199	199	information to the county or district as requested.
200	200	(f) A separate request for information under this section
201	201	must be made in writing each year by the county judge or the
202	202	president of the board of the emergency services district.
203	203	(g) Information received by a county or emergency services
204	204	district under this section is confidential, is not open to public
205	205	inspection, and may be used only for the purpose of economic
206	206	forecasting, for internal auditing of a tax paid to the county or
207	207	district under this chapter, or for the purpose described by
208	208	Subsection (h).
209	209	(h) Information received by a county or emergency services
210	210	district under Subsection (c) may be used by the county or district
211	211	to assist in determining revenue sharing under a revenue sharing
212	212	agreement or other similar agreement.
213	213	(i) The comptroller may set and collect from a county or
214	214	emergency services district reasonable fees to cover the expense of
215	215	compiling and providing information under this section.
216	216	(j) Notwithstanding Chapter 551, Government Code, the
217	217	commissioners court of a county or the board of an emergency
218	218	services district is not required to confer with one or more
219	219	employees or a third party in an open meeting to receive information
220	220	or question the employees or third party regarding the information
221	221	received by the county or district under this section.
222	222	SECTION 7. Chapter 776, Health and Safety Code, is
223	223	repealed.
224	224	SECTION 8. (a) On the effective date of this Act, a
225	225	district created under Chapter 776, Health and Safety Code, is
226	226	converted into a district operated under Chapter 775, Health and
227	227	Safety Code. A district converted under this section continues in
228	228	existence and is subject to Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code.
229	229	(b) On and after the effective date of this Act, each person
230	230	serving as a fire commissioner of a district created under Chapter
231	231	776, Health and Safety Code, is an emergency services commissioner
232	232	and shall serve on the board of the district as an emergency
233	233	services commissioner for the remainder of the unexpired term to
234	234	which the person was elected.
235	235	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
236	236	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
237	237	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
238	238	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
239	239	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.