By: Coleman, Alvarado H.B. No. 3006
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3006By: Gallegos By: Gallegos
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2009;
May 6, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on
Intergovernmental Relations; May 23, 2009, reported adversely,
with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote:
Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 23, 2009, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain municipalities to impose term
limits on municipal controllers and on the members of the
municipalities' governing bodies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 26, Local Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 26.048 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.048. TERM LIMITS IN POPULOUS MUNICIPALITIES.
(a) This section applies only to a municipality with a population
of 1.8 million or more.
(b) In this section:
(1) "Controller" means the elected chief financial
officer of a municipality.
(2) "Governing body of a municipality" includes the
mayor of the municipality.
(3) "Municipal term limit" means a provision in a
municipal charter or ordinance that imposes a limit on the number of
terms or otherwise restricts the length of service of an elected
official of a municipality.
(c) The governing body of the municipality shall decide
whether an election held under this section will authorize term
limits for the controller and members of the governing body of the
municipality consisting of a maximum of:
(1) four two-year terms.
(d) The mayor of a municipality shall order an election in
the municipality on the first November uniform election date that
occurs in an even-numbered year after this section becomes
applicable to the municipality on the question of imposing term
limits on the controller and members of the governing body of the
municipality.
(e) The ballot at the election must be printed to permit
voting for or against the proposition: "Authorizing term limits
consisting of (insert number of terms and length of terms) on a
person's service as the controller and on the governing body of the
City of (insert name of municipality)."
(f) If a majority of the votes received at the election
favor the proposition, the number and length of terms a person may
serve as the controller or on the governing body is limited as
provided in the proposition. The municipality shall adjust the
length of the terms of the controller and members of the governing
body as necessary to comply with the proposition.
(g) If less than a majority of the votes received at the
election favor the proposition, municipal term limits and the
length of the terms of the controller and members of the governing
body that existed before the election are not affected.
(h) In applying a term limit authorized by this section:
(1) a term to which a controller or member of the
governing body was elected or appointed before the election held
under Subsection (d) is counted only if the controller or member
served one-half or more of the term; and
(2) a partial term to which a controller or member of
the governing body is elected or appointed on or after the date of
the election held under Subsection (d) is counted only if the
controller or member serves one-half or more of the term.
(i) This section expires January 1, 2011.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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