By: Gallegos S.B. No. 1895
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the terms of members of the governing board of junior
college districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (e), Section 130.082, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(e) Members [The basic term of office of a member] of the
board serve staggered terms of four years, with the terms of as
close to one-half of the members as possible expiring in each
even-numbered year [shall be six years, and one-third of the
members of the board shall be elected at large in the district at
regular elections to be held on the first Saturday in April in each
even-numbered year; provided that with a seven-member board two
members shall be elected in two consecutive even-numbered years and
three members shall be elected in the following even-numbered
year]. The members of each board in office [at the effective date
of this act, and all subsequent members of the board, shall] remain
in office until the expiration of the terms for which they were
elected or appointed, and until their successors shall have been
elected and qualified[; provided that where any existing board has
held its regular elections for members of the board in odd-numbered
years prior to the effective date of this act, the board shall
nevertheless hold its next regular election on the first Saturday
in April of the next even-numbered year following the effective
date of this act, and the term of office of each incumbent member of
the board shall, in effect, be lengthened by one year so as to
comply with the foregoing provisions of this act]. Except as
otherwise specifically provided by this subchapter, on [Upon] the
creation of a new board, or in any other situation where necessary,
the members of the board shall choose by lot the terms for which
they shall serve, so as to comply with the foregoing provisions. If
a board is increased from seven to nine members, one of the members
shall be appointed to serve a two-year term [until the first
election at which two members otherwise would have been elected,]
and the other shall be appointed to serve a four-year term [until
the second election at which two members otherwise would have been
elected, and three members shall be elected for six-year terms at
each election].
SECTION 2. Subsection (e), Section 130.0821, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(e) Not later than the 90th day after the earliest date on
which the board of trustees may recognize and act on the publication
of the federal decennial census under Section 2058.001, Government
Code, the board of trustees shall redivide the district into the
appropriate number of trustee districts if the census data
indicates that the population of the most populous trustee district
exceeds the population of the least populous district by more than
10 percent. Within 90 days following the effective date of an order
or resolution of the board of trustees to increase the number of
board members, the board of trustees shall redivide the district
into the appropriate number of trustee districts as increased. At
the next district election following the redistricting of the
district under this subsection, each trustee district shall elect a
member of the board unless the board of trustees determines that
trustees shall be elected from the new trustee districts as
provided by Section 130.0826, and the members elected shall draw
lots for the appropriate number of two-year and[,] four-year[, and
six-year] terms as needed to establish staggered terms of four
years as required by Section 130.082(e) [Subsection (c)].
SECTION 3. Subsections (d) and (e), Section 130.083,
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) The terms of office of the regents authorized by this
section [act] shall be four [six] years. In [Those regents serving
as regents on May 22, 1969, shall continue in office for the
remainder of their respective terms and then until such time as
their successors shall have been elected and qualified, and
thereafter in] each even-numbered year, as close to one-half of the
number of [three] regents as possible shall be elected from the area
originally forming the junior college district to succeed those
regents whose terms are expiring, but if the number of regents
becomes more or less than nine, the method [formula] set out in
Subsection (e) of this section shall be followed. All new regents
added to the board of regents under the provisions of this section
shall be appointed by the board of regents which orders the
enlargement of the membership of such board, and shall serve terms
as provided under [until election specified in] Subsection (e) [of
this section]. All vacancies on the board of regents shall be
filled at once for the unexpired term only by appointments made by
the remaining members of such board.
(e) Where additional regent positions are provided under
the terms of this section, the board of regents at the time of such
authorization shall designate by resolution duly recorded in the
minutes of such board the term to be served by each such additional
regent to maintain staggered terms of four years[, provided that
the first regent authorized and appointed shall serve only until
the next regular regent election, the second such regent shall
serve until the regent election two years after the next regular
regent election, and the third regent shall serve until the regent
election four years after the next regular regent election, with
additional regents which may be authorized to follow the same
rotation of terms until all terms of additional regents provided
under the terms of this section have been fixed to expire at the
next regular regent election, or at the regent election two years
after the next regular regent election, or at the regent election
four years after the next regular election. Additional regents
appointed to such terms and until such times as their successors
shall have been elected and qualified, and thereafter the terms of
such regents shall be for six years].
SECTION 4. Subsection (c), Section 130.088, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) If the board of trustees of the independent school
district that divests itself of management and control of the
junior college district is elected from nine single-member
districts, the trustees appointed for the junior college district
shall have the same initial single-member district boundaries. For
the initial board members of the junior college district appointed
by the independent school district board of trustees, four [three]
members shall serve terms of two years and five[, three] members
shall serve terms of four years[, and three members shall serve
terms of six years]. The trustees shall draw lots to determine the
length of their terms. [The terms of the initial board members
shall expire on the last day of December of the odd-numbered year
that does not exceed their terms.]
SECTION 5. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Subsection (c), Section 130.0821; and
(2) Subsection (m), Section 130.088.
SECTION 6. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
only to the term of a member of a governing board of a junior college
district who is appointed or elected on or after the effective date
of this Act.
(b) The governing board of a junior college district shall,
to the extent necessary to implement staggered four-year terms of
office for members of the governing board, as provided by this Act,
adopt a transition plan so that as nearly as possible half of the
members of the board are elected to four-year terms in each
even-numbered year. The governing board may provide for
establishing shortened terms for persons elected at the first
election of governing board members held after the effective date
of this Act or drawing lots as part of the transition plan. The
secretary of state shall, on request of the presiding officer of a
governing board, assist the board in developing a transition plan
under this subsection.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.