81R4548 SJM-D
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 653
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the accountability of emergency services district board
members to a county commissioners court.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 775.036(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The board shall:
(1) hold regular monthly meetings and other meetings
as necessary;
(2) keep minutes and records of its acts and
proceedings;
(3) give reports required by the state fire marshal,
commissioner of health, and other authorized persons;
(4) give a quarterly written report [not later than
February 1 of each year] to the commissioners court including the
preceding quarter's:
(A) administration and operation practices;
(B) annual budget information;
(C) proposed annual tax rate information;
(D) debt services;
(E) financial standing;
(F) hiring practices for acquiring external
personnel, including financial advisors and auditors; and
(G) external audit results [regarding the
district's administration for the preceding calendar year and the
district's financial condition]; and
(5) administer the district in accordance with this
chapter.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 775, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 775.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 775.039. NOTIFICATION OF HIRING PRACTICES BY
COMMISSIONERS COURT. A district may not hire a person to provide
professional services for the district, including audit,
financial, or legal services, unless the board first informs the
commissioners court of the county in which the district is located
of the practices the district will use to hire the person. If the
district is located in more than one county, the board must inform
the commissioners court of each of the counties in which the
district is located of the practices the district will use to hire
the person.
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 775, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 775.0422 to read as follows:
Sec. 775.0422. REMOVAL OF APPOINTED BOARD MEMBER BY
COMMISSIONERS COURT FOR FAILURE TO GIVE REPORT OR FILE AUDIT. (a)
This section applies only to an appointed member of a board. This
section does not apply to a member of a board who:
(1) is elected; or
(2) is appointed to fill a vacancy in an elected
commissioner's position.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the commissioners
court of the county in which a district is located may remove one or
more board members by majority vote if the board has failed to give
the report required by Section 775.036(a)(4) to, or file the audit
report required by Section 775.082(b) with, the commissioners court
before the 91st day after the date the report or audit was due under
those sections.
(c) If a board member was appointed by a single member of the
commissioners court, that member of the commissioners court may
unilaterally remove the board member for a cause listed under
Subsection (b). If the member of the commissioners court does not
remove the board member and cause for removal exists under
Subsection (b), the commissioners court may remove the board member
by majority vote. If the member of the commissioners court that
appointed a board member is no longer a member of the commissioners
court, the board member may be removed by majority vote of the
existing members of the commissioners court.
(d) Before the 60th day after the date the report or audit
was due, as appropriate:
(1) each commissioners court seeking removal under
this section must notify the board that it is considering that
action; or
(2) each member of the commissioners court seeking
removal of a particular board member under this section must notify
the board member that the member of the commissioners court is
considering that action.
(e) For a district located in more than one county, each
commissioners court must vote for a removal under this section that
requires the vote of a majority of a commissioners court.
(f) The validity of a board action is not affected because
it is taken when a ground for removal of a commissioner exists.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 775.042, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 775.042. REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBER BY BOARD.
SECTION 5. Section 775.074(d), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) In establishing the rate of the ad valorem tax to be
collected for a year, the board shall consider the money that will
be available to pay the principal of and interest on any bonds or
notes issued and to create any reserve funds to the extent and in
the manner permitted by the resolution authorizing, or the trust
indenture securing, the bonds or notes. Before a board may change
the ad valorem tax rate of a district, the board must obtain the
approval of the commissioners court of the county in which the
district is located as provided by Section 775.0743. If the
district is located in more than one county, the board must obtain
the approval of the commissioners court of each of the counties in
which the district is located.
SECTION 6. Subchapter E, Chapter 775, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 775.0743 to read as follows:
Sec. 775.0743. APPROVAL OF CHANGE IN AD VALOREM TAX RATE BY
COMMISSIONERS COURT. (a) To obtain a commissioners court's
approval of a proposed change in an ad valorem tax rate, a board
must file with each of the commissioners courts required under
Section 775.074(d) a written petition to change the ad valorem tax
rate. The petition must include:
(1) the name of the district;
(2) the names of the members of the board;
(3) the proposed change in the district tax rate; and
(4) the reasons for changing the tax rate.
(b) The commissioners court must approve or deny the
petition before the 31st day after the date the court receives the
petition. If on the 31st day after the date the petition is filed
the commissioners court has not approved or disapproved the
petition, the petition is considered to be approved by the
commissioners court and the board may certify the proposed tax rate
to the county tax assessor-collector under Section 775.074(e).
SECTION 7. The board of emergency services commissioners
shall submit an initial quarterly report required under Section
775.036(a), Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, not
later than February 1, 2010.
SECTION 8. Section 775.0422, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a report or audit due on or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 9. 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.