| 1 | 1 | | By: Munoz, Jr. (Senate Sponsor - Hinojosa) H.B. No. 1372 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 2, 2013; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 3, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | 4 | | Intergovernmental Relations; May 16, 2013, reported favorably by |
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| 5 | 5 | | the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 16, 2013, sent to |
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| 6 | 6 | | printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 11 | | relating to filling certain vacancies on the governing body of |
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| 12 | 12 | | certain home-rule municipalities. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Section 26.045, Local Government Code, is |
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| 15 | 15 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | Sec. 26.045. FILLING VACANCY ON GOVERNING BODY OF |
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| 17 | 17 | | MUNICIPALITY WITH POPULATION OF 1.5 MILLION OR MORE. (a) Except as |
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| 18 | 18 | | provided by Subsection (b), if [If] a vacancy occurs on the |
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| 19 | 19 | | governing body of a municipality with a population of 1.5 million or |
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| 20 | 20 | | more and more than 270 days remain before the date of the next |
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| 21 | 21 | | general election of members of the governing body, the governing |
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| 22 | 22 | | body shall order a special election in the district in which the |
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| 23 | 23 | | vacancy occurred, or in the entire municipality if the vacancy |
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| 24 | 24 | | occurred in an at-large position, to fill the vacancy. The special |
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| 25 | 25 | | election shall be held on an authorized uniform election date |
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| 26 | 26 | | prescribed by the Election Code that occurs before the general |
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| 27 | 27 | | election and that allows enough time to hold the election in the |
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| 28 | 28 | | manner required by law and shall be conducted in the same manner as |
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| 29 | 29 | | the municipality's general election except as provided by |
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| 30 | 30 | | provisions of the Election Code applicable to special elections to |
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| 31 | 31 | | fill vacancies. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (b) This section does not apply to a municipality that has |
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| 33 | 33 | | provided by charter or charter amendment a different procedure to |
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| 34 | 34 | | fill a vacancy on its governing body for which the unexpired term is |
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| 35 | 35 | | 12 months or less. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the date on which the |
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| 37 | 37 | | constitutional amendment proposed by the 83rd Legislature, Regular |
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| 38 | 38 | | Session, 2013, authorizing a home-rule municipality to provide in |
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| 39 | 39 | | its charter the procedure to fill a vacancy on its governing body |
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| 40 | 40 | | for which the unexpired term is 12 months or less is approved by the |
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| 41 | 41 | | voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act |
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| 42 | 42 | | has no effect. |
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| 43 | 43 | | * * * * * |
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