Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB169 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R1987 JAM-D
2	2	By: Larson H.B. No. 169
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to requiring that members of the governing board of
8	8	certain metropolitan rapid transit authorities be elected.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 451.502(f), Transportation Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(f) This section does not apply to the board of an authority
13	13	described by Section 451.5021(a) or 451.5022.
14	14	SECTION 2. Subchapter K, Chapter 451, Transportation Code,
15	15	is amended by adding Section 451.5022 to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 451.5022. ELECTION OF MEMBERS; CERTAIN AUTHORITIES.
17	17	(a) In an authority created before 1980 in which the principal
18	18	municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million, the board
19	19	members are elected by a majority of the registered voters of the
20	20	authority in an election for that purpose held on the uniform
21	21	election date in November.
22	22	(b) Each board member serves a staggered term of two years.
23	23	SECTION 3. Section 451.504, Transportation Code, is amended
24	24	by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
25	25	follows:
26	26	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a [A] vacancy on
27	27	a board is filled by the person or entity that appointed the member
28	28	who was in the position that is vacant. If confirmation of the
29	29	previous position was required, confirmation of the vacancy
30	30	appointment is required in the same manner.
31	31	(a-1) A vacancy on a board elected under Section 451.5022 is
32	32	filled by appointment of the remaining members.
33	33	SECTION 4. Sections 451.506(a) and (b), Transportation
34	34	Code, are amended to read as follows:
35	35	(a) A member of the board may be reappointed or reelected
36	36	except as provided by this section.
37	37	(b) An individual may not serve more than eight years on the
38	38	same board and may not be appointed or elected to a term for which
39	39	service to the completion of the term would exceed this
40	40	limitation. This subsection applies only to a board of an
41	41	authority:
42	42	(1) in which the principal municipality has a
43	43	population of more than 1.9 million or less than 320,000; or
44	44	(2) created before 1980 and in which the principal
45	45	municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million.
46	46	SECTION 5. Section 451.509, Transportation Code, is amended
47	47	by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
48	48	follows:
49	49	(c) In an authority in which the principal municipality has
50	50	a population of more than 850,000, a member of a [the] board that is
51	51	exclusively appointed may be removed for any ground described by
52	52	Section 451.510 by the person or entity that appointed the
53	53	member. If the person who appointed the member is the mayor of the
54	54	principal municipality, the removal is by recommendation of the
55	55	mayor and confirmation by the municipality's governing body. If
56	56	the member to be removed was appointed by the mayor of the principal
57	57	municipality, the statement required by Section 451.511(a) shall be
58	58	given by the mayor, and confirmation of removal by the governing
59	59	body of the municipality is necessary.
60	60	(c-1) In an authority in which the board is elected under
61	61	Section 451.5022, a member of the board may be removed for any
62	62	ground described by Section 451.510 by a majority of the board
63	63	members. The member who is the subject of the removal vote is not
64	64	eligible to participate in the vote.
65	65	SECTION 6. Section 451.510, Transportation Code, is amended
66	66	to read as follows:
67	67	Sec. 451.510. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL FROM BOARD. The grounds
68	68	for removal of a member of a board are:
69	69	(1) inefficiency in office;
70	70	(2) nonfeasance or malfeasance in office;
71	71	(3) not having at the time of election or appointment
72	72	or not maintaining during service on the board the qualifications
73	73	for office described by Section 451.507;
74	74	(4) a violation of Chapter 171, Local Government Code,
75	75	or Section 451.112;
76	76	(5) the inability, because of illness or disability,
77	77	to discharge the member's duties of office during a substantial
78	78	part of the term for which the member is appointed or elected; and
79	79	(6) absence, without having been excused by a majority
80	80	vote of the board, from more than one-half of the regularly
81	81	scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend
82	82	during a calendar year.
83	83	SECTION 7. Section 451.513, Transportation Code, is amended
84	84	by amending Subsections (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection
85	85	(b-1) to read as follows:
86	86	(b) In an authority in which members of the board are
87	87	exclusively appointed, the [The] entity that confirmed a board
88	88	member who was appointed, or if there is no confirmation, the entity
89	89	that appointed a board member, shall take action under this section
90	90	to remove the member or to reconfirm the member's appointment:
91	91	(1) on receipt of notice from the secretary of state
92	92	that a valid recall petition was presented to the entity; or
93	93	(2) if the secretary of state fails to notify the
94	94	entity as required by Subsection (d).
95	95	(b-1) In an authority in which the board is elected under
96	96	Section 451.5022, the board, other than the member who is the
97	97	subject of the recall, may take action to remove the member:
98	98	(1) on receipt of notice from the secretary of state
99	99	that a valid recall petition was presented to the board; or
100	100	(2) if the secretary of state fails to notify the board
101	101	as required by Subsection (d).
102	102	(d) After receiving a petition under this section the entity
103	103	or board shall send it to the secretary of state. The secretary of
104	104	state shall, not later than the 10th day after the date the petition
105	105	is received, determine whether the petition is valid and notify the
106	106	entity or board, as appropriate, of the determination.
107	107	(e) Not later than the 30th day after the date a member is
108	108	removed under this section, the vacancy shall be filled as
109	109	otherwise provided by this chapter, except that the individual
110	110	removed by recall may not be appointed or reappointed to fill the
111	111	vacancy. Beginning on the day after the date of the removal, the
112	112	individual removed may not be appointed or elected to any other
113	113	position on the board for a period equal to the normal term of
114	114	office for a board member.
115	115	SECTION 8. Section 451.516, Transportation Code, is amended
116	116	to read as follows:
117	117	Sec. 451.516. INCREASE OF MEMBERSHIP: CONTINUITY. If the
118	118	membership of a board is increased under Section 451.501, the board
119	119	as constituted immediately before the increase may continue as the
120	120	board of the authority until the additional members are appointed
121	121	or elected and seated.
122	122	SECTION 9. Members of the governing board of a metropolitan
123	123	rapid transit authority created before 1980 in which the principal
124	124	municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million shall be
125	125	elected pursuant to Section 451.5022, Transportation Code, as added
126	126	by this Act, in November 2015. The terms of the members of the
127	127	governing board elected in November 2015 shall commence on January
128	128	2, 2016. The members elected shall draw lots for the appropriate
129	129	number of one-year and two-year terms as needed to establish
130	130	staggered terms as required by Section 451.5022(b), Transportation
131	131	Code, as added by this Act.
132	132	SECTION 10. Section 451.505(b), Transportation Code, is
133	133	repealed.
134	134	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.