| 1 | 1 | | 84R6010 DDT-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Dale H.B. No. 3451 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the election of directors of certain electric |
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| 8 | 8 | | cooperatives. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 161, Utilities Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 161.0721 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 161.0721. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS IN CERTAIN LARGE |
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| 13 | 13 | | COOPERATIVES. (a) This section applies only to an electric |
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| 14 | 14 | | cooperative with more than 200,000 members that is partially |
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| 15 | 15 | | located in a county with a population of more than one million and |
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| 16 | 16 | | less than 1.5 million. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) Directors may be elected only by district. The board |
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| 18 | 18 | | shall establish single-member districts from which the directors |
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| 19 | 19 | | are to be elected. In establishing the districts, the board shall |
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| 20 | 20 | | ensure that directors represent geographic areas in which |
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| 21 | 21 | | approximately equal numbers of members reside. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (c) A member may vote for a director to represent a district |
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| 23 | 23 | | only if the member resides in that district. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (d) To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of |
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| 25 | 25 | | the total number of votes received in the candidate's district. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (e) If no candidate for a particular district receives the |
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| 27 | 27 | | vote necessary to be elected, a runoff election for that office is |
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| 28 | 28 | | required. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (f) A director serves a four-year term. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (g) The first board of directors elected from the districts |
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| 31 | 31 | | established under Subsection (b) may agree to establish a system of |
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| 32 | 32 | | staggered terms by providing that approximately half of that first |
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| 33 | 33 | | board of directors will serve initial terms of two years. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (h) Elections must be held in November of an odd-numbered |
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| 35 | 35 | | year. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 2. (a) An electric cooperative to which Section |
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| 37 | 37 | | 161.0721, Utilities Code, as added by this Act, applies shall |
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| 38 | 38 | | establish single-member districts as required by that section as |
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| 39 | 39 | | soon as practicable, and not later than October 1, 2015. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (b) The electric cooperative shall hold an election as |
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| 41 | 41 | | required by this Act on or before November 30, 2015. At that |
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| 42 | 42 | | election, all board member positions will be up for election. The |
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| 43 | 43 | | terms of all directors serving on the date of the election are |
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| 44 | 44 | | terminated, and the terms of the newly elected directors begin, on |
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| 45 | 45 | | January 31, 2016. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 47 | 47 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 48 | 48 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 49 | 49 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 50 | 50 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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