By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 814
(Canales)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the board of directors of the Agua Special Utility
District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7201.052, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (l) and
adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (l), the district shall
be governed by a board of seven directors, elected as follows:
(1) one director elected by the voters of the part of
the City of Mission inside the district to represent that part of
the city;
(2) one director elected by the voters of the City of
Palmview to represent that city;
(3) one director elected by the voters of the City of
Penitas to represent that city;
(4) one director elected by the voters of the City of
Sullivan City to represent that city; [and]
(5) one director elected by the voters of the part of
the City of La Joya within the district to represent that part of
the city; and
(6) two [three] directors elected at-large to numbered
positions on the board by the district voters who do not reside in
any of the municipalities listed in Subdivisions (1)-(5) [(1)-(4)]
to represent the part of the district that is not included in those
municipalities, unless the number of at-large directors is
increased under Subsection (l).
(b) A candidate for one of the numbered director positions:
(1) must reside in the part of the service area of the
district that is not included in any of the municipalities listed in
Subsections (a)(1)-(5) [(a)(1)-(4)]; and
(2) must be eligible to hold office under Section
141.001, Election Code.
(c) A candidate for one of the director positions
representing a municipality listed in Subsection (a)(1), (2), (3),
[or] (4), or (5):
(1) must reside in the municipality the candidate
seeks to represent; and
(2) must be eligible to hold office under Section
141.001, Election Code.
(l) If, before the expiration of the term of a director
elected to represent a municipality under Subsection (a)(1), (2),
(3), [or] (4), or (5), the district determines that all of the
incorporated territory of the municipality is outside the
boundaries of the district, the position immediately becomes an
at-large numbered position to be filled at the next general
election of the district in accordance with Subsections (a)(6)
[(a)(5)] and (b).
(m) The board may not employ as an employee, as a
consultant, or on a contract basis:
(1) an elected official of the largest public employer
in the service area of the district; or
(2) a person related to an elected official described
by Subdivision (1) within the third degree by consanguinity or
affinity as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code.
SECTION 2. A person employed by the Agua Special Utility
District on the effective date of this Act who is an elected
official of a public employer described by Section 7201.052,
Special District Local Laws Code, as amended by this Act, is not
subject to that section until the date the person's term as an
elected official expires, and the board may continue to employ the
person until that date.
SECTION 3. (a) The position of director of the Agua
Special Utility District elected at-large for a term that expires
in 2018 becomes the position for the director elected from the City
of La Joya on the election date in 2018 when the district elects new
directors. The director of the Agua Special Utility District
elected at-large to a term that expires in 2018 shall serve until a
director elected from the City of La Joya has qualified following
the director's election held in 2018.
(b) This section expires September 1, 2020.
SECTION 4. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.