| 1 | 1 | | 85S10285 PAM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Huberty H.B. No. 207 |
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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 voting by the qualified voters of a water or sewer |
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| 8 | 8 | | district wholly or partly annexed by a municipality. |
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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 D, Chapter 43, Local Government Code, |
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| 11 | 11 | | is amended by adding Section 43.0711 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 43.0711. RIGHT OF VOTER OF WATER OR SEWER DISTRICT TO |
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| 13 | 13 | | VOTE IN CERTAIN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. (a) In this section, "water |
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| 14 | 14 | | or sewer district": |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) means: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (A) a district or authority created under Article |
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| 17 | 17 | | III, Section 52, Subsections (b)(1) and (2), or under Article XVI, |
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| 18 | 18 | | Section 59, of the Texas Constitution that provides or proposes to |
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| 19 | 19 | | provide, as its principal function, water services or sewer |
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| 20 | 20 | | services or both to household users; or |
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| 21 | 21 | | (B) a municipal utility district operating under |
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| 22 | 22 | | Chapter 54, Water Code; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) does not include a district or authority the |
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| 24 | 24 | | primary function of which is the wholesale distribution of water. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (b) A qualified voter of a water or sewer district, any |
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| 26 | 26 | | portion of which a municipality has annexed for full or limited |
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| 27 | 27 | | purposes, is entitled to vote in municipal elections regarding the |
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| 28 | 28 | | election or recall of members of the governing body of the |
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| 29 | 29 | | municipality, the election or recall of the controller, if the |
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| 30 | 30 | | office of controller is an elective position of the municipality, |
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| 31 | 31 | | and the amendment of the municipal charter, regardless of whether |
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| 32 | 32 | | the municipality has annexed the entire district or whether the |
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| 33 | 33 | | voter resides in an annexed portion of the district. To the extent |
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| 34 | 34 | | of a conflict between this section and another provision of this |
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| 35 | 35 | | code or the Water Code, this section controls. This section does |
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| 36 | 36 | | not apply to: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) an area in the water or sewer district that is |
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| 38 | 38 | | outside of the annexing municipality's extraterritorial |
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| 39 | 39 | | jurisdiction; or |
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| 40 | 40 | | (2) an area in the water or sewer district that is in |
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| 41 | 41 | | the overlapping extraterritorial jurisdiction of two or more |
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| 42 | 42 | | municipalities. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a |
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| 44 | 44 | | municipal election ordered on or after the effective date of this |
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| 45 | 45 | | Act. A municipal election ordered before the effective date of this |
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| 46 | 46 | | Act is governed by the law in effect when the election was ordered, |
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| 47 | 47 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 48 | 48 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 49 | 49 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 50 | 50 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 51 | 51 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act takes effect December 1, 2017. |
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