Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4473 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Bohac H.B. No. 4473
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the separation of services provided by an emergency
7	7	services district.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 775, Health and Safety
10	10	Code, is amended by adding Sections 775.0206 and 775.0207 to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	Sec. 775.0206. SEPARATION OF DISTRICT SERVICES. (a) A
13	13	district created to perform both fire prevention and emergency
14	14	medical services may separate into two completely overlapping
15	15	districts as provided by this section. Before separation, the
16	16	board of the original district must:
17	17	(1) determine that separation would allow the
18	18	resulting districts to provide services more economically and
19	19	efficiently; and
20	20	(2) adopt an order of separation that includes:
21	21	(A) the names of the two resulting districts;
22	22	(B) the services to be provided by each district;
23	23	(C) the proposed date on which the original
24	24	district will cease to provide one service and the newly created
25	25	district will begin to provide that service; and
26	26	(D) a statement that the original district will
27	27	be separated into two completely overlapping districts only if a
28	28	majority of the residents of the original district approve the
29	29	separation in an election held for that purpose.
30	30	(a-1) Subject to Section 4.003, Election Code, the notice of
31	31	the election to separate district services shall be given in the
32	32	same manner as the notice of a petition hearing under Section
33	33	775.015.
34	34	(b) An election to separate district services shall be held
35	35	on a uniform election date as described by Section 775.018(e).
36	36	(c) No public hearing is required prior to ordering an
37	37	election to separate district services.
38	38	(d) Commissioners serving on the board of the original
39	39	district shall serve out their terms according to Section 775.034,
40	40	775.0341, 775.0345, or 775.035, as applicable.
41	41	(e) For a newly created district to which Section 775.034 or
42	42	775.0341 applies, the board of the original district shall appoint
43	43	the initial board of the newly created district. The appointed
44	44	commissioners will serve until December 31 of the year the new
45	45	district is created. The commissioners court shall then appoint
46	46	commissioners for a full term under Section 775.034 or 775.0341, as
47	47	applicable.
48	48	(f) For a newly created district to which Section 775.0345
49	49	or 775.035 applies, the board of the original district shall
50	50	appoint the initial board of the newly created district. The
51	51	appointed commissioners will serve until the next election date of
52	52	the commissioners of the original district. The board of the
53	53	original district shall hold an election for both the board of the
54	54	original district and the board of the new district on the election
55	55	date of the original district's commissioners according to the
56	56	requirements of Section 775.0345 or 775.035, as applicable. The
57	57	five commissioner positions on each board shall be filled at the
58	58	election held by the original district. For each board, the three
59	59	elected commissioners receiving the most votes will serve four-year
60	60	terms and the two elected commissioners receiving the fewest votes
61	61	will serve two-year terms. After the initial election, each
62	62	district shall separately hold an election on the dates and in the
63	63	manner described by Section 775.0345 or 775.035, as applicable.
64	64	(g) Within two years after the election held to separate the
65	65	district under this section, the boards of the two districts may
66	66	transfer any real or personal property or any indebtedness between
67	67	the districts to promote the delivery of services provided by each
68	68	district.
69	69	(h) If any bonded debt was held by the original district
70	70	before the election held under this section, the newly created
71	71	district shall annually pay to the original district an amount
72	72	equal to one-half of the original district's annual debt
73	73	obligations.
74	74	(i) Districts resulting from a separation under this
75	75	section shall comply with Section 775.020 or 775.0205, as
76	76	appropriate.
77	77	Sec. 775.0207. TAXES FOR SEPARATED DISTRICTS. For the first
78	78	tax year after separation, the effective tax rate and rollback tax
79	79	rate, as those terms are defined by Section 26.04, Tax Code, of each
80	80	resulting district shall be calculated based on the most recently
81	81	adopted tax rate of the original district. For each subsequent tax
82	82	year, the rates shall be calculated based on the
83	83	tax rate adopted in
84	84	the prior year by the board of each district according to the
85	85	requirements of the Tax Code.
86	86	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.