By: Bohac H.B. No. 4473
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the separation of services provided by an emergency
services district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 775, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 775.0206 and 775.0207 to read as
follows:
Sec. 775.0206. SEPARATION OF DISTRICT SERVICES. (a) A
district created to perform both fire prevention and emergency
medical services may separate into two completely overlapping
districts as provided by this section. Before separation, the
board of the original district must:
(1) determine that separation would allow the
resulting districts to provide services more economically and
efficiently; and
(2) adopt an order of separation that includes:
(A) the names of the two resulting districts;
(B) the services to be provided by each district;
(C) the proposed date on which the original
district will cease to provide one service and the newly created
district will begin to provide that service; and
(D) a statement that the original district will
be separated into two completely overlapping districts only if a
majority of the residents of the original district approve the
separation in an election held for that purpose.
(a-1) Subject to Section 4.003, Election Code, the notice of
the election to separate district services shall be given in the
same manner as the notice of a petition hearing under Section
775.015.
(b) An election to separate district services shall be held
on a uniform election date as described by Section 775.018(e).
(c) No public hearing is required prior to ordering an
election to separate district services.
(d) Commissioners serving on the board of the original
district shall serve out their terms according to Section 775.034,
775.0341, 775.0345, or 775.035, as applicable.
(e) For a newly created district to which Section 775.034 or
775.0341 applies, the board of the original district shall appoint
the initial board of the newly created district. The appointed
commissioners will serve until December 31 of the year the new
district is created. The commissioners court shall then appoint
commissioners for a full term under Section 775.034 or 775.0341, as
applicable.
(f) For a newly created district to which Section 775.0345
or 775.035 applies, the board of the original district shall
appoint the initial board of the newly created district. The
appointed commissioners will serve until the next election date of
the commissioners of the original district. The board of the
original district shall hold an election for both the board of the
original district and the board of the new district on the election
date of the original district's commissioners according to the
requirements of Section 775.0345 or 775.035, as applicable. The
five commissioner positions on each board shall be filled at the
election held by the original district. For each board, the three
elected commissioners receiving the most votes will serve four-year
terms and the two elected commissioners receiving the fewest votes
will serve two-year terms. After the initial election, each
district shall separately hold an election on the dates and in the
manner described by Section 775.0345 or 775.035, as applicable.
(g) Within two years after the election held to separate the
district under this section, the boards of the two districts may
transfer any real or personal property or any indebtedness between
the districts to promote the delivery of services provided by each
district.
(h) If any bonded debt was held by the original district
before the election held under this section, the newly created
district shall annually pay to the original district an amount
equal to one-half of the original district's annual debt
obligations.
(i) Districts resulting from a separation under this
section shall comply with Section 775.020 or 775.0205, as
appropriate.
Sec. 775.0207. TAXES FOR SEPARATED DISTRICTS. For the first
tax year after separation, the effective tax rate and rollback tax
rate, as those terms are defined by Section 26.04, Tax Code, of each
resulting district shall be calculated based on the most recently
adopted tax rate of the original district. For each subsequent tax
year, the rates shall be calculated based on the
tax rate adopted in
the prior year by the board of each district according to the
requirements of the Tax Code.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.