88R3036 MCF-D
By: Thompson of Brazoria H.B. No. 1775
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the election of board members of certain emergency
services districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 775.024(c) and (h), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) If the boards do not make the appointments before the
31st day after the date the boards adopted the joint order:
(1) for a consolidated district to which Section
775.0343, 775.0345, or 775.035 does not apply, the commissioners
court shall appoint five commissioners to the board of the
consolidated district; or
(2) for a consolidated district to which Section
775.0343, 775.0345, or 775.035 does apply, the board of the
consolidated district is initially composed of the two
commissioners from each existing board who have served the longest
terms.
(h) For a consolidated district to which Section 775.0343,
775.0345, or 775.035 applies, the initial commissioners of the
consolidated district serve until the next available uniform
election date after the date the joint order is adopted and that
allows sufficient time to comply with other requirements of law.
After an election is held under Section 775.0343, 775.0345, or
775.035:
(1) the two commissioners who receive the fewest votes
of the elected commissioners serve terms ending on December 31 of
the second year following the year in which the election is held;
and
(2) the remaining elected commissioners serve terms
ending on December 31 of the fourth year following the year in which
the election is held.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 775.034, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 775.034. APPOINTMENT OF BOARD IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS
[DISTRICT] LOCATED WHOLLY IN ONE COUNTY.
SECTION 3. Section 775.034(h), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(h) This section does not apply to a district located wholly
in a county:
(1) with a population of more than [three million;
[(2) with a population of more than] 200,000 [that
borders Lake Palestine]; or
(2) [(3)] with a population of less than 200,000 that
borders another state and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 775, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 775.0343 to read as follows:
Sec. 775.0343. ELECTION OF BOARD FOR DISTRICTS IN POPULOUS
COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only to a district that is
located wholly in one county with a population of more than 200,000.
This section does not apply to a district described by Section
775.0345(a).
(b) The governing body of a district consists of a
five-person board of emergency services commissioners elected at
large from the district as prescribed by this section. Emergency
services commissioners serve staggered four-year terms.
(c) After a district is created, the county judge shall
establish a convenient day provided by Section 41.001, Election
Code, to conduct an election to elect the initial emergency
services commissioners.
(d) To be eligible to be a candidate for emergency services
commissioner, a person must be at least 18 years of age and a
resident of the district.
(e) A candidate for emergency services commissioner on an
initial board must give the voter registrar of the county a sworn
notice of the candidate's intention to run for office. The notice
must state the person's name, age, and address and state that the
person is serving notice of intent to run for emergency services
commissioner. On receipt of the notice, the voter registrar of the
county shall have the candidate's name placed on the ballot.
(f) The voter registrar of the county shall appoint an
election judge to certify the results of the election.
(g) After the election is held, the voter registrar or
deputy registrar of the county shall prepare a sworn statement of
the election costs incurred by the county. The statement shall be
given to the newly elected board, which shall order the appropriate
official to reimburse the county for the county's election costs.
(h) The initial emergency services commissioners' terms of
office begin 30 days after canvassing of the election results. The
two commissioners who received the fewest votes serve a term that
expires on January 1 of the third year following the year in which
the election was held. The other emergency services commissioners
serve terms that expire on January 1 of the fifth year following the
year in which the election was held.
(i) The board shall hold the general election for the
appropriate number of commissioners in each even-numbered year on
the November uniform election date under Section 41.001, Election
Code.
(j) Subchapter C, Chapter 146, Election Code, applies to a
write-in candidate for emergency services commissioner under this
section in the same manner it applies to a write-in candidate for a
city office under that subchapter.
SECTION 5. Section 775.0445(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) This section applies only to a district located wholly
in a county:
(1) with a population of 200,000 or more [than three
million;
[(2) with a population of more than 200,000 that
borders Lake Palestine]; or
(2) [(3)] with a population of less than 200,000 that
borders another state and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
SECTION 6. Section 775.301, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 775.301. DEFINITION. In this subchapter,
"commissioners court" means the commissioners court of a county
that borders the United Mexican States and [,] has a population of
more than 800,000[, and appoints a board of emergency services
commissioners under this chapter].
SECTION 7. Section 775.302(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) This subchapter applies only to a district that is
located wholly in a county that borders the United Mexican States
and[,] that has a population of more than 800,000[, and for which
the commissioners court appoints a board of emergency services
commissioners under Section 775.034].
SECTION 8. (a) The changes in law made by this Act do not
affect the entitlement of a member of a board of emergency services
commissioners serving on the board immediately before the effective
date of this Act to continue to carry out the board's functions for
the remainder of the member's term of appointment.
(b) This Act does not prohibit a person who is a member of a
board of emergency services commissioners on the effective date of
this Act and who was appointed under Section 775.034, Health and
Safety Code, from running for election to the board if the person
has the qualifications required for a member under Section
775.0343, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
(c) A person serving as an appointed member of a board of
emergency services commissioners on the effective date of this Act
shall continue to serve until the election and qualification of a
new commissioner for that position.
(d) In 2024, the board of directors of an emergency services
district to which Section 775.0343, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, applies shall hold an election to replace those
appointed commissioners whose terms expire January 1, 2025. A
commissioner elected under this subsection serves a term that
begins January 1, 2025, and expires 30 days after the canvassing of
the results of the initial general election for commissioners held
in November 2026 under Section 775.0343(i), Health and Safety Code,
as added by this Act.
(e) In 2025, the board of directors of an emergency services
district to which Section 775.0343, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, applies shall hold an election to replace those
appointed commissioners whose terms expire January 1, 2026. A
commissioner elected under this subsection serves a term that
begins January 1, 2026, and expires 30 days after the canvassing of
the results of the initial general election for commissioners held
in November 2028 under Section 775.0343(i), Health and Safety Code,
as added by this Act.
(f) An emergency services commissioner elected to replace a
commissioner elected under Subsection (d) or (e) of this section
serves a four-year term as provided by Section 775.0343(b), Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect June 1, 2024.