88R14962 MCF-D
By: Cortez H.B. No. 2633
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2633:
By: Rosenthal C.S.H.B. No. 2633
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to conditions imposed on an emergency services district
that includes territory in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of
certain municipalities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 775.014, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (h-1) and amending Subsection (i) to
read as follows:
(h-1) The board of an emergency services district created
before September 1, 2023, that is subject to conditions negotiated
under Subsection (h) as that subsection existed immediately before
September 1, 2023, may hold an election to submit to the qualified
voters of the district the question of whether to terminate the
negotiated conditions under that subsection. If a majority of the
votes cast in the election favor the termination of the conditions,
the conditions are terminated and have no effect. The board of a
district described by this subsection may not hold an election
under this subsection if the termination of the conditions would
impair:
(1) a contract entered into by the board; or
(2) the rights of the holders of any outstanding and
unpaid bonds or other debt.
(i) If a [A] request [submitted] under this section is
submitted to a municipality that has a population of more than one
million and the majority of the territory inside the municipality's
corporate boundaries is located inside a county with a population
of less than 2.1 million, the request [described by Subsection (h)]
must include:
(1) a copy of the petition submitted under Section
775.015; and
(2) a sufficient legal description of the portion of
the municipality and its extraterritorial jurisdiction that would
be included in the district territory.
SECTION 2. Section 775.016(c), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The commissioners court has exclusive jurisdiction to
determine each issue relating to the creation of the district[,
including any matters negotiated with a consenting municipality
under Section 775.014(h),] and may issue incidental orders it
considers proper in relation to the issues before the commissioners
court. The commissioners court may adjourn the hearing as
necessary.
SECTION 3. Section 775.017(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) If after the hearing the commissioners court finds that
creation of the district is feasible and will promote the public
safety, welfare, health, and convenience of persons residing in the
proposed district, the commissioners court shall grant the petition
and [,] fix the district's boundaries[, and impose any conditions
negotiated under Section 775.014(h)]. If the proposed district,
according to its boundaries stated in the petition, is located
wholly in a county with a population of more than 3.3 million, the
commissioners court may amend the petition to change the boundaries
of the proposed district if the commissioners court finds the
change is necessary or desirable. For the purposes of this
provision, the population of the county is determined according to
the most recent federal decennial census available at the time the
petition is filed.
SECTION 4. Section 775.018(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) On the granting of a petition, the commissioners court
shall order an election to confirm the district's creation and
authorize the imposition of a tax not to exceed the rate allowed by
Section 48-e, Article III, Texas Constitution. [Any conditions
negotiated under Section 775.014(h) must be included on the
ballot.]
SECTION 5. Section 775.019(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A district may not include territory in a municipality's
limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction unless a majority of the
voters residing in that territory who vote at the election vote in
favor of creating the district [subject to any conditions
negotiated under Section 775.014(h)] and imposing a tax. The
exclusion of that territory does not affect the creation of a
district that includes the remainder of the proposed territory if
the commissioners court's findings under Section 775.017 are
favorable to the district's creation.
SECTION 6. Section 775.022(g), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) The amount of compensation under Subsection (c) shall be
determined under Subsection (e) regardless of whether Subsection
(e-1) would yield a greater amount if:
(1) the municipality has a population of more than one
million and the majority of the territory inside the municipality's
corporate boundaries is located inside a county with a population
of less than 2.1 million [is a municipality described by Section
775.014(h)]; and
(2) the municipality and the district enter into an
agreement on or before September 1, 2019, regarding the district's
bonded and other indebtedness.
SECTION 7. The following sections of the Health and Safety
Code are repealed:
(1) Section 775.014(h);
(2) Section 775.019(f); and
(3) Section 775.031(e).
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.