88R11707 MZM-D By: Tepper H.B. No. 2896 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the eligibility of certain counties to create a civil service system. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 158.002, Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 158.002. ELIGIBLE COUNTIES. A county with a population of 500,000 [190,000] or more may, in accordance with this subchapter, create a county civil service system to include all the employees of the county who are not exempted from the system by the express terms or judicial interpretations of this subchapter or by the operation of Subchapter B. SECTION 2. Section 158.0025(a), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) This section applies only to a county with a population of 500,000 [190,000] or more, other than: (1) a county that has created a civil service system under this subchapter to include those employees of the county described by Section 158.002; or (2) a county in which the sheriff's department is eligible to create a civil service system under Subchapter B. SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the eligibility of a county to create a civil service system on or after the effective date of this Act. The eligibility of a county to create a civil service system before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the system was created, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.