By: Vasut H.B. No. 2694
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the election, terms, and resignation of the board of
commissioners of the Brazoria Drainage District No. 4.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7, Chapter 991, Acts of the 74th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (f) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) The district is managed by a board of three
commissioners as provided by Chapter 56, Water Code, and each holds
an elected office designated as Place No. 1, Place No. 2, or Place
No. 3. The board shall call and hold elections for the appropriate
number of commissioners on the uniform election date in May
[November] of each [oven] odd-numbered year. The [Notwithstanding
Section 56.063, Water Code, the] commissioners serve staggered
four-year terms, each beginning June [January] 1 of the year
[following] of the commissioner's election and continuing until the
commissioner's successor in office is elected and has qualified.
(a-1) If a commissioner announces the commissioner's
candidacy, or in fact becomes a candidate, in any general, special,
or primary election for any office of profit or trust under the laws
of this State or the United States other than the office of
commissioner for the district, at any time when the unexpired term
of office then held shall exceed one year and 30 days, such
announcement or candidacy shall constitute an automatic
resignation of the office of the commissioner.
(f) A vacancy in a commissioner's office or other board
office shall be filled by appointment by the remaining
commissioners if less than 290 days remain before the date of the
next regular election of one or more commissioners. [If the
commissioners do not agree on an appointment before the 61st day
after the date the vacancy occurs, the commissioners shall call and
hold a special election to fill the office before the 121st day
after the date the vacancy occurs].
SECTION 2. Sections 7(b), (c), (d), (e), and (i), Chapter
991, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, are
repealed.
SECTION 3. (a) The Brazoria Drainage District No. 4 shall
hold the first election to elect commissioners for Place No. 1 and
Place No. 2 as described by Section 7(a), Chapter 991, Acts of the
74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, as amended by this Act, on
the uniform election date in May 2029.
(b) The Brazoria Drainage District No. 4 shall hold the
first election to elect the commissioner for Place No. 3 as
described by Section 7(a), Chapter 991, Acts of the 74th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, as amended by this Act, on the
uniform election date in May 2027.
(c) The terms of the commissioners for Place No. 1 and Place
No. 2 serving on the board of commissioners of the Brazoria
Drainage District No. 4 on the effective date of this Act expire on
the later of May 31, 2029, or the date the commissioners elected
under Subsection (a) of this section have qualified.
(d) The term of the commissioner for Place No. 3 serving on
the board of commissioners of the Brazoria Drainage District No. 4
immediately before the date of the election held under Subsection
(b) of this section expires on the later of May 31, 2027, or the date
the commissioner elected under that subsection has qualified.
SECTION 4. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.