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House Bill 2667 |
House Author: Dutton |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Gallegos |
House Bill 2667 amends the Water Code to require the election official of a county in which a municipal utility district is located to administer an election for a director of the district and to require that the district pay the county for the services. If the district is located in more than one county, the bill requires the election official of the county in which the most inhabitants of the district reside to administer the election. The provisions of the bill do not apply to an election in a district that has 10 or fewer qualified voters at the time the election is called.
Reason Given for Veto: "House Bill No. 2667 would require Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) to contract with county election officials to administer elections for directors of the district. Currently, MUDs may conduct their own elections.
"While House Bill No. 2667 is an attempt to bring uniformity to the election process for MUDs, it has not taken into consideration all of the ramifications on the county election process and the impact on taxpaying voters’ access to polling locations. I am a strong believer in providing fair and unfettered access to citizens exercising their right to vote. I also believe that creating uniformity in the election process will be of great benefit to other special taxing districts other than MUDs.
"House Bill No. 2667 fails to take into consideration several unintended consequences, such as the tremendous increase in workload for county officials and the increased cost to the districts and taxpayers. I have instructed my office to work with MUDs, other special taxing districts and county election officials to create a system of uniform elections that will benefit all districts and county election offices."