H.B. No. 1824 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the conversion of a rural fire prevention district to 1-3 an emergency services district and to the validation of certain 1-4 proceedings relating to the conversion of certain fire prevention 1-5 districts. 1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-7 SECTION 1. Chapter 794, Health and Safety Code, is amended 1-8 by adding Subchapter F to read as follows: 1-9 SUBCHAPTER F. CONVERSION TO EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT 1-10 Sec. 794.100. CONVERSION AUTHORIZED. A district may be 1-11 converted to an emergency services district if: 1-12 (1) the board receives a petition for conversion from 1-13 the qualified voters in the district; and 1-14 (2) the conversion is approved by a majority of the 1-15 qualified voters of the district who vote at an election called and 1-16 held for that purpose. 1-17 Sec. 794.101. CONTENTS OF PETITION. (a) The petition 1-18 prescribed by Section 794.100 must: 1-19 (1) state the name of the proposed emergency services 1-20 district; 1-21 (2) describe the existing district's boundaries by 1-22 metes and bounds or other sufficient legal description; and 1-23 (3) be signed by at least 100 qualified voters in the 1-24 existing district or, if there are fewer than 100 of those voters, 2-1 be signed by a majority of those voters. 2-2 (b) The name of the district proposed by the petition must 2-3 be "________ County Emergency Services District No. ________," with 2-4 the name of the county and the proper consecutive number inserted. 2-5 Sec. 794.102. ORDER OF ELECTION. (a) Not later than the 2-6 30th day after the date the petition is presented to the board, the 2-7 board shall order an election on the question of converting the 2-8 district. 2-9 (b) The election shall be held not later than the 60th day 2-10 after the date on which the election is ordered. 2-11 (c) Section 41.001(a), Election Code, does not apply to an 2-12 election ordered under this section. 2-13 Sec. 794.103. BALLOT PROPOSITION. The ballot for an 2-14 election ordered under Section 794.102 shall be printed to permit 2-15 voting for or against the proposition: "The conversion of the 2-16 __________ Rural Fire Prevention District from a district operating 2-17 under Chapter 794, Health and Safety Code, to a district operating 2-18 under Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code." 2-19 Sec. 794.104. EFFECTIVE DATE OF CONVERSION. If a majority 2-20 of the qualified voters participating in the election vote in favor 2-21 of the proposition, the conversion becomes effective on the 30th 2-22 day after the date on which the election results are declared. 2-23 Sec. 794.105. DISTRICT RESPONSIBILITIES. If a district is 2-24 converted to an emergency services district, the emergency services 2-25 district assumes all obligations and outstanding indebtedness of 2-26 the district. 2-27 SECTION 2. Section 775.056, Health and Safety Code, is 3-1 repealed. 3-2 SECTION 3. The legislature finds that: 3-3 (1) Chapter 673, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular 3-4 Session, 1987, was adopted and approved, effective January 1, 1988; 3-5 (2) that Act, implementing Section 48-e, Article III, 3-6 of the Texas Constitution, relates to the creation and operation of 3-7 emergency services districts; Section 33 of that Act provides for 3-8 the conversion of a rural fire prevention district to an emergency 3-9 services district; 3-10 (3) the intent of the legislature in adopting Section 3-11 33 of that Act was that, if a majority of the voters in a rural 3-12 fire prevention district voted to convert the district to an 3-13 emergency services district, the boundaries of the emergency 3-14 services district would be coextensive with the boundaries of the 3-15 fire prevention district, and the territory within the boundaries 3-16 of the emergency services district would be coextensive with the 3-17 territory within the boundaries of the fire prevention district; 3-18 (4) in certain counties in this state, valid elections 3-19 were conducted to convert certain rural fire prevention districts 3-20 to emergency services districts, in which elections a majority of 3-21 the participating voters voted in favor of the conversion; however, 3-22 the boundaries of those emergency services districts are not 3-23 coextensive with the boundaries of the fire prevention districts, 3-24 and the territory within the boundaries of the emergency services 3-25 districts is not coextensive with the territory that was within the 3-26 boundaries of the fire prevention districts; 3-27 (5) the act of establishing boundaries of the 4-1 emergency services districts that are not coextensive with the 4-2 boundaries of the rural fire prevention district, and the act of 4-3 excluding from the emergency services districts territory that was 4-4 within the boundaries of the fire prevention districts, were 4-5 inconsistent with Section 33 of that Act, contrary to the intent of 4-6 the legislature, and invalid; and 4-7 (6) the health, safety, and welfare of persons and 4-8 property in those counties creates an emergency that requires 4-9 immediate action by the legislature. 4-10 SECTION 4. On and after the effective date of this Act: 4-11 (1) the boundaries of an emergency services district 4-12 that was converted from a rural fire prevention district following 4-13 an election held for that purpose are coextensive with the 4-14 boundaries of the fire prevention district; 4-15 (2) the territory within the boundaries of an 4-16 emergency services district that was converted from a rural fire 4-17 prevention district following an election held for that purpose is 4-18 coextensive with the territory within the boundaries of the fire 4-19 prevention district; and 4-20 (3) each act or attempted act of an emergency services 4-21 district taken before the effective date of this Act is validated 4-22 in all respects and applies to territory within the boundaries of 4-23 the district as if it had been within the district when the act or 4-24 attempted act was taken. 4-25 SECTION 5. Section 4 of this Act does not apply to or affect 4-26 a matter that on the effective date of this Act is involved in 4-27 litigation in a court of competent jurisdiction in this state. 5-1 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the 5-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 5-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 5-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 5-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 5-6 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 5-7 passage, and it is so enacted.