By Greenberg H.B. No. 1824
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1824:
By Hamric C.S.H.B. No. 1824
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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.