S.B. No. 1229 5-1 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 5-2 Amend S.B. 1229 as follows: 5-3 (1) On page 2, line 9, insert at the end of the line before 5-4 the period "at least 120 days before the end of the district's 5-5 fiscal year". 5-6 (2) On page 3, line 21, insert at the end of the line before 5-7 the period "at least 120 days before the end of the district's 5-8 fiscal year". 5-9 (3) On page 1, lines 19 and 20, replace the words 5-10 "personnel, and property" with the words "officials, and assets". 5-11 (4) On page 3, lines 7 and 8, replace the words "personnel, 5-12 and property" with the words "officials, and assets". 5-13 Hamric 5-14 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2 5-15 Amend S.B. No. 1229 by inserting new Sections 5-9, to read as 5-16 follows, and by renumbering subsequent sections accordingly: 5-17 SECTION 5. Chapter 794, Health and Safety Code, is amended 5-18 by adding Subchapter F to read as follows: 5-19 SUBCHAPTER F. CONVERSION TO EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT 5-20 Sec. 794.100. CONVERSION AUTHORIZED. A district may be 5-21 converted to an emergency services district if: 5-22 (1) the board receives a petition for conversion from 5-23 the qualified voters in the district; and 5-24 (2) the conversion is approved by a majority of the 5-25 qualified voters of the district who vote at an election called and 5-26 held for that purpose. 5-27 Sec. 794.101. CONTENTS OF PETITION. (a) The petition 6-1 prescribed by Section 794.100 must: 6-2 (1) state the name of the proposed emergency services 6-3 district; 6-4 (2) describe the existing district's boundaries by 6-5 metes and bounds or other sufficient legal description; and 6-6 (3) be signed by at least 100 qualified voters in the 6-7 existing district or, if there are fewer than 100 of those voters, 6-8 be signed by a majority of those voters. 6-9 (b) The name of the district proposed by the petition must 6-10 be "________ County Emergency Services District No. ________," with 6-11 the name of the county and the proper consecutive number inserted. 6-12 Sec. 794.102. ORDER OF ELECTION. (a) Not later than the 6-13 30th day after the date the petition is presented to the board, the 6-14 board shall order an election on the question of converting the 6-15 district. 6-16 (b) The election shall be held not later than the 60th day 6-17 after the date on which the election is ordered. 6-18 (c) Section 41.001(a), Election Code, does not apply to an 6-19 election ordered under this section. 6-20 Sec. 794.103. BALLOT PROPOSITION. The ballot for an 6-21 election ordered under Section 794.102 shall be printed to permit 6-22 voting for or against the proposition: "The conversion of the 6-23 __________ Rural Fire Prevention District from a district operating 6-24 under Chapter 794, Health and Safety Code, to a district operating 6-25 under Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code." 6-26 Sec. 794.104. EFFECTIVE DATE OF CONVERSION. If a majority 6-27 of the qualified voters participating in the election vote in favor 7-1 of the proposition, the conversion becomes effective on the 30th 7-2 day after the date on which the election results are declared. 7-3 Sec. 794.105. DISTRICT RESPONSIBILITIES. If a district is 7-4 converted to an emergency services district, the emergency services 7-5 district assumes all obligations and outstanding indebtedness of 7-6 the district. 7-7 SECTION 6. Section 775.056, Health and Safety Code, is 7-8 repealed. 7-9 SECTION 7. The legislature finds that: 7-10 (1) Chapter 673, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular 7-11 Session, 1987, was adopted and approved, effective January 1, 1988; 7-12 (2) that Act, implementing Section 48-e, Article III, 7-13 of the Texas Constitution, relates to the creation and operation of 7-14 emergency services districts; Section 33 of that Act provides for 7-15 the conversion of a rural fire prevention district to an emergency 7-16 services district; 7-17 (3) the intent of the legislature in adopting Section 7-18 33 of that Act was that, if a majority of the voters in a rural 7-19 fire prevention district voted to convert the district to an 7-20 emergency services district, the boundaries of the emergency 7-21 services district would be coextensive with the boundaries of the 7-22 fire prevention district, and the territory within the boundaries 7-23 of the emergency services district would be coextensive with the 7-24 territory within the boundaries of the fire prevention district; 7-25 (4) in certain counties in this state, valid elections 7-26 were conducted to convert certain rural fire prevention districts 7-27 to emergency services districts, in which elections a majority of 8-1 the participating voters voted in favor of the conversion; however, 8-2 the boundaries of those emergency services districts are not 8-3 coextensive with the boundaries of the fire prevention districts, 8-4 and the territory within the boundaries of the emergency services 8-5 districts is not coextensive with the territory that was within the 8-6 boundaries of the fire prevention districts; 8-7 (5) the act of establishing boundaries of the 8-8 emergency services districts that are not coextensive with the 8-9 boundaries of the rural fire prevention district, and the act of 8-10 excluding from the emergency services districts territory that was 8-11 within the boundaries of the fire prevention districts, were 8-12 inconsistent with Section 33 of that Act, contrary to the intent of 8-13 the legislature, and invalid; and 8-14 (6) the health, safety, and welfare of persons and 8-15 property in those counties creates an emergency that requires 8-16 immediate action by the legislature. 8-17 SECTION 8. On and after the effective date of this Act: 8-18 (1) the boundaries of an emergency services district 8-19 that was converted from a rural fire prevention district following 8-20 an election held for that purpose are coextensive with the 8-21 boundaries of the fire prevention district; 8-22 (2) the territory within the boundaries of an 8-23 emergency services district that was converted from a rural fire 8-24 prevention district following an election held for that purpose is 8-25 coextensive with the territory within the boundaries of the fire 8-26 prevention district; and 8-27 (3) each act or attempted act of an emergency services 9-1 district taken before the effective date of this Act is validated 9-2 in all respects and applies to territory within the boundaries of 9-3 the district as if it had been within the district when the act or 9-4 attempted act was taken. 9-5 SECTION 9. Section 8 of this Act does not apply to or affect 9-6 a matter that on the effective date of this Act is involved in 9-7 litigation in a court of competent jurisdiction in this state. 9-8 73R9668 JD-D Hamric