By Eiland                                        H.B. No. 650

      75R756 JD-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the qualifications of a member of the board of

 1-3     directors of an appraisal district.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 6.03(a), Tax Code, is amended to read as

 1-6     follows:

 1-7           (a)  The appraisal district is governed by a board of five

 1-8     directors.  To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, an

 1-9     individual must be a resident of the district and must have resided

1-10     in the district for at least two years immediately preceding the

1-11     date the individual takes office.  An [To be eligible to serve on

1-12     the board of an appraisal district established for a county having

1-13     a population of at least 200,000 bordering a county having a

1-14     population of at least 2,000,000 and the Gulf of Mexico, an

1-15     individual must be a member of the governing body or an elected

1-16     officer of a taxing unit entitled to vote on the appointment of

1-17     board members under this section.  However, an] employee of a

1-18     taxing unit that participates in the district is not eligible to

1-19     serve on the board unless the individual is also a member of the

1-20     governing body or an elected official of a taxing unit that

1-21     participates in the district.

1-22           SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act in the

1-23     qualifications of members of the board of directors of an appraisal

1-24     district do not affect the entitlement of a member serving on a

 2-1     board immediately before the effective date of this Act to continue

 2-2     to serve on the board for the remainder of the member's term.  The

 2-3     changes in law apply only to a member appointed on or after the

 2-4     effective date of this Act.  This Act does not prohibit a person

 2-5     who is a member of the board on the effective date of this Act from

 2-6     being reappointed to the board if the person has the qualifications

 2-7     required for a member under the Tax Code as amended by this Act.

 2-8           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect January 1, 1998.

 2-9           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-10     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-11     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-12     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-13     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.