By Hamric                                        H.B. No. 924

      75R4409 PAM-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to voluntary withdrawal from municipal extraterritorial

 1-3     jurisdiction in certain circumstances.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 42, Local Government Code,

 1-6     is amended by adding Section 42.026 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 42.026.  VOLUNTARY WITHDRAWAL FROM EXTRATERRITORIAL

 1-8     JURISDICTION.  (a)  This section applies only in a county with a

 1-9     population of 2.8 million or more or a county adjacent to a county

1-10     with a population of 2.8 million or more.

1-11           (b)  This section applies only to an area:

1-12                 (1)  in which more than 1,000 registered voters reside;

1-13                 (2)  that has been located in the same municipality's

1-14     extraterritorial jurisdiction for at least 20 years; and

1-15                 (3)  that has water, wastewater, electricity, and solid

1-16     waste collection services available.

1-17           (c)  A municipality shall by ordinance or resolution give its

1-18     written consent to reduce its extraterritorial jurisdiction if:

1-19                 (1)  the municipality orders an election to submit to

1-20     the qualified voters of the area the question of withdrawing from

1-21     the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction; and

1-22                 (2)  a majority of the voters voting on the question

1-23     approve the question.

1-24           (d)  The municipality shall order an election on the question

 2-1     of withdrawing from the municipality's extraterritorial

 2-2     jurisdiction if the municipality is petitioned as provided by

 2-3     Subsection (e).  The ballot at the election shall be printed to

 2-4     permit voting for or against the proposition:  "Withdrawing from

 2-5     the extraterritorial jurisdiction of (name of municipality)."  The

 2-6     municipality shall order the election for the first uniform

 2-7     election date that occurs on or after the 45th day after the date

 2-8     the municipality receives from the municipal secretary the

 2-9     certification of the petition under Subsection (f).

2-10           (e)  To initiate an election to withdraw from a

2-11     municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, a petition must be

2-12     presented to the municipal secretary that includes:

2-13                 (1)  a description of the area proposing to withdraw;

2-14                 (2)  the signatures of at least 20 percent of the

2-15     registered voters in the area; and

2-16                 (3)  a statement, on each page of the petition, of the

2-17     ballot proposition for the proposed election.

2-18           (f)  Not later than the 10th day after the date a petition is

2-19     presented to the municipal secretary, the secretary shall determine

2-20     whether the petition complies with the requirements of this

2-21     section.  Not later than the fifth day after the date the secretary

2-22     determines that the petition is valid, the secretary shall certify

2-23     to the governing board of the municipality the validity of the

2-24     petition and the statement of the ballot proposition.

2-25           (g)  If the conditions of Subsection (c) are met, the

2-26     municipality shall adopt the required ordinance or resolution

2-27     within 60 days after the date the municipality officially canvasses

 3-1     and certifies that a majority of the voters voting in the election

 3-2     approved withdrawing from the municipality's extraterritorial

 3-3     jurisdiction.  The area is released from the municipality's

 3-4     extraterritorial jurisdiction on the date of the adoption of the

 3-5     ordinance or resolution.

 3-6           (h)  For purposes of an election under this section, an area

 3-7     in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality is a

 3-8     territorial unit of the municipality.

 3-9           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-10     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-11     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-12     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-13     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

3-14     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

3-15     passage, and it is so enacted.