By Wentworth S.B. No. 1434
75R7464 CAG-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation of a consolidated municipal-county
1-3 government in Bexar County.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle E, Title 2, Local Government Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 63 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 63. MUNICIPAL-COUNTY CONSOLIDATION
1-8 Sec. 63.001. APPOINTMENT OF CHARTER COMMISSION. (a) The
1-9 Commissioners Court of Bexar County:
1-10 (1) may appoint at any time a charter commission to
1-11 draft a charter consolidating political subdivisions under Section
1-12 64A, Article III, Texas Constitution; or
1-13 (2) shall appoint a charter commission to draft the
1-14 charter if the court is petitioned to do so under Section 63.002.
1-15 (b) The number of members of the charter commission shall be
1-16 determined by the commissioners court but may not be less than 21
1-17 members or more than 27 members.
1-18 Sec. 63.002. PETITION. A petition for the commissioners
1-19 court to appoint a charter commission must:
1-20 (1) be filed with the office of the county clerk of
1-21 Bexar County;
1-22 (2) be signed by a number of registered voters of
1-23 Bexar County at least equal to 10 percent of the number of votes
1-24 received for governor in the county in the most recent
2-1 gubernatorial election; and
2-2 (3) comply with the applicable requirements of general
2-3 law relating to a petition authorized or required to be filed in
2-4 connection with an election.
2-5 Sec. 63.003. VERIFICATION OF PETITION. (a) Within 30 days
2-6 after the date the petition is filed with the county clerk, the
2-7 clerk shall determine whether the petition meets the requirements
2-8 of Section 63.002 and shall certify in writing to the commissioners
2-9 court whether the petition is valid or invalid.
2-10 (b) If the county clerk certifies that the petition is
2-11 valid, the commissioners court shall appoint a charter commission
2-12 within 120 days after the date the commissioners court receives the
2-13 clerk's certification.
2-14 (c) If the petition is certified as invalid, the county
2-15 clerk shall state the reason for that determination. A person
2-16 circulating the petition has 60 days after the date of
2-17 certification to submit additional petitions or signatures to cure
2-18 the determination of a deficiency, and the clerk, not later than
2-19 the 21st day after the filing of the additional petitions or
2-20 signatures, shall determine whether the additional petitions or
2-21 signatures are sufficient to cure the deficiency and shall certify
2-22 that determination to the commissioners court.
2-23 Sec. 63.004. NOTIFICATION OF OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.
2-24 Not later than the 30th day after the date the commissioners court
2-25 receives a determination under Section 63.003(b) or after the
2-26 commissioners court decides to appoint a charter commission without
2-27 a petition under Section 63.001(a)(1), the commissioners court
3-1 shall give notice to the governing body of each municipality having
3-2 any portion of its area in Bexar County of the court's intention to
3-3 appoint a charter commission. The notice to the governing body of
3-4 San Antonio must specify the number of charter commission members
3-5 who are to be appointed to represent San Antonio on the charter
3-6 commission under Section 63.005.
3-7 Sec. 63.005. COMMISSION COMPOSITION. (a) The charter
3-8 commission must include a number of members from San Antonio that
3-9 is at least in the same ratio to the total membership of the
3-10 commission as the ratio of San Antonio's population to the total
3-11 population of Bexar County. The members of the commission
3-12 appointed under this subsection are appointed by the governing body
3-13 of San Antonio. If the governing body of San Antonio fails to
3-14 appoint members within 60 days after the date of receiving notice
3-15 of the commissioners court's intent to appoint a charter
3-16 commission, the commissioners court shall appoint the proportionate
3-17 number of residents of San Antonio to the commission.
3-18 (b) The charter commission also must include reasonable
3-19 representation of the population of other incorporated areas within
3-20 Bexar County and of the unincorporated areas of Bexar County.
3-21 (c) The membership of the charter commission must reasonably
3-22 reflect the ethnic distribution of the population of:
3-23 (1) San Antonio; and
3-24 (2) the remainder of Bexar County.
3-25 Sec. 63.006. PREPARATION OF CHARTER. (a) The charter
3-26 commission shall prepare the charter. The charter commission shall
3-27 file its proposed charter with the commissioners court on or before
4-1 the second anniversary of the date the first appointment to the
4-2 commission is made.
4-3 (b) When the proposed charter is filed with the
4-4 commissioners court, the commissioners court shall submit the
4-5 charter to the United States Department of Justice for preclearance
4-6 under the federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1973c et
4-7 seq.), as amended. If the requirement for preclearance under the
4-8 Voting Rights Act is not applicable to the proposed charter, the
4-9 commissioners court shall submit the charter to the attorney
4-10 general. The attorney general shall determine whether the adoption
4-11 of the proposed charter would result in any retrogression in the
4-12 effective voting strength of minority populations in the county,
4-13 under standards or analysis similar to the standards or analysis
4-14 applied to proposed local government charters under the federal
4-15 Voting Rights Act.
4-16 (c) If the proposed charter is precleared or the attorney
4-17 general determines that no retrogression would occur, the
4-18 commissioners court by order shall call an election to approve the
4-19 proposed charter on the first authorized uniform election date
4-20 prescribed by general law after the date the proposed charter is
4-21 filed with the commissioners court and that allows sufficient time
4-22 to comply with applicable requirements of general law.
4-23 (d) On the date of the election called by the commissioners
4-24 court under Subsection (c), the charter commission is dissolved.
4-25 Sec. 63.007. ADOPTION OF CHARTER. (a) The adoption of the
4-26 charter must be initially approved at the election by a majority of
4-27 the votes received from the voters of Bexar County.
5-1 (b) On the next authorized uniform election date prescribed
5-2 by general law after the date the proposed charter is approved
5-3 under Subsection (a) and that allows sufficient time to comply with
5-4 applicable requirements of general law, the governing body of each
5-5 municipality, other than San Antonio, having all or the largest
5-6 portion of the municipality's area in Bexar County shall call an
5-7 election on the question of whether the municipality shall be
5-8 consolidated into the consolidated municipal-county government.
5-9 (c) If a majority of the votes received at an election under
5-10 Subsection (b) favor the consolidation, the municipality shall be
5-11 consolidated into the consolidated municipal-county government
5-12 under the terms of the charter.
5-13 (d) If a majority of the votes received at an election under
5-14 Subsection (b) do not favor the consolidation, the municipality
5-15 shall continue to exist and function as a municipality located in
5-16 the consolidated municipal-county area according to the terms of
5-17 the municipality's charter or, if the municipality does not have a
5-18 charter, according to the terms of general law.
5-19 (e) Following the adoption of a charter and the initial
5-20 election on consolidation of municipalities under Subsection (c),
5-21 the consolidated municipal-county government may later consolidate
5-22 additional municipalities, special districts or authorities, or
5-23 other political subdivisions if:
5-24 (1) the consolidated municipal-county government
5-25 follows the conditions of the charter, if any, for additional
5-26 consolidation; and
5-27 (2) the majority of the votes received from the voters
6-1 of the municipality, special district or authority, or political
6-2 subdivision approve, at an election, the additional consolidation.
6-3 Sec. 63.008. GOVERNING BODY OF CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT. (a)
6-4 A charter adopted under this section shall provide for a governing
6-5 body that consists of:
6-6 (1) a presiding officer elected at large;
6-7 (2) four members elected from single-member districts
6-8 that when placed together encompass the entire territory of the
6-9 consolidated municipal-county government; and
6-10 (3) a number of members elected from single-member
6-11 districts that when placed together encompass the territory of the
6-12 consolidated municipal-county government, excluding any
6-13 unconsolidated municipalities.
6-14 (b) The number of districts adopted under Subsection (a)(3)
6-15 must be sufficient to ensure that, in the first election following
6-16 the consolidation, the average population of each district is less
6-17 than the average population of a single-member district of the
6-18 governing body of San Antonio preceding the date of the
6-19 consolidation.
6-20 Sec. 63.009. SERVICE DISTRICTS. (a) The charter shall
6-21 divide the area in the consolidated municipal-county government
6-22 into service districts for the purpose of taxation and the
6-23 provision of services.
6-24 (b) One district shall encompass the entire territory of
6-25 Bexar County before the date of consolidation. In this district,
6-26 the services that the consolidated municipal-county government
6-27 provides on an equal basis throughout the district shall be
7-1 financed by the levy of ad valorem taxes or other taxes or revenues
7-2 that are uniform throughout the district. This district shall be
7-3 called the county service district.
7-4 (c) One district shall encompass the entire territory of San
7-5 Antonio before the date of the consolidation. The district may be
7-6 expanded to coincide with the growth of urbanized areas as
7-7 provided by the charter. In this district, the incremental services
7-8 provided by the consolidated municipal-county government, in
7-9 addition to services provided by the county service district or at
7-10 a higher level than the services provided by the county service
7-11 district, shall be financed by an additional levy of ad valorem
7-12 taxes or by the imposition of additional taxes or revenues raised
7-13 solely in the district. The district shall be known as the urban
7-14 service district.
7-15 (d) One district shall encompass any territory of the
7-16 consolidated municipal-county government. In this district,
7-17 incremental services provided by the consolidated municipal-county
7-18 government shall be financed by the additional levy of ad valorem
7-19 taxes or by additional taxes or revenues raised solely in the
7-20 district. The district shall be known as the general services
7-21 district.
7-22 (e) If a municipality is unconsolidated after the adoption
7-23 of the charter and later becomes consolidated, the municipality may
7-24 be added to the urban service district or a separate urban service
7-25 district, as provided by the charter.
7-26 Sec. 63.010. AD VALOREM TAXES. The charter shall provide
7-27 that an ad valorem tax levied for debt service of the general
8-1 obligation debt that was authorized or issued by any consolidated
8-2 municipality, any special district or authority, or any other
8-3 political subdivision that is a part of the consolidated
8-4 municipal-county government shall continue to be levied:
8-5 (1) only in the area of the urban service district
8-6 that replaces the consolidated municipality; and
8-7 (2) only in the area of the special district or
8-8 authority or the political subdivision that is consolidated.
8-9 Sec. 63.011. CONSOLIDATION OF EMPLOYEES. The charter shall
8-10 provide that every employee, other than elected officials, of the
8-11 county or a municipality, special district or authority, or other
8-12 political subdivision that is part of the consolidated
8-13 municipal-county government and whose position is eliminated or
8-14 abolished as a result of the consolidation or within two years
8-15 after the date of the adoption of the charter, by a reduction in
8-16 force or by administrative reorganization, must be offered
8-17 alternative employment by the consolidated municipal-county
8-18 government at a salary equal to the salary of the abolished
8-19 position and with substantially equal employee or retirement
8-20 benefits.
8-21 Sec. 63.012. RETIREMENT BENEFITS. (a) The charter shall
8-22 provide for the continuation of a pension fund or the retirement
8-23 system contributions by both the consolidated municipal-county
8-24 government and the employees of the consolidated municipal-county
8-25 government that would have been made by the former county
8-26 government or the municipalities, special districts or authorities,
8-27 or other political subdivisions before the adoption of the charter.
9-1 (b) Employees of the consolidated municipal-county
9-2 government hired after the adoption of the charter shall be placed
9-3 in an appropriate pension fund or retirement system.
9-4 Sec. 63.013. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. The charter may not
9-5 diminish the right of employees of the consolidated
9-6 municipal-county government to organize, to meet and confer, and to
9-7 bargain collectively with the officials of the consolidated
9-8 municipal-county government over wages, hours of work, and other
9-9 terms of employment as provided by state law.
9-10 Sec. 63.014. ANNEXATION. (a) The charter shall, within
9-11 Bexar County, establish procedures for the progressive territorial
9-12 expansion of the urban service district to reflect the growth of
9-13 the urbanized area.
9-14 (b) In areas outside Bexar County, the urban service
9-15 district may take any action that a municipality having the same
9-16 size and population of the urban service district may take to annex
9-17 territory, extend the district's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or
9-18 to alter the boundaries of the district under this code.
9-19 (c) The extraterritorial jurisdiction located in Bexar
9-20 County of a municipality that is not consolidated under this
9-21 chapter may not be expanded.
9-22 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the date on which the
9-23 constitutional amendment proposed by the 75th Legislature, Regular
9-24 Session, 1997, adding Section 64A to Article III of the Texas
9-25 Constitution and providing for the consolidation of the government
9-26 of Bexar County and local governments in Bexar County takes effect.
9-27 If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no
10-1 effect.
10-2 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
10-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
10-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
10-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.