By:  Nelson, Madla                                     S.B. No. 542
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the authority of the commissioners court of a county to
 1-3     meet and transact business in a location other than the county
 1-4     seat.
 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subsections (b) and (c), Section 81.005, Local
 1-7     Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
 1-8           (b)  The county judge or three county commissioners may call
 1-9     a special term of the court.  A special term may continue until the
1-10     court's business is completed.  A special term may be held at a
1-11     meeting place located in the county and outside the county seat if:
1-12                 (1)  the commissioners court agrees to meet in that
1-13     location; and
1-14                 (2)  the meeting place is in a building providing
1-15     public access that can accommodate the number of persons expected
1-16     to attend the meeting.
1-17           (c)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and [Subsection]
1-18     (f) of this section, the term shall be held at:
1-19                 (1)  the county seat at the courthouse;
1-20                 (2)  an auxiliary courthouse, courthouse annex, or
1-21     another building in the county acquired by the county under Chapter
1-22     292, 293, or 305 or another law, that houses county administration
1-23     offices or county or district courts, located inside the municipal
1-24     limits of the county seat;
1-25                 (3)  the regular meeting place of another political
 2-1     subdivision if:
 2-2                       (A)  the commissioners court meets with the
 2-3     governing body of that political subdivision located wholly or
 2-4     partly within the county; and
 2-5                       (B)  the regular meeting place of that political
 2-6     subdivision is in the county;
 2-7                 (4)  a meeting place in the county in a building owned
 2-8     by another political subdivision located wholly or partly in the
 2-9     county if:
2-10                       (A)  the commissioners court meets with the
2-11     governing body of that political subdivision;
2-12                       (B)  the places where the commissioners court and
2-13     the governing body of the political subdivision regularly hold
2-14     their meetings are not large enough to accommodate the number of
2-15     persons expected to attend the meeting; and
2-16                       (C)  the meeting place in the building owned by
2-17     the political subdivision is large enough to accommodate the
2-18     expected number of persons; or
2-19                 (5)  a meeting place in the county in a building owned
2-20     by the county if:
2-21                       (A)  the place where the commissioners court
2-22     regularly holds its meetings is not large enough to accommodate the
2-23     number of persons expected to attend the meeting; and
2-24                       (B)  the meeting place in the building owned by
2-25     the county is large enough to accommodate the expected number of
2-26     persons.
 3-1           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
 3-2     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
 3-3     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 3-4     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 3-5     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.