BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

                                                                                                                                              S.B. 718

                                                                                                                                            By: Eltife

                                                                                                                                    County Affairs

                                                                                                       Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Currently, Section 775.013, Health and Safety Code, provides requirements for the content of a petition to create an emergency services district.  Subsection (a)(3) of that section requires the petition to include the proposed district's boundaries as designated by "metes and bounds" or other "sufficient legal description."  In some instances a county may not be able to establish definite "metes and bounds" and will need to use a "sufficient legal description." 

 

As proposed, S.B. 718 provides that "sufficient legal description" can be boundaries coextensive with the boundaries of another political subdivision existing on a particular date.  This will allow the boundaries of the emergency services district to be designated using the existing boundaries of a county or a city.  

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. 

 

ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 775.013, Health and Safety Code, by adding Subsection (a-1), to provide that a statement that the boundaries of [an emergency services] district are coextensive with the boundaries of another political subdivision, as those boundaries exist on a particular date, is a sufficient legal description for the purpose of Subsection (a)(3) (Contents of Petition).

 

SECTION 2.  Effective date

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2005.