BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4707

By: Chavez

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, El Paso County Hospital District board members serve a two-year term of office.  However, a two-year term limits continuity and hinders the development of leadership and effective planning for the board. A three-year term can increase the effectiveness of the board, and improve succession planning of the board leadership. Also, under current law, the commissioners court can either appoint five or seven members to the board. There are seven members currently serving on the board, however, occasionally there have been discussions by previous commissioners courts to reduce the board to five members. Requiring that the El Paso County Hospital District board maintain seven members would also help maintain continuity on the board. This legislation was filed at the request of the El Paso County Hospital District, and the recommended changes were unanimously endorsed by the El Paso County Commissioners Court.

C.S.H.B. 4707 requires the El Paso County Commissioners Court to appoint seven members to the El Paso County Hospital District board of hospital managers, lengthens the members' terms, and establishes attendance requirements and grounds for removal.

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

C.S.H.B. 4707 amends the Health and Safety Code to require the El Paso County Commissioners Court to appoint a board of hospital managers composed of seven members for the El Paso County Hospital District.  The bill provides that board members serve staggered three-year terms, with as near as possible to one-third of the members' terms expiring each year.  The bill prohibits a member of the board from serving more than two consecutive three-year terms and makes a member ineligible for reappointment until the second anniversary of the date the member's eligibility expires.  The bill considers a member of the board to have resigned his or her position if the member is absent from all the regularly scheduled board and committee meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a 90-day period or is absent from more than half of the regularly scheduled board and committee meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a 12-month period.  The bill makes a resignation under these conditions effective immediately on the date the absence occurs.

C.S.H.B. 4707 requires members appointed to succeed the members serving on the board on the effective date of the bill whose terms expire March 31, 2010, to serve three-year terms.  The bill requires members appointed to succeed the members serving on the effective date of the bill whose terms expire March 31, 2011, to draw lots to determine which two shall serve a term expiring March 31, 2012, and which two shall serve a term expiring March 31, 2014.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 4707 omits a provision included in the original that considers a member of the board to have resigned the member's position if the member refuses to sign the board pledge not later than the 10th day after the date the member is appointed to the board.