BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 1618
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
As proposed, S.B. 1618 requires municipalities with populations over 500,000 to have a governing body composed of a mayor and at least six members elected from single-member districts who reside in the district they represent.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 26, Local Government Code, by adding Section 26.048, as follows:
Sec. 26.048. CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES WITH POPULATION OF 500,000 OR MORE: ELECTION FROM SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS. (a) Requires the governing body of a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more to consist of a mayor elected at large and at least six members elected from single-member districts. Requires a member to reside in the district the member represents.
(b) Authorizes the municipality to provide for the staggering of the terms of the members of the municipality's governing body.
(c) Requires a single-member district to be compact and consist of contiguous territory. Requires all single-member districts, to the extent practicable, to be of equal population.
(d) Provides that this section does not prevent a municipality from having additional members elected to the governing body from the municipality at-large.
(e) Requires a municipality to comply with this section beginning with the first general election of members to the municipality's governing body that occurs after the year in which the federal decennial census indicates that the municipality meets the population requirements of Subsection (a).
SECTION 2. Provides that a municipality to which Section 26.048, Local Government Code, as added by this Act, applies on the effective date of this Act is required to comply with the requirements of that section beginning with the first general election of members to the municipality's governing body that occurs after December 31, 2009.
SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2009.