BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 2569

By: Lucio

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Willacy County Navigation District was created in 1948 to take advantage of the Port of Mansfield's location on the Laguna Madre Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The district provides or oversees a number of governmental functions, such as water distribution, sanitary sewer and solid waste collection, and subdivision development.

The district has grown and now encompasses the communities of Port Mansfield, San Perlita, La Sara, and the City of Raymondville. The district's functions and population have grown considerably, and the Commissioners Court of Willacy County has expressed interest in expanding the number of board members from three to five to better represent the entirety of the district.

C.S.S.B. 2569 requires, not later than June 1, 2010, the board of navigation and canal commissioners of the Willacy County Navigation District, consisting of five elected commissioners serving four-year terms, to divide the territory of the district into four numbered single-member districts for the purposes of electing commissioners and requires the board to hold an election to elect the appropriate number of commissioners on the uniform election date in November of each even-numbered year.

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.S.B. 2569 requires, not later than June 1, 2010, the board of navigation and canal commissioners of the Willacy County Navigation District to divide the territory of the district into four numbered single-member districts for electing commissioners. The bill authorizes the board to revise the single-member districts as necessary or appropriate. The bill establishes that the board consists of five commissioners, one of whom is elected from each single-member district and one of whom is elected from the district at large. The bill establishes that commissioners serve staggered four-year terms and that the commissioner elected from the district at large serves as the presiding officer of the board. The bill requires the board to hold an election to elect the appropriate number of commissioners on the uniform election date in November of each even-numbered year. The bill defines "board," "commissioner," and "district."

C.S.S.B. 2569 requires a commissioner of the district who is serving on the day before the bill's effective date to serve until a successor qualifies following an election and requires the board, on the uniform election date in November 2010, to hold an election to elect one at-large commissioner and four commissioners from single-member districts. The bill requires the five elected commissioners to draw lots to determine which two commissioners shall serve a term expiring December 1, 2012, and which three shall serve a term expiring December 1, 2014. The bill requires the board, on the uniform election date in November 2012, to hold an election to elect two commissioners to terms of four years and requires the board on the uniform election date in 2014 to hold an election to elect three commissioners to terms of four years.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.S.B. 2569 clarifies the election of Willacy County Navigation District board members in 2010, 2012, and 2014, rather than 2009, 2011, and 2013 as in the original. The substitute adds a provision not in the original establishing that the member elected from the district at large serves as presiding officer of the board. The substitute differs from the original by specifying that the determination on which commissioners shall serve two-year or four-year terms after the initial election under the substitute's provisions is to be made by drawing lots, whereas the original requires the board to adopt a resolution to make such a determination.

C.S.S.B. 2569 differs from the original in nonsubstantive ways by using language reflective of certain bill drafting conventions.

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