BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1175

By: Workman

Urban Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law requires that municipal governments of more than 1.5 million are governed by city councils which include representation from single-member districts. (Local Government Code, Chapter 26, Section 26.044). Certain areas of the state find that under current law, representation on some city councils does not reflect the interests of the entire geographic area.

This bill would require the governing bodies of municipalities with a population of more than 500,000 to consist of a mayor elected at-large and at least six members of the governing body to be elected from single-member districts. Requiring single member districts in large urban areas would increase both participation and representation in municipal government.

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 adds Section 26.048 to the Local Government Code to provide that:

(a) The governing body of a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more must consist of a mayor elected at-large and that at least six members of the municipality's governing body must be elected from sing-member districts. The section also requires that a member must reside in the district the member represents.

Subsection (b) allows the municipality to stagger terms of the members of the municipality's governing body.

Subsection (c) requires that single-member districts be compact; must consist of contiguous territory; and must, to the extent possible, that all single-member districts be of equal population.

Beyond the six single-member districts, Subsection (d) allows for additional members of a municipality's governing board to be elected at-large.

Subsection (e) requires that a municipality governed by this section of code comply beginning with the first general election of members to the municipality's governing body that occurs after the year in which the federal census indicates that the municipality meets the population requirements of subsection (a).

SECTION 2  requires that a municipality, subject to Section 26.048 of the Local Government as of the effective date of the act, comply with the requirements of the section beginning with the first general election of members to the municipality's governing body that occurs after December 31, 2011.

SECTION 3 outlines the effective date of the bill.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2011.