83R216 VOO-D

By: Larson H.B. No. 121

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requiring that members of the governing board of certain metropolitan rapid transit authorities be elected.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 451.502(f), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(f) This section does not apply to the board of an authority described by Section 451.5021(a) or 451.5022.

SECTION 2. Subchapter K, Chapter 451, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 451.5022 to read as follows:

Sec. 451.5022. ELECTION OF MEMBERS; CERTAIN AUTHORITIES. (a) In an authority created before 1980 in which the principal municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million, the board members are elected by a majority of the registered voters of the authority in an election for that purpose held on the uniform election date in November.

(b) Each board member serves a staggered term of two years.

SECTION 3. Section 451.504, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a [A] vacancy on a board is filled by the person or entity that appointed the member who was in the position that is vacant. If confirmation of the previous position was required, confirmation of the vacancy appointment is required in the same manner.

(a-1) A vacancy on a board elected under Section 451.5022 is filled by appointment of the remaining members.

SECTION 4. Sections 451.506(a) and (b), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) A member of the board may be reappointed or reelected except as provided by this section.

(b) An individual may not serve more than eight years on the same board and may not be appointed or elected to a term for which service to the completion of the term would exceed this limitation. This subsection applies only to a board of an authority:

(1) in which the principal municipality has a population of more than 1.9 million or less than 320,000; or

(2) created before 1980 and in which the principal municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million.

SECTION 5. Section 451.509, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:

(c) In an authority in which the principal municipality has a population of more than 850,000, a member of a [the] board that is exclusively appointed may be removed for any ground described by Section 451.510 by the person or entity that appointed the member. If the person who appointed the member is the mayor of the principal municipality, the removal is by recommendation of the mayor and confirmation by the municipality's governing body. If the member to be removed was appointed by the mayor of the principal municipality, the statement required by Section 451.511(a) shall be given by the mayor, and confirmation of removal by the governing body of the municipality is necessary.

(c-1) In an authority in which the board is elected under Section 451.5022, a member of the board may be removed for any ground described by Section 451.510 by a majority of the board members. The member who is the subject of the removal vote is not eligible to participate in the vote.

SECTION 6. Section 451.510, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 451.510. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL FROM BOARD. The grounds for removal of a member of a board are:

(1) inefficiency in office;

(2) nonfeasance or malfeasance in office;

(3) not having at the time of election or appointment or not maintaining during service on the board the qualifications for office described by Section 451.507;

(4) a violation of Chapter 171, Local Government Code, or Section 451.112;

(5) the inability, because of illness or disability, to discharge the member's duties of office during a substantial part of the term for which the member is appointed; and

(6) absence, without having been excused by a majority vote of the board, from more than one-half of the regularly scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a calendar year.

SECTION 7. Section 451.513, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b) In an authority in which members of the board are exclusively appointed, the [The] entity that confirmed a board member who was appointed, or if there is no confirmation, the entity that appointed a board member, shall take action under this section to remove the member or to reconfirm the member's appointment:

(1) on receipt of notice from the secretary of state that a valid recall petition was presented to the entity; or

(2) if the secretary of state fails to notify the entity as required by Subsection (d).

(b-1) In an authority in which the board is elected under Section 451.5022, the board, other than the member who is the subject of the recall, may take action to remove the member:

(1) on receipt of notice from the secretary of state that a valid recall petition was presented to the board; or

(2) if the secretary of state fails to notify the board as required by Subsection (d).

(d) After receiving a petition under this section the entity or board shall send it to the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall, not later than the 10th day after the date the petition is received, determine whether the petition is valid and notify the entity or board, as appropriate, of the determination.

(e) Not later than the 30th day after the date a member is removed under this section, the vacancy shall be filled as otherwise provided by this chapter, except that the individual removed by recall may not be appointed or reappointed to fill the vacancy. Beginning on the day after the date of the removal, the individual removed may not be appointed or elected to any other position on the board for a period equal to the normal term of office for a board member.

SECTION 8. Section 451.516, Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 451.516. INCREASE OF MEMBERSHIP: CONTINUITY. If the membership of a board is increased under Section 451.501, the board as constituted immediately before the increase may continue as the board of the authority until the additional members are appointed or elected and seated.

SECTION 9. Members of the governing board of a metropolitan rapid transit authority created before 1980 in which the principal municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million shall be elected pursuant to Section 451.5022, Transportation Code, as added by this Act, in November 2013. The terms of the members of the governing board elected in November 2013 shall commence on January 2, 2014. The members elected shall draw lots for the appropriate number of one-year and two-year terms as needed to establish staggered terms as required by Section 451.5022(b), Transportation Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.