Honorable David Dewhurst, Lieutenant Governor, Senate Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1596 by Zaffirini (Relating to emergency services districts.), Conference Committee Report
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Chapter 775 of the Health and Safety Code to require a municipality that completes procedures to annex territory in an emergency services district (ESD) and that intends to remove the territory and be the sole provider of emergency services, to send written notice to the board. Upon removal of territory from an annexed ESD, the municipality would be required to compensate the ESD immediately after disannexation in an amount equal to the annexed territory's pro rata share of the ESD's bonded indebtedness. The bill would also specify that certain provisions of the Occupations Code and the Local Government Code relating to multipurpose residential fire protection sprinkler systems and fire codes would apply to a district as defined by the provisions of the bill.
The bill would amend Chapter 43 of the Local Government Code to specify that an annexation plan may provide that required fire and police protection, and emergency medical services be provided by the ESD or by cooperation of the municipality and the ESD. Under the provisions of the bill, this subsection would apply only to a municipality in a county with a population of more than one million and less than 1.5 million. Based on the applicability criteria, the provisions would apply only to a municipality in Travis County.
Local Government Impact
There could be costs to a municipality that annexes and removes a territory from an ESD for compensation; however, the amounts would vary depending on the territory's pro rata share.