By: Hinojosa  S.B. No. 814
         (In the Senate - Filed February 10, 2017; February 27, 2017,
  read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
  Relations; April 24, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0;
  April 24, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 814 By:  Garcia
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the board of directors of the Agua Special Utility
  District.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 7201.052, Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (l) and
  adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (l), the district shall
  be governed by a board of seven directors, elected as follows:
               (1)  one director elected by the voters of the part of
  the City of Mission inside the district to represent that part of
  the city;
               (2)  one director elected by the voters of the City of
  Palmview to represent that city;
               (3)  one director elected by the voters of the City of
  Penitas to represent that city;
               (4)  one director elected by the voters of the City of
  Sullivan City to represent that city; [and]
               (5)  one director elected by the voters of the City of
  La Joya to represent that city; and
               (6)  two [three] directors elected at-large to numbered
  positions on the board by the district voters who do not reside in
  any of the municipalities listed in Subdivisions (1)-(5) [(1)-(4)]
  to represent the part of the district that is not included in those
  municipalities, unless the number of at-large directors is
  increased under Subsection (l).
         (b)  A candidate for one of the numbered director positions:
               (1)  must reside in the part of the service area of the
  district that is not included in any of the municipalities listed in
  Subsections (a)(1)-(5) [(a)(1)-(4)]; and
               (2)  must be eligible to hold office under Section
  141.001, Election Code.
         (c)  A candidate for one of the director positions
  representing a municipality listed in Subsection (a)(1), (2), (3),
  [or] (4), or (5):
               (1)  must reside in the municipality the candidate
  seeks to represent; and
               (2)  must be eligible to hold office under Section
  141.001, Election Code.
         (l)  If, before the expiration of the term of a director
  elected to represent a municipality under Subsection (a)(1), (2),
  (3), [or] (4), or (5), the district determines that all of the
  incorporated territory of the municipality is outside the
  boundaries of the district, the position immediately becomes an
  at-large numbered position to be filled at the next general
  election of the district in accordance with Subsections (a)(6)
  [(a)(5)] and (b).
         (m)  The board may not employ as an employee, as a
  consultant, or on a contract basis:
               (1)  an elected official of the largest public employer
  in the service area of the district; or
               (2)  a person related to an elected official described
  by Subdivision (1) within the third degree by consanguinity or
  affinity as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code.
         SECTION 2.  A person employed by the Agua Special Utility
  District on the effective date of this Act who is an elected
  official of a public employer described by Section 7201.052,
  Special District Local Laws Code, as amended by this Act, is not
  subject to that section until the date the person's term as an
  elected official expires, and the board may continue to employ the
  person until that date.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  The position of director of the Agua
  Special Utility District elected at-large for a term that expires
  in 2018 becomes the position for the director elected from the City
  of La Joya on the election date in 2018 when the district elects new
  directors. The director of the Agua Special Utility District
  elected at-large to a term that expires in 2018 shall serve until a
  director elected from the City of La Joya has qualified following
  the director's election held in 2018.
         (b)  This section expires September 1, 2020.
         SECTION 4.  (a)  The legal notice of the intention to
  introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
  Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
  copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
  officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
  under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
  Government Code.
         (b)  The governor, one of the required recipients, has
  submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
  Environmental Quality.
         (c)  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
  its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
  lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
  representatives within the required time.
         (d)  All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
  state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
  to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
  and accomplished.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
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