BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1618

By: Leman

County Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that the current petition threshold of only 100 signatures of registered voters for the creation of a hospital district is too low and does not reflect the true desire of the majority of the registered voters in a proposed district. These elections often fail, resulting in wasted taxpayer dollars for an election that was not merited in the first place. H.B. 1618 seeks to address this issue by requiring a petition for the creation of a hospital district to be signed by at least three percent of the registered voters of the applicable territory if that amount is greater than 100 such voters.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

H.B. 1618 amends the Health and Safety Code to require a petition for the creation of a hospital district by voter approval to be signed by at least three percent of the registered voters of the applicable territory if that amount is greater than 100 such voters.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.