BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1930

By: González, Mary

Land & Resource Management

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The qualifications prescribed by statute for service on the board of directors of a municipal utility district do not specify that an individual needs to live in the area in order to be on the board, but instead require an individual to either own land subject to taxation in the district or be a qualified voter within the district. The bill author has informed the committee that this allows property owners to serve on the board while they are renting out their properties within the district, allowing them to make decisions regarding the MUD without being directly impacted by those decisions. C.S.H.B. 1930 seeks to limit eligibility for service as a director of certain municipal utility districts to qualified voters within the district, with some exceptions.

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

C.S.H.B. 1930 amends the Water Code to revise the qualifications for service as a director of a municipal utility district wholly or partly located in a county that borders the United Mexican States and contains a municipality with a population of more than 500,000 by removing ownership of land subject to taxation in the district as an alternative qualification to being a qualified voter within the district. However, the bill authorizes a person who is not a qualified voter within such a district to serve as a director of the district if:

· less than 50 percent of the retail water or sewer connections in the district are for residential users; and

· the district did not receive an application for a place on the ballot for each position on the board from a candidate who is a qualified voter within the district on or before the 15th day before the deadline for filing an application for a place on the ballot as prescribed by Election Code provisions relating to candidates for office of a political subdivision other than a county or city.

C.S.H.B. 1930 expressly does not affect the entitlement of a member serving immediately before the bill's effective date on the board of directors of such a district to continue to carry out the board's functions for the remainder of the member's term. The bill applies only to a member of such a board elected or appointed on or after the bill's effective date. The bill expressly does not prohibit a person who is a member of the board of such a district on the bill's effective date from being reelected or reappointed to the board if the person has the qualifications required for a member under the bill's provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1930 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced authorizing a person who is not a qualified voter within a district wholly or partly located in a county that borders the United Mexican States and contains a municipality with a population of more than 500,000 to serve as a director of the district if:

· less than 50 percent of the retail water or sewer connections in the district are for residential users; and

· the district did not receive an application for a place on the ballot for each position on the board from a candidate who is a qualified voter within the district on or before the 15th day before the deadline for filing an application for a place on the ballot as prescribed by Election Code provisions relating to candidates for office of a political subdivision other than a county or city.