HBA-DMD H.J.R. 67 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.J.R. 67 By: Hardcastle County Affairs 4/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The commissioners court of Foard County has proposed to eliminate the office of constable and allow the duties previously performed by the constable to be completed by the sheriff's office, in order to save money. As proposed, H.J.R. 67 requires the submission to the voters of a constitutional amendment abolishing the office of constable in Foard County and transferring the duties to the sheriff. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 18, Article V, Texas Constitution, by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (h), as follows: (a) Deletes Subsection (e) as the exception, thus leaving the section in its entirety as the exception, to the requirement that in each such precinct there be elected one Justice of the Peace and one Constable, each of whom is required to hold his office for four years and until his successor is required to be elected and qualified; provided that in a county with a population of less than 150,000, according to the most recent federal census, in any precinct in which there may be a city of 18,000 or more inhabitants, there is required to be elected two Justices of the Peace, and in a county with a population of 150,000 or more, according to the most recent federal census, each precinct is authorized to contain more than one Justice of the Peace Court. (h) Abolishes the office of Constable in Foard County and transfers the functions of the office to the County Sheriff. Provides that the office of Constable is abolished under this subsection only if, at the statewide election at which the constitutional amendment providing for the abolition of the office in Foard County is submitted to the voters, a majority of the voters of Foard County voting on the question at that election favor the amendment. SECTION 2. The following temporary provision is added to the Texas Constitution: TEMPORARY PROVISION. Provides that the abolition of the office of constable in Foard County under the constitutional amendment proposed by the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, providing for the abolition of the office in that county takes effect January 1, 2000, if the conditions of Section 18(h), Article V, as added by that constitutional amendment, are met. Sets forth that this provision expires January 2, 2000. SECTION 3. Requires this proposed constitutional amendment to be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 2, 1999. Sets forth the required language for the ballot.