HBA-CMT H.B. 3191 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3191
By: Puente
County Affairs
7/26/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The City of San Antonio was concerned about the implications to its
annexation policy if emergency service districts (district) were created
within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).  Prior law required
a municipality that annexed a portion of a district to compensate the
district in the amount equal to the annexed territory's pro rata share of
the district's indebtedness at the time the territory was annexed. House
Bill 3191 provides a municipality the ability to negotiate conditions for
including territory in its ETJ in a district.  

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 3191 amends the Health and Safety Code to require a petition for
the creation of an emergency services district (district) to  show the name
of each municipality whose consent must be obtained.  The bill provides
that before a district  that contains territory in a municipality's limits
or extraterritorial jurisdiction is authorized to be created, a written
request to be included in the district must be presented to the
municipality's governing body after a petition is filed.  A request
submitted under the provisions of the bill must include a copy of the
petition and a sufficient legal description of the portion of the
municipality and its extraterritorial jurisdiction that would be included
in the district territory.  The bill authorizes the governing body of a
municipality with a population of more than one million to negotiate with
the commissioners court of  a county with a population of less than 1.4
million that is the county in which the majority of the territory inside
the municipality's corporate boundaries is located the conditions under
which its consent to the inclusion of its extraterritorial jurisdiction in
the district is granted.  The bill provides that negotiated conditions are
authorized to limit the district's ability to incur debt, require the
district to ensure that its equipment is compatible with the
municipality's, and require the district to enter mutual aid agreements.
The bill provides that the commissioners court has exclusive jurisdiction
to determine any matters negotiated with a consenting municipality.  If
after a hearing to consider the petition, the commissioners court finds
that the creation of a district is feasible and will promote the public
safety, welfare, health, and convenience of persons residing in the
proposed district, the commissioners court is required to impose any
conditions negotiated pursuant to the aformentioned negotiation provisions.

The bill prohibits a district from including territory in a municipality's
limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction unless a majority of the voters
residing in that territory vote in favor of creating the district subject
to any conditions negotiated.  Any conditions that were negotiated and not
included on the ballot must be included in the commissioners court order
creating the district.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.