Bill Text: TX HB169 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to requiring that members of the governing board of certain metropolitan rapid transit authorities be elected.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-19 - Left pending in committee [HB169 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB169-Introduced.html

---

84R1987 JAM-D
By: Larson H.B. No. 169

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring that members of the governing board of
certain metropolitan rapid transit authorities be elected.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 451.502(f), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(f) This section does not apply to the board of an authority
described by Section 451.5021(a) or 451.5022.
SECTION 2. Subchapter K, Chapter 451, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 451.5022 to read as follows:
Sec. 451.5022. ELECTION OF MEMBERS; CERTAIN AUTHORITIES.
(a) In an authority created before 1980 in which the principal
municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million, the board
members are elected by a majority of the registered voters of the
authority in an election for that purpose held on the uniform
election date in November.
(b) Each board member serves a staggered term of two years.
SECTION 3. Section 451.504, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a [A] vacancy on
a board is filled by the person or entity that appointed the member
who was in the position that is vacant. If confirmation of the
previous position was required, confirmation of the vacancy
appointment is required in the same manner.
(a-1) A vacancy on a board elected under Section 451.5022 is
filled by appointment of the remaining members.
SECTION 4. Sections 451.506(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A member of the board may be reappointed or reelected
except as provided by this section.
(b) An individual may not serve more than eight years on the
same board and may not be appointed or elected to a term for which
service to the completion of the term would exceed this
limitation. This subsection applies only to a board of an
authority:
(1) in which the principal municipality has a
population of more than 1.9 million or less than 320,000; or
(2) created before 1980 and in which the principal
municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million.
SECTION 5. Section 451.509, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(c) In an authority in which the principal municipality has
a population of more than 850,000, a member of a [the] board that is
exclusively appointed may be removed for any ground described by
Section 451.510 by the person or entity that appointed the
member. If the person who appointed the member is the mayor of the
principal municipality, the removal is by recommendation of the
mayor and confirmation by the municipality's governing body. If
the member to be removed was appointed by the mayor of the principal
municipality, the statement required by Section 451.511(a) shall be
given by the mayor, and confirmation of removal by the governing
body of the municipality is necessary.
(c-1) In an authority in which the board is elected under
Section 451.5022, a member of the board may be removed for any
ground described by Section 451.510 by a majority of the board
members. The member who is the subject of the removal vote is not
eligible to participate in the vote.
SECTION 6. Section 451.510, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 451.510. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL FROM BOARD. The grounds
for removal of a member of a board are:
(1) inefficiency in office;
(2) nonfeasance or malfeasance in office;
(3) not having at the time of election or appointment
or not maintaining during service on the board the qualifications
for office described by Section 451.507;
(4) a violation of Chapter 171, Local Government Code,
or Section 451.112;
(5) the inability, because of illness or disability,
to discharge the member's duties of office during a substantial
part of the term for which the member is appointed or elected; and
(6) absence, without having been excused by a majority
vote of the board, from more than one-half of the regularly
scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend
during a calendar year.
SECTION 7. Section 451.513, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection
(b-1) to read as follows:
(b) In an authority in which members of the board are
exclusively appointed, the [The] entity that confirmed a board
member who was appointed, or if there is no confirmation, the entity
that appointed a board member, shall take action under this section
to remove the member or to reconfirm the member's appointment:
(1) on receipt of notice from the secretary of state
that a valid recall petition was presented to the entity; or
(2) if the secretary of state fails to notify the
entity as required by Subsection (d).
(b-1) In an authority in which the board is elected under
Section 451.5022, the board, other than the member who is the
subject of the recall, may take action to remove the member:
(1) on receipt of notice from the secretary of state
that a valid recall petition was presented to the board; or
(2) if the secretary of state fails to notify the board
as required by Subsection (d).
(d) After receiving a petition under this section the entity
or board shall send it to the secretary of state. The secretary of
state shall, not later than the 10th day after the date the petition
is received, determine whether the petition is valid and notify the
entity or board, as appropriate, of the determination.
(e) Not later than the 30th day after the date a member is
removed under this section, the vacancy shall be filled as
otherwise provided by this chapter, except that the individual
removed by recall may not be appointed or reappointed to fill the
vacancy. Beginning on the day after the date of the removal, the
individual removed may not be appointed or elected to any other
position on the board for a period equal to the normal term of
office for a board member.
SECTION 8. Section 451.516, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 451.516. INCREASE OF MEMBERSHIP: CONTINUITY. If the
membership of a board is increased under Section 451.501, the board
as constituted immediately before the increase may continue as the
board of the authority until the additional members are appointed
or elected and seated.
SECTION 9. Members of the governing board of a metropolitan
rapid transit authority created before 1980 in which the principal
municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million shall be
elected pursuant to Section 451.5022, Transportation Code, as added
by this Act, in November 2015. The terms of the members of the
governing board elected in November 2015 shall commence on January
2, 2016. The members elected shall draw lots for the appropriate
number of one-year and two-year terms as needed to establish
staggered terms as required by Section 451.5022(b), Transportation
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 10. Section 451.505(b), Transportation Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.