Bill Text: TX HB2316 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to county powers, duties, and services, including the powers and duties of certain districts, and the authorization of certain health care programs and studies.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-25 - Placed on intent calendar [HB2316 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB2316-Engrossed.html

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By: Coleman H.B. No. 2316

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to county powers, duties, and services, including the
powers and duties of certain districts, and the authorization of
certain health care programs and studies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) A person who is incarcerated in a facility operated by
or under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice may
submit a plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere regarding a
misdemeanor charge in writing, transmitted by mail, facsimile, or
other means. Before accepting a plea under this subsection, the
court shall make the admonitions required by this article to the
defendant in writing as provided by Subsection (d).
SECTION 2. Section 31.037, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.037. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. The
employment of the county elections administrator may be suspended,
with or without pay, or terminated at any time for good and
sufficient cause on the four-fifths vote of the county election
commission and approval of that action by a majority vote of the
commissioners court.
SECTION 3. Section 552.116(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) An audit working paper of an audit of the state auditor
or the auditor of a state agency, an institution of higher education
as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, a county, a
municipality, a school district, a hospital district, or a joint
board operating under Section 22.074, Transportation Code,
including any audit relating to the criminal history background
check of a public school employee, is excepted from the
requirements of Section 552.021. If information in an audit
working paper is also maintained in another record, that other
record is not excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021 by
this section.
SECTION 4. Section 61.002(5), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(5) "General revenue levy" means:
(A) the property taxes imposed by a county that
are not dedicated to:
(i) the construction and maintenance of
farm-to-market roads under Article VIII, Section 1-a, Texas
Constitution;
(ii) [or to] flood control under Article
VIII, Section 1-a, [of the] Texas Constitution;
(iii) [or that are not dedicated to] the
further maintenance of the public roads under Article VIII, Section
9, [of the] Texas Constitution; or
(iv) the payment of principal or interest
on county debt; and
(B) the sales and use tax revenue to be received
by the county during the calendar year in which the state fiscal
year begins under Chapter 323, Tax Code, as determined under
Section 26.041(d), Tax Code.
SECTION 5. Section 363.156(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) To the extent competitive bidding procedures in Title 8
apply, the board may not enter purchasing contracts that involve
spending more than $50,000 [$25,000] unless the board complies
with:
(1) Subchapter C, Chapter 262, if the district was
created by a county; or
(2) Chapter 252, if the district was created by a
municipality.
SECTION 6. Section 382.002, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 382.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to:
(1) a county with a population of 1.5 million
[825,000] or more, other than a county that:
(A) borders on the Gulf of Mexico or a bay or
inlet of the gulf; or
(B) has two municipalities located wholly or
partly in its boundaries each having a population of 225,000
[300,000] or more; or
(2) a county with a population of 70,000 or more that
is adjacent to a county described by Subdivision (1) in which a
municipality with a population of 35,000 or more is primarily
situated and includes all or a part of the extraterritorial
jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of 1.1 million or
more.
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 382.113 to read as follows:
Sec. 382.113. ANNEXATION OR EXCLUSION OF LAND. (a) A
district may annex or exclude land from the district as provided by
Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code.
(b) Before a district may adopt an order adding or excluding
land, the district must obtain the consent of:
(1) the county that created the district by a
resolution of the county commissioners court; and
(2) a municipality in whose extraterritorial
jurisdiction the district is located by a resolution adopted by the
municipality's governing body.
SECTION 8. Sections 382.155(b) and (d), Local Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) If authorized by a county, a district shall impose a
hotel occupancy tax in the same manner as provided by Chapter 383,
Local Government Code, and Section 352.107, Tax Code. Except as
provided by Subsection (d), [except that] a hotel occupancy tax may
be used only:
(1) for a [may be used for any] purpose described by
Chapter 352, Tax Code [authorized in this chapter]; and
(2) to encourage the development or operation of a
hotel in the district, including an economic development program
for or a grant, loan, service, or improvement to a hotel in [is
authorized by the county to be imposed by] the district.
(d) A district may impose a hotel occupancy tax [may not be
imposed] on the occupants of a hotel and use the revenue from the
tax for any purpose authorized by this chapter if [unless] the owner
of the hotel agrees to the imposition of the tax [hotel occupancy
taxes under this chapter]. After the owner agrees, the agreement
may not be revoked by the owner of the hotel or any subsequent owner
of the hotel. [After an agreement under this section, the district
may impose hotel occupancy taxes as provided by this chapter.]
SECTION 9. Section 387.003, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (b-1), (c), (e), (f), and
(h) and adding Subsections (a-1), (i), and (j) to read as follows:
(a) The commissioners court of the county may call an
election on the question of creating a county assistance district
under this chapter. More than one county assistance district may be
created in a county.
(a-1) A district may [to] perform the following functions in
the district:
(1) the construction, maintenance, or improvement of
roads or highways;
(2) the provision of law enforcement and detention
services;
(3) the maintenance or improvement of libraries,
museums, parks, or other recreational facilities;
(4) the provision of services that benefit the public
health or welfare, including the provision of firefighting and fire
prevention services; or
(5) the promotion of economic development and tourism.
(b) The order calling the election must:
(1) define the boundaries of the district to include
any portion of the county in which the combined tax rate of all
local sales and use taxes imposed, including the rate to be imposed
by the district if approved at the election, would not exceed the
maximum combined rate of sales and use taxes imposed by political
subdivisions of this state that is prescribed by Sections 321.101
and 323.101, Tax Code [two percent]; and
(2) call for the election to be held within those
boundaries.
(b-1) If the proposed district includes any territory of a
municipality, the commissioners court shall send notice by
certified mail to the governing body of the municipality of the
commissioners court's intent to create the district. If the
municipality has created a development corporation under Chapter
504 or 505, the commissioners court shall also send the notice to
the board of directors of the corporation. The commissioners court
must send the notice not later than the 60th day before the date the
commissioners court orders the election. The governing body of the
municipality may exclude the territory of the municipality from the
proposed district by sending notice by certified mail to the
commissioners court of the governing body's desire to exclude the
municipal territory from the district. The governing body must
send the notice not later than the 45th day after the date the
governing body receives notice from the commissioners court under
this subsection. The territory of a municipality that is excluded
under this subsection may subsequently be included in:
(1) the district in an election held under Subsection
(f) with the consent of the municipality; or
(2) another district after complying with the
requirements of this subsection and after an election under
Subsection (f).
(c) The ballot at the election must be printed to permit
voting for or against the proposition: "Authorizing the creation
of the ____ County Assistance District No.___ (insert name of
district) and the imposition of a sales and use tax at the rate of
____ [of one] percent (insert [one-eighth, one-fourth,
three-eighths, or one-half, as] appropriate rate) for the purpose
of financing the operations of the district."
(e) If a majority of the votes received at the election are
against the creation of the district, the district is not created
and the county at any time may call one or more elections [another
election] on the question of creating one or more [a] county
assistance districts [district may not be held in the county before
the first anniversary of the most recent election concerning the
creation of a district].
(f) The commissioners court may call an election to be held
in an area of the county that is not located in a district created
under this section to determine whether the area should be included
in the district and whether the district's sales and use tax should
be imposed in the area. An election may not be held in an area in
which the combined tax rate of all local sales and use taxes
imposed, including the rate to be imposed by the district if
approved at the election, would exceed the maximum combined rate of
sales and use taxes imposed by political subdivisions of this state
that is prescribed by Sections 321.101 and 323.101, Tax Code [two
percent].
(h) If more than one election to authorize a local sales and
use tax is held on the same day in the area of a proposed district or
an area proposed to be added to a district and if the resulting
approval by the voters would cause the imposition of a local sales
and use tax in any area to exceed the maximum combined rate of sales
and use taxes of political subdivisions of this state that is
prescribed by Sections 321.101 and 323.101, Tax Code [two percent],
only a tax authorized at an election under this section may be
imposed.
(i) In addition to the authority to include an area in a
district under Subsection (f), the governing body of a district by
order may include an area in the district on receipt of a petition
or petitions signed by the owner or owners of the majority of the
land in the area to be included in the district. If there are no
qualified voters in the area to be included in the district, no
election is required.
(j) The commissioners court by order may exclude an area
from the district if the district has no outstanding bonds payable
wholly or partly from sales and use taxes and the exclusion does not
impair any outstanding district debt or contractual obligation.
SECTION 10. Section 387.005, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.005. GOVERNING BODY. (a) The commissioners
court of the county in which the district is created by order shall
provide that:
(1) the commissioners court is the governing body of
the district; or
(2) the commissioners court shall appoint a governing
body of the district.
(b) A member of the governing body of the district
[commissioners court] is not entitled to compensation for service
[on the governing body of the district] but is entitled to
reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses.
(c) A board of directors appointed by the commissioners
court under this section shall consist of five directors who serve
staggered terms of two years. To be eligible to serve as a
director, a person must be at least 18 years of age and a resident of
the county in which the district is located. The initial directors
shall draw lots to achieve staggered terms, with three of the
directors serving one-year terms and two of the directors serving
two-year terms.
SECTION 11. Section 387.006(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A district may:
(1) perform any act necessary to the full exercise of
the district's functions;
(2) accept a grant or loan from:
(A) the United States;
(B) an agency or political subdivision of this
state; or
(C) a public or private person;
(3) acquire, sell, lease, convey, or otherwise dispose
of property or an interest in property under terms determined by the
district;
(4) employ necessary personnel; [and]
(5) adopt rules to govern the operation of the
district and its employees and property; and
(6) enter into agreements with municipalities
necessary or convenient to achieve the district's purposes,
including agreements regarding the duration, rate, and allocation
between the district and the municipality of sales and use taxes.
SECTION 12. Section 387.007, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(b) A district may not adopt a sales and use tax under this
chapter if the adoption of the tax would result in a combined tax
rate of all local sales and use taxes that would exceed the maximum
combined rate prescribed by Sections 321.101 and 323.101, Tax Code,
[of more than two percent] in any location in the district.
(c) A district may define areas in the district to pay for
improvements, facilities, or services that primarily benefit that
area and do not generally and directly benefit the district as a
whole. The district may impose different rates of sales and use tax
in each defined area, provided that the sales and use tax rate does
not exceed the rate approved at an election held under Section
387.003.
SECTION 13. Section 387.009, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.009. TAX RATE. The rate of a tax adopted under
this chapter must be in increments of one-eighth[, one-fourth,
three-eighths, or one-half] of one percent.
SECTION 14. Sections 387.010(a), (b), and (c), Local
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A district that has adopted a sales and use tax under
this chapter may, by order and subject to Section 387.007(b):
(1) reduce [, change] the rate of the tax or repeal the
tax without an election, except that the district may not repeal the
sales and use tax or reduce the rate of the sales and use tax below
the amount pledged to secure payment of an outstanding district
debt or contractual obligation;
(2) increase the rate of the sales and use tax, if the
increased rate of the sales and use tax will not exceed the rate
approved at an election held under Section 387.003; or
(3) increase the rate of the sales and use tax to a
rate that exceeds the rate approved at an election held under
Section 387.003 after [if] the increase [change or repeal] is
approved by a majority of the votes received in the district at an
election held for that purpose.
(b) The tax may be changed under Subsection (a) in one or
more increments of one-eighth of one percent [to a maximum of
one-half of one percent].
(c) The ballot for an election to increase [change] the tax
shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
"The increase [change] of a sales and use tax for the ____ County
Assistance District No. ___ (insert name of district) from the rate
of ____ [of one] percent (insert [one-fourth, three-eighths, or
one-half, as] appropriate rate) to the rate of ____ [of one] percent
(insert [one-fourth, three-eighths, or one-half, as] appropriate
rate)."
SECTION 15. Section 387.012, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 387.012. EFFECTIVE DATE OF TAX. The adoption of the
tax, the increase or reduction [change] of the tax rate, or the
repeal of the tax takes effect on the first day of the first
calendar quarter occurring after the expiration of the first
complete quarter occurring after the date the comptroller receives
a copy of the order of the district's governing body [notice of the
results of the election] adopting, increasing, reducing
[changing], or repealing the tax.
SECTION 16. Section 3815.051(a), Special District Local
Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The district is governed by a board of 17 [21] directors
who serve staggered terms of four years, with eight [10] directors'
terms expiring June 1 of an odd-numbered year and nine [11]
directors' terms expiring June 1 of the following odd-numbered
year.
SECTION 17. Subchapter B, Chapter 3815, Special District
Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Section 3815.055 to read as
follows:
Sec. 3815.055. INTERIM DIRECTORS. (a) The board serving on
September 1, 2011, is abolished and is replaced by an interim board
consisting of the following directors:
Pos. No. Name of Director
1 Alan D. Bergeron
2 Sharone Mayberry
3 James Donatto Sr.
4 Hexser J. Holliday II
5 Osama Abdullatif
6 Skye Thompson
7 Asmara Tekle Johnson
8 Jaa St. Julien
9 Jimmy Arnold
10 Cyeoni Miles
11 Zinetta A. Burney
12 Chris Hageney
13 Teddy A. McDavid
14 Brian G. Smith
15 Robert S. Muhammad
16 Robert C. Combre
17 Janice M. Sibley-Reid
(b) The terms of the interim directors expire June 1, 2015.
(c) The mayor and the members of the governing body of the
City of Houston shall appoint successor directors not later than
June 1, 2015, and shall stagger the terms of the directors, with
eight of the directors' terms expiring June 1, 2017, and the
remaining directors' terms expiring June 1, 2019.
(d) This section expires September 1, 2015.
SECTION 18. (a) The Health and Human Services Commission
shall study the health care delivery systems used by health care
providers who are not physicians.
(b) The study shall examine using health care providers who
are not physicians to perform basic emergency and non-emergency
health care services and preventive health care services within the
scope of the health care providers' practice and license, including
evaluating:
(1) the potential cost savings of health care
providers who are not physicians performing these health care
services;
(2) any projected increase in access to health care
services for underserved communities; and
(3) any projected impact on the quality of care for
persons treated by health care providers who are not physicians.
(c) The study conducted under this section must
specifically address the potential cost savings and other
foreseeable consequences of expanding the authority of advanced
practice nurses to prescribe medication to patients.
(d) In conducting the study under this section, the
commission shall consult with:
(1) the Texas Medical Board;
(2) the Texas Board of Nursing;
(3) the Texas Physician Assistant Board;
(4) the Midwifery Board;
(5) the Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical
Examiners;
(6) the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners;
(7) the Texas Optometry Board; and
(8) any other regulatory body or professional
association that the department determines would be beneficial to
consult for the purposes of this study.
(e) The commission shall submit a report to the legislature
on the results of the study conducted under this section not later
than December 31, 2012. The report shall include any
recommendations for potential legislation relating to health care
providers who are not physicians.
(f) This section expires September 1, 2013.
SECTION 19. (a) An interim committee on health care
professionals is created to conduct a study of:
(1) the value of health care professionals in cost
containment and access to health care; and
(2) potential health care delivery systems that
include multiple types of providers.
(b) The committee is composed of five members as follows:
(1) two members appointed by the lieutenant governor,
one of whom must be a senator and one of whom must be a member of the
public; and
(2) three members appointed by the speaker of the
house of representatives, two of whom must be representatives and
one of whom must be a member of the public.
(c) The committee shall select a presiding officer and
convene at the call of the presiding officer.
(d) The committee has all other powers and duties provided
to a special or select committee by the rules of the senate and
house of representatives, by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government
Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees on
administration.
(e) From the contingent expense fund of the senate and the
contingent expense fund of the house of representatives equally,
the members of the committee are entitled to reimbursement for
expenses incurred in carrying out this section in accordance with
the rules of the senate and house of representatives and the
policies of the senate and house committees on administration.
(f) Not later than December 1, 2012, the committee shall
report the committee's findings and recommendations to the
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
and the governor. The committee shall include in its
recommendations specific statutory and rule amendments that appear
necessary from the results of the committee's study conducted under
Subsection (a) of this section.
(g) Not later than November 1, 2011, the lieutenant governor
and the speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint the
members of the interim committee created under this section.
(h) This section expires September 1, 2013.
SECTION 20. (a) The legislature validates and confirms all
governmental acts and proceedings before the effective date of this
Act of a district created under Chapter 382, Local Government Code,
transferred from Subchapter C, Chapter 372, Local Government Code,
by Chapter 87 (S.B. 1969), Acts of the 81st Legislature, Regular
Session, 2009, before the effective date of this Act, including
acts of the district's board of directors.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a matter that on the
effective date of this Act:
(1) is involved in litigation, if the litigation
ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final court
judgment; or
(2) has been held invalid by a final court judgment.
SECTION 21. (a) Article 26.13(j), Code of Criminal
Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense
committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect at the time the offense was committed, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
(b) The change in law made by Section 552.116, Government
Code, as amended by this Act, applies to an audit working paper
created before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
(c) The change in law made by Section 363.156, Local
Government Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a purchase
made or contract executed on or after the effective date of this
Act. A purchase made or contract executed before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that
date, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 22. Section 387.010(d), Local Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 23. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.