Bill Text: TX SB851 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the requirements for meetings of certain special districts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-27 - Referred to Business & Commerce [SB851 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB851-Introduced.html
85R9591 GRM-F | ||
By: Nelson | S.B. No. 851 |
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relating to the requirements for meetings of certain special | ||
districts. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 551.128(b-1), Government Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b-1) A transit authority or department subject to Chapter | ||
451, 452, 453, or 460, Transportation Code, an elected school | ||
district board of trustees for a school district that has a student | ||
enrollment of 10,000 or more, an elected governing body of a | ||
home-rule municipality that has a population of 50,000 or more, a | ||
governing body of a special district subject to Chapter 51, 53, 54, | ||
or 55, Water Code, that has a population of 500 or more, or a county | ||
commissioners court for a county that has a population of 125,000 or | ||
more shall: | ||
(1) make a video and audio recording of reasonable | ||
quality of each regularly scheduled open meeting that is not a work | ||
session or a special called meeting; and | ||
(2) make available an archived copy of the video and | ||
audio recording of each meeting described by Subdivision (1) on the | ||
Internet. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 49.062, Water Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read | ||
as follows: | ||
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the [ |
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shall designate one or more places inside or outside the district | ||
for conducting the meetings of the board. The meeting place may be | ||
a private residence or office, provided that the board, in its order | ||
establishing the meeting place, declares the same to be a public | ||
place and invites the public to attend any meeting of the board. If | ||
the board establishes a meeting place or places outside the | ||
district, it shall give notice of the location or locations by | ||
filing a true copy of the resolution establishing the location or | ||
locations of the meeting place or places with the commission and | ||
also by publishing notice of the location or locations in a | ||
newspaper of general circulation in the district. If the location | ||
of any of the meeting places outside the district is changed, notice | ||
of the change shall be given in the same manner. | ||
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), after [ |
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least 25 qualified electors are residing in a district, on written | ||
request of at least five of those electors, the board shall | ||
designate a meeting place and hold meetings within the district if | ||
it determines that the meeting place used by the district deprives | ||
the residents of a reasonable opportunity to attend district | ||
meetings. On the failure to designate the location of the meeting | ||
place within the district, five electors may petition the | ||
commission to designate a location. If it determines that the | ||
meeting place used by the district deprives the residents of a | ||
reasonable opportunity to attend district meetings, the commission | ||
may designate a meeting place inside or outside the district which | ||
is reasonably available to the public and require that the meetings | ||
be held at such place. After the next election, the board may | ||
designate different meeting places, including one located outside | ||
the boundaries of the district. | ||
(e) This subsection applies to a district with a population | ||
of 500 or more. The board shall designate a place inside the | ||
district for conducting the meetings of the board. If the board is | ||
unable to designate a suitable meeting place inside the district, | ||
the board may designate a place outside the district that is located | ||
not farther than 10 miles from the district's boundaries. | ||
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
an open meeting held on or after the effective date of this Act. An | ||
open meeting that is held before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the date of the open meeting, and | ||
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |