BILL ANALYSIS
By: Ellis
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
H.B. 1, 79th Legislature, Third Called Session, mandated that school districts hold joint elections with a municipality, county, or the state. This will require 50 to 70 school districts to change from May to November elections, either because they are not part of a municipality with a May election, or because the district is not located in a municipality and therefore, will have to join with the county or state elections. Alief ISD, located in part within the Houston city limits, currently holds elections each May, and about one-third of the trustees are elected to the school board each year for three-year terms. Because the district is required to change to a November election, trustees will be running for election in even-numbered presidential and non-presidential years and in odd-numbered Houston city election years. This would raise the costs of the elections for Alief ISD.
As proposed, S.B. 670 authorizes a school district's board of trustees to adopt a resolution changing the length of the terms of its trustees, not later than December 31, 2007, to address the rising costs of multiple elections and the confusion among voter precincts.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
The bill amends the Education Code to authorize a board of trustees of a school district to adopt a resolution changing the length of the terms of its trustees, not later than December 31, 2007. Requires the resolution to provide for a term of either three or four years and to specify the manner in which the transition from the length of the former term to the modified term is made. Requires the transition to begin with the first regular election for trustees that occurs after January 1, 2008, and requires that a trustee who serves on that date to serve the remainder of that term. The bill provides that this amendment to the Education Code would expire on January 1, 2013.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2007.