Title LG, Local Government Code

Sec. 344.057. ELECTION DATE. The election shall be held on the next uniform election date authorized by Section 41.001(a), Election Code, after the date on which the election is ordered that affords sufficient time for election procedures to be carried out. Added by Acts 2001, 77…

Sec. 344.058. BALLOT PROPOSITION. The ballot for an election to create a district shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The creation of the ______ (name of the municipality proposing to create the district) Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medi…

Sec. 344.059. CANVASSING RETURNS. (a) Not earlier than the second day and not later than the 13th day after the date of the election, the temporary board shall meet and canvass the returns of the election. (b) If a majority of the votes cast in the election favor the creation of …

Sec. 344.060. DISSOLUTION OF TEMPORARY BOARD. If a district has not been created under this chapter before the fifth anniversary of the date a district is first proposed by the governing body or mayor, as appropriate, under Section 344.051: (1) the temporary board is dissolved on…

Sec. 344.061. FIRE CONTROL, PREVENTION, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PLAN AND BUDGET PLAN. (a) The temporary board shall develop and adopt a two-year fire control, prevention, and emergency medical services plan and a two-year budget plan. The fire control, prevention, and emer…

Sec. 344.062. FINANCING CREATION OF DISTRICT. (a) A municipality creating a district shall pay the entire cost of creating the district. (b) If a district is created, the district shall reimburse the municipality for the actual expenses the municipality incurred in the creation o…

Sec. 344.101. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (e) and (f), a district is governed by a board of seven directors appointed in the same manner as provided by Section 344.052(a) for the appointment of temporary directors. (b) Initial appointees under this s…

Sec. 344.102. PERFORMANCE BOND. (a) Before assuming the duties of the office, each director or officer must execute a bond for $5,000 payable to the district, conditioned on the faithful performance of the person's duties as director or officer. (b) The bond shall be kept in the …

Sec. 344.103. OFFICERS. (a) The board shall elect from among its members a president and vice president. (b) The board shall appoint a secretary. The secretary may be a director. (c) The person who performs the duties of auditor for the municipality shall serve as treasurer of th…

Sec. 344.104. COMPENSATION. A director or officer serves without compensation, but a director or officer may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. Those expenses must be reported in the district's minute book or other district record an…

Sec. 344.105. VOTING REQUIREMENT. A concurrence of a majority of the members of the board is necessary in matters relating to the business of a district. A two-thirds majority vote of the board is required to reject any application for funding available under this chapter. Added …

Sec. 344.106. CONTRACT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE. The board may contract with a public agency or private vendor to assist the board in the administration or management of the district or to assist the board in the review of applications for funding available under this chapte…

Sec. 344.151. FINANCING DISTRICT PROGRAMS. (a) The district may finance all costs of a fire control, prevention, and emergency medical services district program, including costs for personnel, administration, expansion, enhancement, and capital expenditures. (b) The program may i…

Sec. 344.152. COORDINATION; EVALUATION; GRANTS. (a) The district shall coordinate its efforts with local agencies in developing its fire control, prevention, and emergency medical services program. (b) The district shall conduct an annual evaluation program to study the impact, e…

Sec. 344.153. GENERAL BOARD POWER OVER FUNDS. The board shall manage, control, and administer the district finances except as provided by Section 344.205. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. June 1, 2001.

Sec. 344.154. USE OF REVENUE. The board may spend revenue derived from the sales and use tax distributed under Section 321.106, Tax Code, only for a purpose authorized by Section 344.151. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. June 1, 2001.

Sec. 344.155. RULES AND PROCEDURES. (a) A board may adopt rules governing programs financed by the district and the functions of district staff. (b) The board may prescribe accounting and control procedures for the district. (c) The board is subject to Chapter 2001, Government Co…

Sec. 344.156. PURCHASING. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the board may prescribe the method of making purchases and expenditures by and for the district. (b) To the extent competitive bidding procedures in Title 8 apply, the board may not enter into a purchasing contra…

Sec. 344.157. PROPERTY TO BE USED IN ADMINISTRATION. The board may lease or acquire in another manner facilities, equipment, or other property for the sole purpose of administering the district. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. June 1, 2001.

Sec. 344.158. REIMBURSEMENT FOR SERVICES. (a) A county or municipality located outside the boundaries of a district on the district's request shall reimburse the district for the district's cost of including a resident of that county or municipality who is not a resident of that …

Sec. 344.159. SERVICE CONTRACTS. The board may contract with the following entities to furnish the staff, facilities, equipment, programs, or services the board considers necessary for the effective operation of the district: (1) a municipality, county, special district, or other…

Sec. 344.160. DONATIONS, GIFTS, AND ENDOWMENTS. On behalf of the district, the board or the temporary board may accept a donation, gift, or endowment. The district may hold a donation, gift, or endowment in trust for any purpose and under any direction, limitation, or other provi…

Sec. 344.161. AUTHORITY TO SUE AND BE SUED. The board may sue and be sued in the name of the district. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. June 1, 2001. SUBCHAPTER D-1. ADDITION OF TERRITORY TO DISTRICT

Sec. 344.181. ELECTION REQUIRED. The municipality that created a district may add all or part of the territory in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction to the district and the district may impose a tax in that territory only if the addition of the territory and the imp…

Sec. 344.182. CONFIRMATION ELECTION ORDER. (a) The board may not call and hold a confirmation election until the board adopts a budget plan and a fire control, prevention, and emergency medical services plan under Section 344.061 that include the proposed addition of territory. (…

Sec. 344.183. NOTICE OF ELECTION. In addition to the notice required by Section 4.003(c), Election Code, the board shall give notice of an election to add territory to the district by publishing a substantial copy of the election order in a newspaper with general circulation in t…

Sec. 344.184. BALLOT PROPOSITION. The ballot for an election to add territory to a district shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The addition of ______ (description of territory to be added) to the ______ (name of the municipality that created the di…

Sec. 344.185. ELECTION RESULTS. (a) If a majority of the votes cast in the election favor the addition of the territory to the district, the board shall issue an order declaring the territory added to the boundaries of the district. (b) If a majority of the votes cast in the elec…

Sec. 344.201. FISCAL YEAR. (a) The board shall establish the fiscal year for the district, and the district shall operate on the basis of that year. (b) The fiscal year may not be changed more than once in a 24-month period. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. J…

Sec. 344.202. AUDITS AND DISTRICT RECORDS. (a) The board shall have an annual audit made of the financial condition of the district by an independent auditor. (b) The annual audit and other district records shall be open to inspection during regular business hours at the principa…

Sec. 344.203. ANNUAL BUDGET PROPOSAL. (a) The board shall propose an annual budget. The board shall consider the applications for program funding in preparing the proposed budget. (b) The proposed budget must contain a complete financial statement, including a statement of: (1) t…

Sec. 344.204. ADOPTION OF BUDGET. (a) Not later than the 100th day before the date each fiscal year begins, the board shall hold a public hearing to consider the proposed annual budget. (b) The board shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper with general circulation in t…

Sec. 344.205. APPROVAL OF BUDGET. (a) Not later than the 45th day before the date each fiscal year begins, the governing body of the municipality that created the district shall hold a public hearing to consider the budget adopted by the board and submitted to the governing body.…

Sec. 344.206. LIMITATIONS ON EXPENDITURES AND INVESTMENTS. (a) The district may spend money only for an expense included in the annual budget or an amendment to the budget. (b) A district may not incur a debt payable from revenues of the district other than the revenues on hand o…

Sec. 344.207. ACCOUNT OF DISBURSEMENTS OF DISTRICT. Not later than the 60th day after the last day of each fiscal year, an administrator shall prepare for the board a sworn statement of the amount of money that belongs to the district and an account of the disbursements of that m…

Sec. 344.208. DEPOSIT OF MONEY. (a) The board shall deposit district money in a special account in the treasury of the municipality that created the district. (b) District money, other than that invested as provided by Section 344.206(c), shall be deposited as received in the tre…

Sec. 344.209. APPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAM FUNDING. (a) An officer of the municipality that created the district or the head of a department of that municipality may, with the consent of the governing body of the municipality, apply to the board for funding of a program described by …

Sec. 344.210. BONDS PROHIBITED. The board may not issue or sell general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, or refunding bonds. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. June 1, 2001. SUBCHAPTER F. REFERENDUM ON CONTINUATION OR DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT

Sec. 344.251. REFERENDUM AUTHORIZED. (a) The board may call and hold a referendum election on the question of whether to: (1) continue the district; or (2) dissolve the district. (b) A board may order a referendum election on its own motion. (c) The board shall order a referendum…

Sec. 344.252. APPLICATION FOR PETITION. (a) On written application of 10 or more registered voters of the district, the clerk of the municipality that created the district shall issue to the applicants a petition to be circulated among registered voters for their signatures. (b) …

Sec. 344.253. PETITION. (a) A petition for a referendum to continue a district must contain: (1) the heading: "Petition for a Local Option Referendum to Continue the ____________ (name of the municipality that created the district) Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical …

Sec. 344.254. COPIES OF APPLICATION AND PETITION. The clerk or secretary of the municipality shall keep an application and a copy of the petition in the files of the clerk's or secretary's office. The clerk shall issue to the applicants as many copies as they request. Added by Ac…

Sec. 344.255. FILING OF PETITION. To form the basis for the ordering of a referendum, the petition must: (1) be filed with the clerk or secretary of the municipality not later than the 60th day after the date of its issuance; and (2) contain at least a number of signatures of reg…

Sec. 344.256. REVIEW BY CLERK OR SECRETARY. (a) The clerk or secretary of the municipality shall, on the request of any person, check each name on a petition to determine whether the signer is a registered voter of the district. A person requesting verification by the clerk or se…

Sec. 344.257. CERTIFICATION. Not later than the 40th day after the date a petition is filed, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, the clerk or secretary of the municipality shall certify to the board the number of registered voters signing the petition. Added by Acts…

Sec. 344.258. ELECTION ORDER. (a) The board shall record on its minutes the date the petition is filed and the date it is certified by the clerk or secretary of the municipality. (b) If the petition contains the required number of signatures and is in proper order, the board shal…