HB2694

The official text index contains introduced, House committee, engrossed, Senate committee and enrolled versions. The amendment index lists no floor amendments. The important change came through the House committee substitute, not an adopted floor amendment.

The introduced bill already proposed the May election schedule and resignation rule. It would have retained appointment when fewer than 290 days remained before the next regular election while removing one special-election fallback. The House substitute instead adopted Water Code 49.105 and also repealed the separate more-than-290-days special-election requirement. Those changes survived in the final law.

Comparing section 2 with the 1995 district law, section 7, the six repealed subsections covered party nomination or independent candidacy, primary filing fees and independent petitions, party-nomination vacancies, special ballot handling, the more-than-290-days vacancy election, and the initial 1996 staggered terms. HB2694 does not repeal section 7(g), the separate provision for county appointments when fewer than two commissioners remain.

Water Code 49.105 generally requires a board appointment within 60 days. After 60 days, more than 10 percent of registered district voters may petition for an appointment. If membership falls below a majority or a vacancy lasts beyond 90 days, the statute permits commission or county appointments under its stated conditions; it also addresses elections where seats go unfilled because voters are absent or do not vote. See 1999 HB846, section 10, as subsequently amended by 2013 SB902, section 9. These are incorporated rules, not new statewide powers created by HB2694.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

District voters and candidates must plan for a different election month and year. The transition keeps the specified incumbents in office longer before the first May elections. The resignation rule affects commissioners seeking another covered office; the vacancy changes affect the remaining board and, in the circumstances specified by law, appointment authorities and petitioning voters. The statute changes election administration, not a resident’s drainage tax rate or service entitlement. See HB2694, sections 1–3.

The May 21, 2025 fiscal note on the engrossed bill anticipates no fiscal implication to the state and no significant fiscal implication to local governments. The April 21 introduced and May 8 committee notes reach the same conclusions. These are forecasts, not proof of zero administrative costs or a quantified saving for this district. No appropriation is made by the act.