CHAPTER 71. CREATION OF COUNTIES - Texas Statutes

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 3. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT

SUBTITLE A. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES

CHAPTER 71. CREATION OF COUNTIES

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 71.001. CORPORATE AND POLITICAL BODY. A county is a

corporate and political body.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.002. PLACE FOR HOLDING TERMS OF COURTS IN NEW COUNTY

BEFORE COUNTY SEAT IS DESIGNATED. Until the county seat of a new

county is established, the terms of the district, county, and

commissioners courts of the county shall be held at the place

designated by the commissioners court.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

SUBCHAPTER B. ELECTION FOR DETACHMENT OR ATTACHMENT OF COUNTY

TERRITORY

Sec. 71.011. APPLICATION AND ELECTION. (a) A part of a county

may not be detached from one county and attached to another

county unless the proposition for the change is approved by a

majority of the voters in both counties as required by Article

IX, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution.

(b) On the written application of at least 50 qualified voters

of a county, the county judge of the county shall order an

election to consider detaching from the county a part of its

territory or to consider attaching to the county a part of

another county.

(c) The application must designate the part by a metes and

bounds description and must show:

(1) the number of acres contained within the part;

(2) the number of acres remaining in the county from which the

part is detached; and

(3) the distance on a direct line from the county seat of the

county from which the part is detached to the nearest point on

the boundary of the detached territory.

(d) The notice of the election must contain substantially the

information included in the application and the election order.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.012. ELECTION RESULTS. (a) The returns of each

election shall be made to the county judge of the county in which

the election is held.

(b) The county judge shall:

(1) estimate the vote;

(2) make duplicate statements of the estimate; and

(3) officially certify the statements.

(c) The county judge shall seal in an envelope one copy of the

certified statement and a certified copy of the voters'

application for the election. The judge shall write the judge's

name across the seal of the envelope and shall endorse the

envelope as "Election returns of ____________________ County."

The judge shall send the material by mail or other safe

conveyance to the speaker of the house of representatives at the

State Capitol so that the material will be received as early as

practicable during the next legislative session.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.013. SUBSEQUENT ELECTION. If the election is held in a

county and the proposition to detach part of the county is

defeated at the election, a subsequent election for the same

purpose may not be ordered or held within five years after the

date of the initial election.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

SUBCHAPTER C. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES

Sec. 71.021. ATTACHMENT OF COUNTIES. (a) Until a new county is

legally organized, the territory of the new county remains

subject to the county from which it is taken.

(b) A legally organized county that, for any reason, loses its

county organization is attached to the organized county whose

county seat is closest to that of the disorganized county. The

attachment is made for judicial and surveying purposes and for

the registration of a deed, mortgage, or other instrument that is

required or permitted by law to be recorded. The disorganized

county remains attached until it is again legally organized.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.022. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRECINCTS. (a) If a new county

is established, the commissioners court of the county from which

the largest part of the territory of the new county is taken

shall, not later than one month before the date of the next

scheduled general election:

(1) divide the new county into convenient precincts for the

election of justices of the peace and constables; and

(2) select convenient polling places in the new county.

(b) The commissioners court shall direct the county clerk to

make a record of its actions under this section and shall

transmit a copy of that record to the person who is elected

county judge of the new county.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.023. ELECTION OF COUNTY OFFICERS. (a) Before one month

before the date of the next scheduled general election after a

new county is established, the county judge of the county from

which the new county is taken shall order an election for county

officers to be held in the new county on the general election

day. The order shall specify the number of precincts, the

precinct boundaries, and the officers to be elected in the new

county.

(b) The county judge shall appoint a presiding officer to hold

the election at each designated place in the new county. Each

presiding officer shall hold the election in accordance with the

state election laws and shall make the returns to the county

judge who ordered the election.

(c) The county judge shall open and examine the returns, issue

certificates of election to the persons elected, and approve the

bonds of the elected officers.

(d) If the office of county judge is vacant, any two of the

county commissioners may perform the duties required of the

county judge under this section.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.024. ORGANIZATION OF ATTACHED COUNTY. On the written

petition of at least 75 qualified voters who are residents of a

disorganized county, the commissioners court of the county to

which the disorganized county is attached for judicial or other

purposes shall legally organize the county without delay in the

manner provided by this subchapter for the organization of new

counties.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.025. DELIVERY TO NEW OFFICERS. The officers of a county

from which a new county has been created or to which a newly

organized county has been attached and all other persons who have

in their possession books, records, maps, or other property that

belongs to the new county shall deliver the material to the

proper officers of the new county within five days after the date

on which the new officers legally qualify.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

SUBCHAPTER D. APPORTIONMENT OF COUNTY INDEBTEDNESS

Sec. 71.031. LIABILITY OF NEW COUNTY. (a) A new county is

liable for a proportionate share of the indebtedness of the

county from which it was created.

(b) The new county's liability is the amount that bears the same

ratio to the property value in the territory excised from the

original county that the total indebtedness of the original

county at the time of the creation of the new county bears to the

total property value in the original county, including the value

of the property in the territory excised from the original

county.

(c) After organization of the new county, the commissioners

court of the new county shall levy a tax on all property in the

new county in order to pay the proportionate share of the

indebtedness at the same tax rate as that set by the

commissioners court of the original county for the payment of the

debt.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.032. SUIT TO ENFORCE PAYMENT OF LIABILITY. (a) A

county from which a new county has been created may sue to

recover the new county's share of the original county's

indebtedness. The suit may be brought in a district court of

either county.

(b) If a suit is brought to enforce payment of the indebtedness

created by the original county or of the excised territory's

proportionate share of the indebtedness, the tax assessment rolls

of the original county for the year in which the new county was

created are conclusive evidence of the property remaining in the

original county, the property in the excised territory, and the

value of that property as of the date of the creation of the new

county. However, if the new county was organized and made

assessment rolls for the year in which it was created, those

assessment rolls are conclusive evidence of the property in the

new county and the taxable value of that property as of the date

of the creation of the new county, and the assessment rolls of

the original county for that year are conclusive evidence of the

property remaining in the original county and the value of that

property as of the date of the creation of the new county.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.033. TAX TO PAY INDEBTEDNESS. (a) If the original

county recovers in a suit brought under Section 71.032(a), the

court that renders the judgment shall order the commissioners

court of the newly created county to levy a special tax on all

the property in the territory taken from the original county in

an amount that is sufficient to satisfy the judgment.

(b) If the first levy is insufficient to satisfy the judgment,

the commissioners court shall make annual levies until the

judgment is satisfied.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.034. LIABILITY OF ATTACHED TERRITORY. (a) If a part of

a county is detached from a county and attached to another

county, the attached territory remains liable for its

proportionate share of the indebtedness of the county from which

it was detached.

(b) The commissioners court of the county to which the territory

is attached shall levy a tax in the territory at a rate

sufficient to pay the territory's share of the indebtedness.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.035. COUNTY BONDS HELD BY SCHOOL FUND. (a) The

comptroller of public accounts shall apportion between a county

and a new county created from territory detached from the

original county the bonds, and the coupons due on those bonds,

that are held by the permanent school fund if the bonds were

legally issued by the original county before the new county was

created. The comptroller shall apportion the bonds and coupons in

the manner provided by law.

(b) The commissioners courts of the original county and the new

county shall levy a tax at a rate sufficient to pay each county's

proportionate share of the bond debt.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.