Relating to county supervisors, concerning county supervisor representation plans and county supervisor vacancies, and including effective date provisions

This bill concerns county supervisor representation plans and county supervisor vacancies. DIVISION I —— PLAN “THREE” COUNTY SUPERVISOR REPRESENTATION PLANS AND SPECIAL ELECTIONS. The bill requires a county with the main campus of an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents to use plan “three” for the election of county supervisors. Plan “three” requires individual members of the board of supervisors for that county to be elected from single-member, equal-population districts. Current law prohibits a county with a population of 60,000 or more that uses plan “three” from adopting a new representation plan, unless the new plan is approved by a two-thirds vote of the ballots cast in the special election. The bill makes this provision inapplicable to counties with the main campus of an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents. The bill requires counties with the main campus of an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents that do not use plan “three” for the election of supervisors as of the effective date of the bill to submit a precinct plan to the state commissioner of elections by October 1. The legislative services agency must draw the representation plan, in conformity with the provisions of law governing the adoption of a plan “three” representation plan, for use by such counties to elect supervisors under plan “three” during the 2026 general election. The bill requires special elections for the purpose of selecting a supervisor representation plan to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, rather than the first Tuesday in August.2 (special elections), a special election may be held on the same day as a regularly scheduled election. The bill also requires a new representation plan, if a plan “two” or “three” is approved at the special election, to be completed not later than December 31, rather than November 1. Such a plan will still take effect the following January 1.207 was renumbered for the 2019 Code. DIVISION II —— COUNTY SUPERVISOR VACANCIES. The bill requires vacancies on the board of supervisors to be filled by special election in a county with either a population of 125,000 or more or the main campus of an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents. Current law allows for vacancies to be filled by appointment under certain circumstances. The bill requires vacancies to be filled by appointment in a county with a population of less than 125,000 that does not include the main campus of an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents in accordance with current law, including a vacancy that is treated as a resignation due to the physical or mental status of a supervisor. DIVISION III —— EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill takes effect upon enactment.