H.B. No. 2713 proposes to amend the Local Government Code by allowing municipalities with a population of less than 50,000 to repeal their municipal civil service system for firefighters and police officers. The bill specifies that if the governing body of such a municipality receives a petition signed by at least 10 percent of qualified voters requesting an election to repeal the civil service system, they must order an election to present this question to the voters. If a majority of voters choose to repeal, the civil service system will be rendered void in that municipality. Notably, the bill removes the previous population threshold of 950,000.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that the changes apply only to petitions for which an election has not been ordered prior to the effective date of the Act. For any petitions with an election already ordered, the law in effect at that time will continue to apply. The Act is set to take effect immediately upon receiving a two-thirds vote from both houses of the legislature or on September 1, 2025, if such a vote is not achieved.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Local Government Code 143.004 (Local Government Code 143)
House Committee Report: Local Government Code 143.004 (Local Government Code 143)
Engrossed: Local Government Code 143.004 (Local Government Code 143)
Senate Committee Report: Local Government Code 143.004 (Local Government Code 143)
Enrolled: Local Government Code 143.004 (Local Government Code 143)