The bill, S.B. No. 1331, proposes to amend the Local Government Code regarding the municipal civil service system for firefighters and police officers in municipalities with populations under 70,000. Specifically, it allows the governing body of such municipalities to order an election to repeal the civil service system if a petition is signed by at least 10 percent of the qualified voters. The previous threshold for population was set at 950,000, which has been removed from the law. If a majority of voters choose to repeal the chapter, it will become void in that municipality.

Additionally, the bill stipulates that the changes will only apply to petitions for which an election has not yet been ordered before the bill's effective date. For any petitions that have already had elections ordered, the previous law will remain in effect. The bill is set to take effect immediately upon receiving a two-thirds vote from both houses of the legislature, or on September 1, 2025, if that vote is not achieved.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Local Government Code 143.004 (Local Government Code 143)