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Hood County commissioners vote 3–2 to ask Legislature to make hospital district board elected
Summary
The Hood County Commissioners Court voted 3–2 on Jan. 14, 2025, to adopt a resolution asking the Texas Legislature to amend Special District Local Laws Code chapter 10.42 so the Hood County Hospital District is governed by an elected board; supporters cited multiple Attorney General opinions; hospital district leadership urged the matter be considered by the district first.
The Hood County Commissioners Court adopted a resolution on Jan. 14 asking the Texas Legislature to amend special district law so the Hood County Hospital District board would be elected rather than composed of county officials.
Commissioner Samuelson introduced the resolution, citing a series of Texas Attorney General opinions that, in her view, create a legal conflict when members of a commissioner's court simultaneously serve on another taxing body. "We need to be the ones to ask to have the conflict resolved," Samuelson said, urging the legislature to correct what she called an incompatibility in special district code 10.42.
Christie Massey, president of the Hood County Hospital District, urged the court to allow the hospital district board to place the item on its own agenda first. "I'm Christie Massey. I'm the president for the Hood County Hospital District, and I think that this should come through the hospital district initially, not the commissioner's court," Massey said, adding that the district expects to address financing concerns at its board meeting the following week.
Commissioner Eagle and others recited legal history and court precedents in a longer discussion of the doctrine of incompatibility and potential insolvency implications. Supporters of the resolution pointed to Attorney General opinions and examples from other counties — including Titus County — where hospital boards are elected.
On a roll call, the motion to adopt the resolution passed by a 3–2 vote. Commissioners did not change state law; the resolution requests that the county's legislative delegation consider amending the enabling statute. The resolution text directs that copies be transmitted to Sen. Brian Birdwell and Representative Shelby Slauson (as listed in the meeting materials).
Next steps: the court transmitted the adopted resolution to the county's legislative contacts and one commissioner said she would also place the resolution on the hospital district's board agenda for its next meeting so the district can weigh in.
