81R5237 SGA-D
By: King of Parker H.B. No. 4728
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Parker County Utility District No. 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7208.001, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by amending Subdivisions (3), (7), and (8) and
adding Subdivisions (5-a), (7-a), and (8-a) to read as follows:
(3) "Customer" means a wholesale or direct retail user
of water, wastewater, or other services provided by the district.
(5-a) "Enterprise fund" means a fund used to account
for operations:
(A) that are financed and operated in a manner
similar to a private business enterprise and for which the intent of
the board is that the costs, including depreciation, of providing
goods or services to the public on a continuing basis be financed or
recovered primarily through user charges; or
(B) for which the board has decided that periodic
determination of revenues earned, expenses incurred, or net income
earned is appropriate for capital maintenance, public policy,
management control, accountability, or other purposes.
(7) "Member entity" means a public entity or private
utility entity that:
(A) provides retail utility service or regulates
water, wastewater, sewage, or solid waste in the district; and
(B) enters into a contract with the district to
provide or receive wholesale [for] service.
(7-a) "Operating unit" means a separately run unit
established by action of the board that runs as an enterprise fund
separate from other enterprise funds owned or operated by the
district.
(8) "Participant entity" means a public entity or
private utility entity that:
(A) provides utility service inside the
boundaries of the entity; and
(B) contracts with the district for the
construction of and payment for water, wastewater, or other utility
service projects to be financed or provided by the district.
(8-a) "Retail unit" means any unit in which the
district provides retail service for a given certificate of public
convenience and necessity or bounded service area. Each retail
unit shall be considered an operating unit.
SECTION 2. Section 7208.003, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7208.003. PURPOSE. The district is created to:
(1) purchase, own, hold, lease, or otherwise acquire
water distribution facilities, wastewater collection facilities,
or other facilities required to facilitate the district's
operations;
(2) build, operate, and maintain facilities to treat,
[and] transport, and store water, wastewater, or other products
necessary for district operations;
(3) protect, preserve, and restore the purity and
sanitary condition of water in the district; and
(4) provide other utilities in the district if the
utilities are not otherwise provided.
SECTION 3. Section 7208.005, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7208.005. DISTRICT TERRITORY. [(a)] The boundaries
of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of Parker
County [is composed of the territory described by Section 1.04,
Chapter 1273, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
as that territory may have been modified under:
[(1) Subchapter B or its predecessor statutes,
Sections 2.17 and 6.01, Chapter 1273, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1997;
[(2) Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code;
[(3) Subchapter H, Chapter 54, Water Code;
[(4) Subchapter H, Chapter 65, Water Code; or
[(5) other law.
[(b) The boundaries and field notes of the district form a
closure. A mistake in the field notes or in copying the field notes
in the legislative process does not affect:
[(1) the district's organization, existence, or
validity; or
[(2) the legality or operation of the district or its
board].
SECTION 4. Section 7208.116, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7208.116. CUSTOMER ADVISORY COUNCILS [COUNCIL]. (a)
For each operating unit, the [The] board may establish a customer
advisory council that consists of one representative of each
wholesale customer or retail unit of the district.
(b) For each retail unit, the board may establish a customer
advisory council that consists of five members appointed by the
retail customers of the unit in accordance with the laws applicable
to and rules of the district. An advisory council member must
reside in the service area of the retail unit.
(c) [(b)] A representative serving on a [the] customer
advisory council:
(1) has the powers and duties provided in the bylaws
and rules of the district; and
(2) may not vote on any matter considered by the board.
(d) [(c)] The board may abolish a [the] customer advisory
council.
SECTION 5. Section 7208.154, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7208.154. GENERAL WASTE AND WATER POWERS. The
district may:
(1) provide for:
(A) the collection, construction, improvement,
maintenance, and operation of wholesale or retail wastewater and
water systems and treatment works necessary to provide wholesale or
retail service to customers; and
(B) the acquisition, construction, improvement,
and maintenance of a water supply or reservoir, or an interest in a
water supply or reservoir, necessary to exercise and fulfill the
powers and duties of the district;
(2) supply water for municipal, domestic, and
industrial or other beneficial uses or controls;
(3) collect, treat, process, dispose of, and control
all domestic or industrial wastes, whether in fluid, solid, or
composite state;
(4) gather, conduct, divert, control, and treat local
storm water or local harmful excesses of water in the district; and
(5) irrigate and alter land elevations in the district
as needed.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 7208.157, Special
District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7208.157. CONTRACTS WITH DISTRICT FOR WATER,
WASTEWATER, AND OTHER UTILITY SERVICES.
SECTION 7. Sections 7208.157(a), (b), and (c), Special
District Local Laws Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this chapter does
not require a customer or prospective customer of the district to
secure water, wastewater, or other utility service from the
district unless the customer or prospective customer contracts with
the district for that purpose.
(b) A customer or prospective customer is required to secure
water, wastewater, or other utility service from the district if:
(1) the customer or prospective customer is not
receiving the service from another source; and
(2) the district provides the service or determines
that the district will make the service available to the customer or
prospective customer.
(c) If a customer contracts with the district to secure
water, wastewater, or other utility service from the district, a
user of the service under the contract must connect to the
district's service system if:
(1) the user is located inside the boundaries of the
customer; and
(2) the district's system is available for connection
at or near the property line of the user.
SECTION 8. Section 7208.201, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7208.201. AUDITS. All funds and accounts of the
district shall be audited annually by an independent auditor. The
district shall maintain a copy of the audit in the district's
official records.
SECTION 9. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor has submitted the notice and Act to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor,
lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.