Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4728 Latest Draft

Bill / Enrolled Version Filed 02/01/2025

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                            H.B. No. 4728


 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 7208.116, 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 4. 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 5. 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 6. 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 7. 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 8. (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 9. 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.
 ______________________________ ______________________________
 President of the Senate Speaker of the House
 I certify that H.B. No. 4728 was passed by the House on May 5,
 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
 voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
 No. 4728 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0,
 2 present, not voting.
 ______________________________
 Chief Clerk of the House
 I certify that H.B. No. 4728 was passed by the Senate, with
 amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
 0.
 ______________________________
 Secretary of the Senate
 APPROVED: __________________
 Date
 __________________
 Governor