81R11251 HLT-F
By: Eissler H.B. No. 4804
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers and duties of the San Jacinto River
Authority; providing authority to issue bonds; imposing an
administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Sections 10A, 11, 11A,
11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G, 11H, 11I, 11J, 11K, 11L, 11M, 11N,
11O, 11P, and 11Q to read as follows:
Sec. 10A. (a) In this section:
(1) "Public security" has the meaning assigned by
Section 1201.002, Government Code.
(2) "Credit agreement," "security agreement," and
"security interest" have the meanings assigned by Section 1208.001,
Government Code.
(b) The Authority may issue, sell, and deliver public
securities in the manner provided by this section or other law,
including Chapter 1371, Government Code, to finance or pay for any
project, improvement, program, plan, or purpose of the Authority or
to refund or refinance any public security.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section,
public securities of the Authority may be sold by the Board or an
officer or employee of the Authority, if authorized by the Board, at
public or private sale in the form, at the price, on the terms, and
at the interest rate or rates, whether fixed, variable, floating,
adjustable, or otherwise, as the Board determines is appropriate.
(d) The net effective interest rate on public securities
described by Subsection (c) of this section may not exceed the
maximum rate allowed by law.
(e) Without the necessity for an election, public
securities of the Authority may be made payable from any designated
portion or combination of revenue, receipts, fees, user fees,
rates, charges, special assessments, contract revenue, income,
proceeds of refunding public securities, or funds from any source
other than ad valorem taxes.
(f) Public securities of the Authority payable wholly or
partly from ad valorem taxes may be issued only after approval by a
majority of the voters of all or a defined area of the Authority
voting at an election held for that purpose. The Board may hold an
election in all or a defined area of the Authority for the purpose
described by this subsection.
(g) Public securities of the Authority may be secured by a
security agreement or credit agreement, or both, and with the
security interest or interests, other than a mortgage interest on
real property, and the parity or priority of pledge and lien as the
Board determines is appropriate.
Sec. 11. In Sections 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G, 11H,
11I, 11J, 11K, 11L, 11M, 11N, 11O, 11P, and 11Q of this Act:
(1) "Authority" means the San Jacinto River Authority.
(2) "Board" means the board of directors of the
Authority.
(3) "District" means any district or authority created
under Section 52(b)(1) or (2), Article III, or Section 59, Article
XVI, Texas Constitution, regardless of the manner of creation,
other than:
(A) the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation
District;
(B) a navigation district or a port authority; or
(C) a district that does not have the legal
authority to provide retail water service.
(4) "Groundwater reduction plan" means a plan adopted
or implemented by the Authority under Section 11A of this Act and
any related water supply plan, water conservation plan, or drought
contingency plan of the Authority.
(5) "Local government" means a municipality, county,
district, or other political subdivision of this state or a
combination of two or more of those entities.
(6) "Participant" means a regulated user
participating in the groundwater reduction plan.
(7) "Person" means an individual, corporation,
organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency,
district, local government, business trust, estate, trust,
partnership, association, or other legal entity.
(8) "Regulated user" means a person, other than a
person that owns or operates a single groundwater well serving not
more than one single-family residential dwelling or unit, who is
subject to any rule, order, or requirement of the Lone Star
Groundwater Conservation District imposing groundwater withdrawal
reductions.
Sec. 11A. (a) Consistent with the purposes of Section 59,
Article XVI, Texas Constitution, the Authority may provide for the
conservation, preservation, protection, recharge, and prevention
of waste of groundwater and for the reduction of groundwater
withdrawals by developing, adopting, implementing, and enforcing a
groundwater reduction plan as necessary in the discretion of the
Authority to comply with the applicable rules, orders, or
requirements of the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District.
(b) The groundwater reduction plan described by Subsection
(a) of this section may:
(1) specify measures to be taken by regulated users to
reduce groundwater withdrawals;
(2) identify alternative sources of water, including
water from the Authority, to be provided to regulated users;
(3) identify or estimate the rates and terms under
which alternative sources of water will be provided, which may be
changed as considered necessary by the Authority;
(4) specify the dates by which and the extent to which
participants must reduce or cease usage of groundwater and accept
water from alternative sources, including water from the Authority;
(5) exceed the minimum requirements imposed by the
Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, including any
applicable groundwater reduction requirements;
(6) provide that the groundwater reduction plan is the
exclusive groundwater reduction plan that is binding and mandatory
on participants;
(7) limit, prohibit, or permit the export of
groundwater from or the importation of water from any source to
participants;
(8) include other terms and measures that are
consistent with the powers and duties of the Authority; and
(9) be amended at the discretion of the Authority.
Sec. 11B. The Authority by rule may develop, adopt,
implement, revise as necessary, and enforce a comprehensive water
supply plan, a water conservation plan, or a drought contingency
plan for participants.
Sec. 11C. For the purpose of implementing Section 11A of
this Act, the Authority may take any actions necessary or
convenient to:
(1) design, finance, construct, acquire by purchase,
gift, lease, contract, or other means, operate, maintain, repair,
improve, or extend a water treatment or water supply system,
including taking any actions necessary or convenient for those
purposes with regard to:
(A) any addition to such a system;
(B) all land, improvements, facilities, plants,
equipment, and appliances needed in connection with such a system;
(C) any interests in property, water rights or
contract rights for water supply, regional, regulatory or joint use
participation rights, or other contract rights needed in connection
with such a system; and
(D) administrative facilities needed in
connection with such a system;
(2) notwithstanding any provision of law or of a
municipal charter to the contrary, enter into contracts with
persons inside or outside the Authority's boundaries on terms the
Board considers desirable, fair, and advantageous for the exercise
of the rights, powers, privileges, and functions provided by this
Act;
(3) allocate water among participants;
(4) coordinate water services provided by or among
participants;
(5) except as provided by Section 11E of this Act,
provide wholesale and retail water services to any participant by
order, rule, or policy or on open account, without executing a
written contract with the participant;
(6) store, sell, or reuse water or any by-product from
the operation of the Authority's water systems;
(7) adopt and enforce rules and administrative
policies reasonably required to implement this section and Sections
11A, 11B, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G, 11H, 11I, 11J, 11K, 11L, 11M, 11N,
11O, 11P, and 11Q of this Act, including rules governing procedures
before the Board and regarding the groundwater reduction plan; and
(8) otherwise administer and enforce the sections of
this Act described by Subdivision (7) of this section.
Sec. 11D. To facilitate the implementation of a groundwater
reduction plan, the Authority may:
(1) establish and maintain one or more separate
operating divisions of the Authority with separate books of
account;
(2) contract for, lease, or purchase by and for an
operating division services, land, equipment, and facilities,
including administrative and management services and facilities,
and water and water by-products, from:
(A) the Authority;
(B) one or more other operating divisions of the
Authority; or
(C) other persons; and
(3) allocate to an operating division a proportional
share of the direct and indirect costs of the Authority's general
and administrative, managerial, accounting, legal, fiscal,
clerical, human resources, support, and technical services.
Sec. 11E. (a) For purposes of this section, the boundaries
of a municipality include territory in the extraterritorial
jurisdiction of the municipality.
(b) The Authority may not provide retail water service to a
person located in the boundaries or certificated area of a
district, municipality, or retail public utility participating in
the Authority's groundwater reduction plan on the date the
Authority awards a contract for the construction or executes a
contract for the acquisition of water supply facilities to serve
that retail user unless:
(1) the district, municipality, or retail public
utility consents in writing to the Authority's provision of retail
water service; or
(2) the retail water user is a regulated user, the
Authority has provided the district, municipality, or retail public
utility with written notice of the request for service from the
retail water user, the Authority has provided the district,
municipality, or retail public utility with reasonable opportunity
to negotiate an agreement for the requested service with the retail
water user, and the district, municipality, or retail public
utility has not entered into an agreement for the requested service
with the retail water user on or before the 120th day after the date
the Authority provides the district, municipality, or retail public
utility with written notice of the request for service from the
retail water user.
(c) If a retail water user that does not own or operate a
groundwater well is added to the boundaries or certificated area of
a district, municipality, or retail public utility after the date
the Authority awards a contract for the construction or executes a
contract for the acquisition of water supply facilities to serve
that retail water user and the district, municipality, or retail
public utility is a participant, the Authority may provide retail
water service to that retail water user without consent.
Sec. 11F. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, all
regulated users located wholly or partly in Montgomery County on
the effective date of this section are initially included in the
groundwater reduction plan and the Authority has jurisdiction to
enforce the rights, powers, privileges, and functions described by
this section and Sections 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11G, 11H, 11I,
11J, 11K, 11L, 11M, 11N, 11O, 11P, and 11Q of this Act with respect
to those regulated users.
Sec. 11G. (a) A regulated user that, on the effective date
of this section, is included as a participant in the groundwater
reduction plan may file with the Authority a duly authorized and
executed petition requesting to be excluded from the groundwater
reduction plan.
(b) Not later than the 120th day after the later of the dates
described by Subdivisions (2)(A) and (B) of this subsection, the
Board shall grant a petition filed under Subsection (a) of this
section and order the regulated user excluded from the groundwater
reduction plan if the petition:
(1) includes an accurate legal description of the
boundaries of the regulated user's service area or a description or
map that sufficiently identifies the area proposed to be excluded;
and
(2) is filed with the Board not later than the 120th
day after the later of:
(A) the effective date of this section; or
(B) the effective date of any final rule, order,
or requirement of the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District
that is adopted and effective on or after the effective date of this
Act and that imposes groundwater withdrawal reductions applicable
to the regulated user.
(c) The Authority may impose but may not enforce the
collection of fees, user fees, rates, charges, or special
assessments on a regulated user while a petition for exclusion
filed by the regulated user is pending with the Authority or after
the petition is granted.
(d) If a regulated user is excluded from the groundwater
reduction plan as provided by this section, the Authority may not
include the regulated user in any groundwater reduction plan
adopted or implemented by the Authority unless the regulated user
is subsequently added to the Authority's groundwater reduction plan
as provided by Section 11H of this Act.
(e) After the period for filing a petition for exclusion
under this section has expired, the Authority may exclude a
regulated user from the groundwater reduction plan, at its sole
discretion and on terms the Board considers appropriate, if the
regulated user files with the Board a duly authorized and executed
petition requesting to be excluded.
(f) This section does not limit the power of the Authority
to exclude a regulated user from the groundwater reduction plan,
without the filing of a petition, as provided by Section 11M of this
Act.
Sec. 11H. (a) A person that becomes a regulated user after
the expiration of the period for filing a petition for exclusion
under Section 11G of this Act becomes a participant without further
action by the Authority or the person. The Authority and the Lone
Star Groundwater Conservation District may enter into an agreement
to provide information to the Authority reasonably necessary to
identify and contact participants described by this section. The
Authority by rule may require a participant to provide to the
Authority any necessary documents pertaining to the participant's
service area and the actual or projected water demands of the
service area.
(b) A regulated user excluded from the Authority's
groundwater reduction plan under Section 11G of this Act may
subsequently file with the Board a duly authorized and executed
petition requesting the addition of all or part of the regulated
user's service area to the groundwater reduction plan. The
petition must include an accurate legal description of the
boundaries of the regulated user's service area or a description or
map that sufficiently identifies the area proposed to be added. The
Authority may grant a petition filed under this section in its sole
discretion and on terms the Board considers appropriate.
(c) The Authority may require a regulated user whose service
area is added to the groundwater reduction plan under Subsection
(b) to pay to the Authority any fees, user fees, charges, and
special assessments, with interest, as determined by the Authority,
that the regulated user would have been obligated to pay to the
Authority if the regulated user had not been excluded. If the
Authority has outstanding or unissued bonds, notes, or other
obligations to finance the costs of the Authority's provision of
water supply facilities and services under the groundwater
reduction plan, the petition is considered to constitute the
election and agreement of the petitioner to assume its pro rata
share of the principal of and interest on the outstanding or
unissued bonds, notes, or other obligations.
(d) Subsections (b) and (c) of this section do not apply to
an annexation to, or expansion of, a participant's boundaries,
extraterritorial jurisdiction, or service area, notwithstanding
that the annexation or expansion may include, wholly or partly,
territory that is currently located in or was previously located in
the boundaries or service area of a regulated user excluded from the
groundwater reduction plan under Section 11G of this Act.
(e) The Authority by rule may require participants to
provide to the Authority written notice of the effective date of an
annexation to, or expansion of, the participant's boundaries or
service area and copies of any necessary documents, descriptions,
maps, and information regarding the projected or actual water
demands of the annexed land or expanded boundaries or service area.
Except to the extent otherwise provided by rule, order, or written
agreement of the Authority, an annexation or expansion described by
this subsection with regard to a participant does not affect:
(1) the Authority's power and authority inside or
outside the expanded boundaries or service area of the participant;
(2) the groundwater reduction plan or contracts
entered into by the Authority; or
(3) the Authority's authority to assess fees, user
fees, rates, charges, or special assessments inside or outside the
expanded boundaries or service area of the participant.
(f) The addition of territory to the groundwater reduction
plan under this section does not affect the validity of the
Authority's bonds, notes, or other obligations authorized, issued,
or incurred before or after the addition.
Sec. 11I. (a) The Authority may establish fees, user fees,
rates, and charges for a regulated user's participation in and
benefit derived from the groundwater reduction plan that are
sufficient to:
(1) achieve water conservation;
(2) prevent waste of water;
(3) serve as a disincentive to pumping groundwater;
(4) develop, implement, or enforce a groundwater
reduction plan;
(5) accomplish the purposes described by this section
and Sections 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G, 11H, 11J, 11K, 11L,
11M, 11N, 11O, 11P, and 11Q of this Act, including making available
alternative water supplies;
(6) cover the Authority's administrative, operations,
and maintenance expenses relating to the groundwater reduction
plan;
(7) pay the principal of and interest on notes, bonds,
and other obligations issued or incurred or to be issued or incurred
in connection with the exercise of the Authority's rights, powers,
privileges, and functions under the sections of this Act described
by Subdivision (5) of this subsection;
(8) satisfy all rate covenants relating to the
issuance of notes, bonds, and other obligations; and
(9) establish, accumulate, maintain, or replenish one
or more operating, debt service, contingency, or emergency reserve
funds, as considered necessary by the Authority.
(b) In addition to the authority provided by Subsection (a)
of this section, the Authority may impose rates, fees, user fees, or
charges for the importation of water by a participant.
(c) The Authority may establish fees, user fees, rates, and
charges applicable to any participant and make reasonable
classifications of participants for purposes of the fees, rates,
and charges as considered necessary by the Authority to implement
and enforce the plans, powers, and authority provided by this
section and Sections 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G, 11H, 11J,
11K, 11L, 11M, 11N, 11O, 11P, and 11Q of this Act.
(d) Among other criteria and classifications, the Authority
may charge a participant a fee or user fee based on the amount of
water withdrawn from the participant's groundwater well. If
ownership of a groundwater well changes, the prior and subsequent
owners are liable to the Authority as participants, jointly and
severally, for all fees and user fees imposed by the Authority under
this Act and any related penalties and interest for water withdrawn
from the groundwater well before the change in ownership.
(e) The Board shall make a reasonable effort to notify each
participant by publication or by written notice of the date, time,
and location of the meeting at which the Board intends to adopt a
proposed rate, fee, user fee, or charge under this section and of
the amount of the proposed rate, fee, user fee, or charge. The
Board's failure to provide actual notice to each participant does
not invalidate a rate, fee, user fee, or charge adopted by the Board
under this section.
Sec. 11J. (a) The Board shall exempt from any rate, fee,
user fee, or charge under Section 11I of this Act persons or classes
of groundwater wells that are not subject to any groundwater
reduction requirement imposed by the Lone Star Groundwater
Conservation District, but if the person or class of groundwater
wells subsequently becomes subject to a groundwater reduction
requirement imposed by the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation
District, the Authority may impose a rate, fee, user fee, or charge
on the person or class of groundwater wells at any time after that
date. For purposes of this subsection, a person or a groundwater
well is subject to a groundwater reduction requirement if the Lone
Star Groundwater Conservation District adopts a requirement or rule
that withdrawals from the groundwater well, or from the groundwater
well and other groundwater wells collectively, be reduced,
including a groundwater reduction requirement that does not need to
be satisfied until a future date.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) of this section, any
person that owns or operates a single groundwater well serving not
more than one single-family residential dwelling or unit, or the
class of groundwater wells that serves not more than one
single-family residential dwelling or unit, is exempt from any
rate, fee, user fee, or charge described by Section 11I of this Act.
(c) The Board by rule may exempt any other persons or
classes of groundwater wells from any rate, fee, user fee, or charge
under Section 11I of this Act.
Sec. 11K. (a) The Board may undertake improvement projects
or services that confer a special benefit on all or a defined area
of a service area of one or more participants.
(b) After notice and a hearing under Section 11L of this
Act, the Board may impose a special assessment on property in a
defined area that is in the service area of one or more
participants, including property of a local government, to cover
the cost of an improvement project or service under Subsection (a)
of this section.
(c) The Board shall apportion the cost of an improvement
project or service to be assessed against the property based on the
special benefits that accrue to the property because of the
improvement project or service. Among other classifications of
benefits received, the Board may assess costs according to the
number of gallons of groundwater pumped from groundwater wells
located on the property or that serve the property and are subject
to a groundwater reduction requirement imposed by the Lone Star
Groundwater Conservation District.
(d) The Authority may finance with special assessments any
improvement project or service authorized by this Act or other law.
Sec. 11L. (a) The Board may not impose a special assessment
under Section 11K of this Act unless the Board holds a public
hearing on the advisability of the proposed assessment and the
improvement project or service to be financed by the assessment.
(b) The Board shall publish notice of a hearing under this
section in a newspaper or newspapers with general circulation in
Montgomery County not later than the 30th day before the date of the
hearing.
(c) Notice under this section must include:
(1) the time and place of the hearing;
(2) the general nature of the proposed improvement
project or service;
(3) the estimated cost of the improvement project or
service, including projected interest and associated financing
costs; and
(4) the proposed method of assessment.
(d) Not later than the 30th day before the date of the
hearing, the Board shall send written notice containing the
information required by Subsection (c) of this section by certified
mail, return receipt requested, to each participant affected by the
proposed assessment.
(e) At the conclusion of a hearing conducted by the Board on
a proposed improvement project or service, the Board shall make
written findings and conclusions relating to:
(1) the advisability of the improvement project or
service;
(2) the nature of the improvement project or service;
(3) the estimated costs of the improvement project or
service; and
(4) the area that will benefit from the improvement
project or service.
(f) At the conclusion of a hearing conducted by a hearings
examiner on a proposed improvement project or service, the hearings
examiner shall file with the Board a written report of the
examiner's findings and conclusions. The Board may act on the
findings and conclusions at any meeting of the Board at which notice
of the meeting is given as provided by Chapter 551, Government Code,
without the necessity for further notice.
(g) On adjournment of a hearing on proposed assessments, or
after consideration of a hearings examiner's findings and
conclusions on proposed assessments, the Board shall hear and rule
on any objections to each proposed assessment. After ruling on any
objections to each proposed assessment, the Board by order:
(1) shall fix the amount of and impose the assessments
as special assessments on any affected property;
(2) shall specify the method of payment of the
assessments; and
(3) may require the assessments, including interest,
to be paid in periodic installments or, if prepaid, be subject to
prepayment charges.
(h) Periodic installment payments of assessments must be in
an amount sufficient to meet all costs for the associated
improvement projects or services and must continue in effect for
the number of years required to fully and timely pay for the
services to be rendered or any bonds, notes, or other obligations
issued or incurred by the Authority to finance any associated
improvement projects. The Board may impose interest charges or
penalties for failure to make timely payment and may impose a charge
in an amount sufficient to cover delinquencies and expenses of
collection.
(i) A person that becomes a participant after the Authority
has imposed assessments or a participant whose territory or service
area is added to the groundwater reduction plan may:
(1) waive the right to notice and an assessment
hearing; and
(2) agree to the imposition and payment of assessments
at an agreed rate.
(j) The Board shall have prepared an assessment roll showing
the assessments against each property and the Board's basis for the
assessment. The assessment roll shall be:
(1) filed with the secretary of the Board or another
officer who performs similar functions; and
(2) open for public inspection.
(k) After notice and a hearing in the manner required for an
original assessment, the Board may make supplemental assessments to
correct omissions or mistakes or account for changed circumstances
relating to the total costs of the improvement project or service,
or to cover delinquencies or costs of collection.
Sec. 11M. (a) The Board may require the payment of interest
on any late or unpaid fees, user fees, rates, charges, and special
assessments imposed by the Authority, but the interest rate may not
exceed the interest rate described by Section 2251.025, Government
Code.
(b) In addition to requiring the payment of interest under
Subsection (a) of this section for the failure to make a complete or
timely payment to the Authority, the Board may:
(1) impose penalties; and
(2) exclude a participant, or the service area or the
territory or groundwater well owned or controlled by a participant,
from the groundwater reduction plan.
(c) The Authority is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees
incurred by the Authority in enforcing its rules or in collecting
any delinquent fees, user fees, rates, charges, or special
assessments, and any related penalties and interest.
(d) Fees, user fees, rates, charges, and special
assessments imposed by the Authority under Section 11I or 11K of
this Act, any related penalties and interest, and collection
expenses and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the Authority:
(1) are a first and prior lien against the groundwater
well to which they apply;
(2) are superior to any other lien or claim, other than
a lien or claim for ad valorem taxes imposed by a county, school
district, or municipality; and
(3) are the personal liability of and a charge against
the owner of the affected groundwater well.
(e) A lien under this section is effective from the date of
the resolution or order of the Board imposing the fee, user fee,
rate, charge, or special assessment until payment is received by
the Authority. The Board may enforce the lien in the same manner
that a municipal utility district operating under Chapters 49 and
54, Water Code, may enforce an ad valorem tax lien against real
property.
Sec. 11N. (a) A person who violates a rule or order of the
Authority adopted under Section 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G,
11H, 11I, 11J, 11K, 11L, 11M, 11O, 11P, or 11Q of this Act is subject
to an administrative penalty, payable to the Authority, of not more
than $10,000, as determined by the Board, for each violation or each
day of a continuing violation.
(b) The Authority may bring an action to recover the penalty
in a district court in the county where the violation occurred.
(c) The Authority may bring an action for injunctive relief
in a district court in the county where a violation of a rule or
order of the Authority occurs or is threatened to occur. The court
may grant to the Authority, without requiring a bond or other
undertaking, a prohibitory or mandatory injunction as warranted by
the facts, including a temporary restraining order, temporary
injunction, or permanent injunction.
(d) The Authority may bring an action for an administrative
penalty and injunctive relief in the same proceeding.
Sec. 11O. Immunity from suit, judgment, or liability of any
local government participating in the groundwater reduction plan is
waived to the extent necessary for the Authority to exercise and
enforce against the local government the rights, powers, and
privileges granted in Sections 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G,
11H, 11I, 11J, 11K, 11L, 11M, 11N, 11P, and 11Q of this Act.
Sec. 11P. In addition to any other financial assistance
program for which the Authority may be eligible, the rights,
powers, privileges, and authority conferred under Sections 11A,
11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F, 11G, 11H, 11I, 11J, 11K, 11L, 11M, 11N,
11O, and 11Q of this Act authorize the Authority to receive
financial assistance from the groundwater district loan assistance
fund under Subchapter L, Chapter 36, Water Code.
Sec. 11Q. The Board by rule may establish procedures for
conducting public hearings and may determine whether a hearing will
be conducted by the Board or a hearings examiner. Any public
hearing may be adjourned from time to time to a date, time, and
location specified on adjournment, without the necessity for
further notice.
SECTION 2. (a) Sections 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, Chapter
426, Acts of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, are
repealed.
(b) The repeal of laws under Subsection (a) of this section
does not affect the validity, enforceability, security, priority of
lien, or other terms of any bonds, notes, or obligations of the San
Jacinto River Authority that were issued or incurred before the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. 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.
SECTION 4. 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.