Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB978 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	82R19360 SGA-F
2	2	By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 978
3	3	(Gonzales of Hidalgo)
4	4	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 978: No.
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to procedures for the dissolution of the Hidalgo County
10	10	Water Improvement District No. 3.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
13	13	(1) "City" means a municipality described by Section 2
14	14	of this Act.
15	15	(2) "City council" means the governing body of a city.
16	16	(3) "District" means the Hidalgo County Water
17	17	Improvement District No. 3.
18	18	(4) "District board" means the district's board of
19	19	directors.
20	20	SECTION 2. DISTRICT AND MUNICIPALITY TO WHICH ACT IS
21	21	APPLICABLE. This Act applies only to:
22	22	(1) the district; and
23	23	(2) a municipality that:
24	24	(A) has a population greater than 100,000; and
25	25	(B) contains within its corporate boundaries or
26	26	extraterritorial jurisdiction more than half of the district's
27	27	territory.
28	28	SECTION 3. DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT; FINDINGS PREREQUISITE
29	29	TO MOTION TO TRANSFER. (a) The district is dissolved on the later
30	30	of:
31	31	(1) the effective date of this Act; or
32	32	(2) the date a transfer ordinance adopted pursuant to
33	33	Section 5 of this Act takes effect under Section 8 of this Act.
34	34	(b) At a regularly scheduled meeting of the city council, a
35	35	city may propose an ordinance to allow the city to accept a transfer
36	36	of the obligations, liabilities, and assets of the district if the
37	37	city council finds that as of the date of the meeting:
38	38	(1) at least 80 percent of the raw water diverted by
39	39	the district in the preceding 12 months was diverted for use by the
40	40	city;
41	41	(2) the city is capable of assuming all rights and
42	42	obligations of the district;
43	43	(3) the city is capable of assuming responsibility for
44	44	operating the district's facilities to benefit the district's
45	45	existing customers and performing the services and functions
46	46	performed by the district;
47	47	(4) dissolution of the district will result in an
48	48	overall cost savings to city residents; and
49	49	(5) dissolution of the district will result in a more
50	50	stable water supply for residents of the city and surrounding
51	51	communities.
52	52	SECTION 4. HEARING REQUIRED. (a) Before a city may propose
53	53	an ordinance described by Section 5 of this Act, the city must
54	54	conduct a public hearing on the issue.
55	55	(b) Notice of the public hearing must be:
56	56	(1) posted in accordance with the laws that apply to
57	57	regular meetings of the city council; and
58	58	(2) mailed to each district board member.
59	59	SECTION 5. TRANSFER ORDINANCE. (a) After a city council
60	60	has made the findings required by Section 3(b) of this Act and has
61	61	conducted a public hearing as required by Section 4 of this Act, the
62	62	city council may adopt an ordinance allowing the city to accept a
63	63	transfer of the district's obligations, liabilities, and assets.
64	64	(b) The ordinance must contain provisions that:
65	65	(1) eliminate the required payment of any flat tax or
66	66	assessments paid to the district by landowners in the district;
67	67	(2) ensure that all water rights are held in trust by
68	68	the city for the uses previously adjudicated;
69	69	(3) ensure that all individual water users are
70	70	entitled to continue to use or have access to the same amount of
71	71	water they were entitled to before the dissolution of the district;
72	72	(4) require the city to perform all the functions of
73	73	the district, including the provision of services; and
74	74	(5) ensure delivery of water to landowners at or below
75	75	the lowest comparable delivery charge imposed by any other
76	76	irrigation district in Hidalgo County.
77	77	(c) The ordinance takes effect only if two-thirds of the
78	78	city council votes in favor of the ordinance.
79	79	SECTION 6. CITY CONSENT; DISTRICT DUTIES. (a) On or before
80	80	the effective date of the ordinance described by Section 5 of this
81	81	Act, the district board shall provide the district's management and
82	82	operational records to the city that passed the ordinance to ensure
83	83	the orderly transfer of management and operational responsibility
84	84	to the city.
85	85	(b) Without the consent of a majority of the members of a
86	86	city council that publishes notice under Section 4(b) of this Act,
87	87	the district may not:
88	88	(1) sell, transfer, or encumber any district asset;
89	89	(2) issue debt or acquire additional obligations; or
90	90	(3) default on or fail to honor financial, legal, or
91	91	other obligations of the district.
92	92	(c) Unless a majority of the members of a city council that
93	93	publishes notice under Section 4(b) of this Act agree otherwise,
94	94	the district shall:
95	95	(1) maintain assets of the district in an appropriate
96	96	condition reflective of good stewardship and proper repair; and
97	97	(2) preserve district records, including information
98	98	maintained by the district in electronic format.
99	99	(d) Any action undertaken by the district that does not
100	100	comply with Subsection (b) of this section is void.
101	101	(e) This section expires on the date a city that has
102	102	published notice under Section 4(b) of this Act repeals the city's
103	103	ordinance described by Section 5 of this Act.
104	104	SECTION 7. PETITION BY VOTERS; SUSPENSION OR REPEAL OF
105	105	ORDINANCE; ELECTION. (a) The voters of the district and of a city
106	106	that enacts a transfer ordinance under this Act may object to the
107	107	ordinance by filing a petition with the secretary of the city.
108	108	(b) The petition must be signed by at least five percent of
109	109	the combined total of registered voters who reside in the city or
110	110	any part of the district outside the city.
111	111	(c) The petition must be filed not later than the 30th day
112	112	after the date the city council votes in favor of the transfer
113	113	ordinance under Section 5(c) of this Act.
114	114	(d) The city secretary shall verify the signatures on the
115	115	petition and shall present the verified petition to the city
116	116	council at the council's next scheduled meeting.
117	117	(e) On receipt of the petition, the city council shall
118	118	suspend the effectiveness of the ordinance, and the city may not
119	119	take action under the ordinance unless the ordinance is approved by
120	120	the voters under Subsection (f) of this section.
121	121	(f) The city council shall reconsider the suspended
122	122	ordinance at the next scheduled meeting of the council. If the city
123	123	council does not repeal the transfer ordinance, the city council
124	124	shall submit a proposition for or against enactment of the
125	125	ordinance to the voters of the city and the district at an election
126	126	held jointly by the city and the district on the next uniform
127	127	election date. The transfer ordinance takes effect if a majority of
128	128	the voters voting in that election vote in favor of the transfer.
129	129	SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE OF TRANSFER. A transfer
130	130	ordinance under this Act takes effect on the date:
131	131	(1) the period for filing a voter petition expires
132	132	under Section 7(c) of this Act, if a voter petition is not filed
133	133	under that section; or
134	134	(2) the voters approve the transfer ordinance under
135	135	Section 7(f) of this Act.
136	136	SECTION 9. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. (a) On or before the
137	137	effective date of a transfer ordinance under Section 8 of this Act,
138	138	the district shall:
139	139	(1) transfer to the city the ownership of any water
140	140	rights and certificates of adjudication;
141	141	(2) transfer the assets, debts, and contractual rights
142	142	and obligations of the district to the city; and
143	143	(3) provide notice and make recordings of the
144	144	transfers under this section as required by the Water Code and other
145	145	law.
146	146	(b) On receipt of notice of the transfer of a district
147	147	certificate of adjudication, the Texas Commission on Environmental
148	148	Quality shall note in its records that the certificate of
149	149	adjudication is owned and held by the city. The Texas Commission on
150	150	Environmental Quality shall transfer the district's certificate to
151	151	the city as a ministerial act without further application, notice,
152	152	or hearing. A person or other legal entity does not have a right to
153	153	object to or to request an administrative review of a transfer made
154	154	in accordance with this Act.
155	155	(c) The transfer of the district's water rights and any
156	156	certificate of adjudication to the city does not affect or impair
157	157	the priority, extent, validity, or purpose of the water rights or
158	158	certificate.
159	159	SECTION 10. EXPIRATION. This Act expires January 1, 2016.
160	160	SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
161	161	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
162	162	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
163	163	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
164	164	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.