83R4648 AED-F
By: Miller of Comal H.B. No. 3924
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Comal Trinity Groundwater
Conservation District; providing authority to impose a tax and
issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments and fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle H, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8875 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8875. COMAL TRINITY GROUNDWATER
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8875.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
district.
(2) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(3) "Director" means a member of the board.
(4) "District" means the Comal Trinity Groundwater
Conservation District.
(5) "Retail public utility" means a retail public
utility as defined by Section 13.002, Water Code, that is providing
service in the district on the effective date of this Act.
Sec. 8875.002. NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a
groundwater conservation district in Comal County created under and
essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI,
Texas Constitution.
Sec. 8875.003. CONFIRMATION ELECTION REQUIRED. If the
creation of the district is not confirmed at a confirmation
election held before September 1, 2018:
(1) the district is dissolved on September 1, 2019,
except that:
(A) any debts incurred shall be paid;
(B) any assets that remain after the payment of
debts shall be transferred to Comal County; and
(C) the organization of the district shall be
maintained until all debts are paid and remaining assets are
transferred; and
(2) this chapter expires on September 1, 2020.
Sec. 8875.004. INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. The initial
boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of
Comal County, Texas.
Sec. 8875.005. CONFLICTS OF LAW. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), this chapter prevails over any provision of general
law, including a provision of Chapter 36, Water Code, that is in
conflict or is inconsistent with this chapter.
(b) The following provisions prevail over a provision of
this chapter that is in conflict or is inconsistent with the
provision:
(1) Sections 36.1071-36.108, Water Code;
(2) Sections 36.159-36.161, Water Code; and
(3) Subchapter I, Chapter 36, Water Code.
SUBCHAPTER A-1. TEMPORARY PROVISIONS
Sec. 8875.021. APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY DIRECTORS. (a)
The Comal County Commissioners Court shall appoint five temporary
directors to serve terms not to exceed four years as follows:
(1) one temporary director shall be appointed from
each of the four commissioner precincts in the county to represent
the precinct in which the temporary director resides; and
(2) one temporary director who resides in the district
shall be appointed to represent the district at large.
(b) If there is a vacancy on the temporary board of
directors of the district, the remaining temporary directors shall
select a qualified person to fill the vacancy. If, at any time,
there are fewer than three qualified temporary directors, the
commission shall appoint the necessary number of persons to fill
all vacancies on the board.
(c) Temporary directors or their successors serve until the
earlier of:
(1) the time the initial directors are elected as
provided by Section 8875.023 and have qualified; or
(2) the date this chapter expires under Section
8875.003.
Sec. 8875.022. ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING OF TEMPORARY
DIRECTORS. As soon as practicable after all the temporary
directors have qualified under Section 36.055, Water Code, a
majority of the temporary directors shall convene the
organizational meeting of the district at a location within the
district agreeable to a majority of the directors. At the meeting,
the temporary directors shall elect a chair, vice chair, and
secretary from among the temporary directors.
Sec. 8875.023. CONFIRMATION AND INITIAL DIRECTORS'
ELECTION. (a) The temporary directors shall order an election to
be held in the district to confirm the creation of the district and
to elect the initial directors.
(b) At the confirmation and initial directors' election,
the temporary board shall have placed on the ballot the names of the
candidates for each of the five positions on the board and provide
blank spaces for the names of other candidates. To be eligible to
be a candidate for a position as a director, a person must reside in
the district.
(c) Section 41.001(a), Election Code, does not apply to an
election held under this section.
(d) Except as provided by this section, a confirmation and
initial directors' election must be conducted as provided by the
Election Code and Sections 36.017(b)-(h), Water Code.
(e) If a majority of the votes cast at the election are in
favor of confirming the district's creation, the temporary
directors shall declare the district created. If a majority of the
votes cast are not in favor of confirming the district's creation,
the district's creation is not confirmed. The temporary directors
shall file a copy of the election results with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality.
(f) If the district's creation is not confirmed at an
election held under this section, the temporary directors may order
one or more subsequent elections to be held to confirm the creation
of the district not earlier than the first anniversary of the
preceding confirmation election. If the district's creation is not
confirmed at an election held under this section before September
1, 2018, the district is dissolved in accordance with Section
8875.003.
Sec. 8875.024. INITIAL DIRECTORS. (a) If the creation of
the district is confirmed at an election held under Section
8875.023, the temporary directors, at the time the vote is
canvassed, shall:
(1) declare for each board position the person who
receives the most votes for that position to be elected as the
initial director for that position; and
(2) include the results of the initial directors'
election in the district's election report to the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality.
(b) The initial directors elected to positions 2 and 3 serve
terms expiring December 1 of the first even-numbered year after the
date of the confirmation election, and the initial directors
elected to positions 1, 4, and the at-large position serve terms
expiring December 1 of the second even-numbered year after the date
of the confirmation election.
Sec. 8875.025. INITIAL ELECTION OF PERMANENT DIRECTORS. On
the uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election
Code, in November of the first even-numbered year after the year in
which the creation of the district is confirmed at an election held
under Section 8875.023, an election shall be held in the district
for the election of two directors to replace the initial directors
who shall serve until that election.
Sec. 8875.026. EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
expires September 1, 2021.
SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sec. 8875.051. DIRECTORS; TERMS. (a) The district is
governed by a board of five directors.
(b) Directors serve staggered four-year terms.
Sec. 8875.052. METHOD OF ELECTING DIRECTORS: COMMISSIONERS
PRECINCTS. (a) The directors of the district shall be elected
according to the commissioners precinct method as provided by this
section.
(b) One director shall be elected by the voters of the
entire district, and one director shall be elected from each county
commissioners precinct by the voters of that precinct.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), to be eligible to
be a candidate for or to serve as director at large, a person must be
a registered voter of the district. To be a candidate for or to
serve as director from a county commissioners precinct, a person
must be a registered voter of that precinct.
(d) A person shall indicate on the application for a place
on the ballot:
(1) the precinct that the person seeks to represent;
or
(2) that the person seeks to represent the district at
large.
(e) When the boundaries of the county commissioners
precincts are redrawn after each federal decennial census to
reflect population changes, a director in office on the effective
date of the change, or a director elected or appointed before the
effective date of the change whose term of office begins on or after
the effective date of the change, shall serve in the precinct to
which elected or appointed even though the change in boundaries
places the person's residence outside the precinct for which the
person was elected or appointed.
(f) After the first election held after the boundaries of
the county commissioners precincts are redrawn, the directors
elected shall draw lots to determine which three directors shall
serve a four-year term and which two directors shall serve a
two-year term.
(g) A director may not serve more than two consecutive terms
and may not serve for a total of more than 12 years.
Sec. 8875.053. ELECTION DATE. The district shall hold an
election to elect the appropriate number of directors on the
uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code,
in November of each even-numbered year.
Sec. 8875.054. VACANCIES. A vacancy on the board shall be
filled by appointment of the board until the next regularly
scheduled directors' election. The person appointed to fill the
vacancy shall serve only for the remainder of the unexpired term.
SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 8875.101. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT POWERS
AND DUTIES. The district has the rights, powers, privileges,
functions, and duties provided by the general law of this state,
including Chapter 36, Water Code, applicable to groundwater
conservation districts created under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution.
Sec. 8875.102. CONTRACTS. The district may contract with a
state agency or political subdivision, including a county, a river
authority, or another district, to carry out any function of the
district.
Sec. 8875.103. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. (a) The
district may participate in the development and implementation of
best management practices for water resource management in the
district and may engage in and promote the acceptance of best
management practices through education efforts sponsored by the
district.
(b) Development and implementation of best management
practices must address water quantity and quality practices such as
brush management, prescribed grazing, recharge structures, water
and silt detention and retention structures, plugging of abandoned
wells, rainwater harvesting, and other treatment measures for the
conservation of water resources.
Sec. 8875.104. LIMITATIONS ON DISTRICT POWERS. The
district may not:
(1) require the owner of a well used solely for
domestic or livestock purposes to install a meter or measuring
device on the well;
(2) sell, transport, or export groundwater outside of
the district; or
(3) enter into a contract or engage in an action to
supply water to any person in the service area of a municipality or
retail public utility located in the district, except with the
consent of the municipality or retail public utility.
SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8875.151. FEES. (a) The district may impose
reasonable fees on an annual basis on each nonexempt well and on
each well exempt from permitting under Section 36.117(b)(1), Water
Code. The district shall adopt any rules necessary for the
assessment and collection of fees under this subsection.
(b) The district may use money collected from fees:
(1) in any manner necessary for the management and
operation of the district;
(2) to pay all or part of the principal of and interest
on district bonds or notes; and
(3) for any purpose consistent with the district's
approved water management plan.
Sec. 8875.152. PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION FOR WATER
CONSERVATION INITIATIVES. (a) The district by rule shall provide
for granting exemptions from ad valorem taxes on property on which a
water conservation initiative has been implemented, as provided by
Section 11.32, Tax Code. The rules must provide that a retail
public utility is eligible to receive an exemption from ad valorem
taxes on property on the same grounds as any other district
customer.
(b) To encourage retail public utilities to obtain water
supplies from sources other than groundwater, rules adopted under
Subsection (a) must include an exemption from ad valorem taxes on
property used and useful by a retail public utility based on:
(1) the percentage of potable water supplied in the
district by the retail public utility from sources other than
groundwater compared to the total water supplied by the retail
public utility for the preceding year; and
(2) the percentage of wastewater effluent produced by
the retail public utility that is used as reclaimed water in the
district compared to the total wastewater effluent produced by the
retail public utility for the preceding year.
(c) For the purposes of Subsection (a), the district may
consider the effects of floods and equipment breakage on the retail
public utility's ability to supply water from sources other than
groundwater.
(d) The total amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxes
may not exceed one-half of the tax imposed by the district.
Sec. 8875.153. LIMITATION ON TAXES. The district may not
impose an ad valorem tax for administrative, operation, or
maintenance expenses that exceeds the lesser of:
(1) the rate approved by the majority of the voters
voting in the election authorizing the tax; or
(2) three-eighths of a cent per $100 of assessed
valuation.
SECTION 2. (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, one of the required recipients, 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, the
lieutenant governor, and the 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 3. 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, 2013.