By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1890
(Guerra)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures for the dissolution of the Hidalgo County
Water Improvement District No. 3.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
(1) "City" means a municipality described by Section 2
of this Act.
(2) "City council" means the governing body of a city.
(3) "District" means the Hidalgo County Water
Improvement District No. 3.
(4) "District board" means the district's board of
directors.
SECTION 2. DISTRICT AND MUNICIPALITY TO WHICH ACT IS
APPLICABLE. This Act applies only to:
(1) the district; and
(2) a municipality that:
(A) has a population greater than 100,000; and
(B) contained on April 1, 2013, within its
corporate boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction more than
half of the district's territory.
SECTION 3. DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT; FINDINGS PREREQUISITE
TO MOTION TO TRANSFER. (a) The district is dissolved on the date a
transfer ordinance adopted pursuant to Section 6 of this Act takes
effect under Section 8 of this Act.
(b) At a regularly scheduled meeting of the city council, a
city may propose an ordinance to allow the city to accept a transfer
of the obligations, liabilities, and assets of the district if the
city council finds that as of the date of the meeting:
(1) at least 80 percent of the raw water diverted by
the district in the preceding 12 months was diverted for use by the
city or at least 80 percent of the revenue received by the district
from diverting raw water during the preceding 12 months was
received from the city;
(2) the city is capable of assuming all rights and
obligations of the district;
(3) the city is capable of assuming responsibility for
operating the district's facilities to benefit the district's
existing customers and performing the services and functions
performed by the district;
(4) dissolution of the district will result in an
overall cost savings to city residents; and
(5) dissolution of the district will result in a more
stable water supply for residents of the city and surrounding
communities.
SECTION 4. HEARING REQUIRED. (a) Before a city may hold an
election under Section 5 of this Act or propose an ordinance
described by Section 6 of this Act, the city must conduct a public
hearing on the issue.
(b) Notice of the public hearing must be:
(1) posted in accordance with the laws that apply to
regular meetings of the city council; and
(2) mailed to each district board member.
SECTION 5. ELECTION REQUIRED. (a) Before a city may
propose an ordinance described by Section 6 of this Act, the city
must hold an election within the boundaries of the territory of the
district to determine if the registered voters within those
boundaries support the district's dissolution. For purposes of
this section, the territory of the district includes all district
territory as of January 1, 2005, and any annexations of territory
after that date and before the last date for voter registration for
the election. Notwithstanding any other law, all registered voters
who reside within the boundaries of the territory of the district
are eligible to vote in the election called under this section.
(b) The city shall adopt an election order providing for an
election to be held in the territory of the district on the next
uniform election date after the hearing conducted under Section 4
of this Act. The election ballot must allow voting for or against
the proposition to dissolve the district and to transfer all
district obligations, liabilities, and assets to the city. The
city shall contract with the county elections administrator as
provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 31, Election Code, to conduct the
election.
(c) The district may not be dissolved and its obligations,
liabilities, and assets may not be transferred to the city unless a
majority of the voters voting at the election held under this
section vote in favor of the proposition described by Subsection
(b) of this section.
SECTION 6. TRANSFER ORDINANCE. (a) After a city council
has made the findings required by Subsection (b), Section 3 of this
Act, has conducted a public hearing as required by Section 4 of this
Act, and has held an election under Section 5 of this Act at which
the district's dissolution was approved by the registered voters
within the district, the city council may adopt an ordinance
allowing the city to accept a transfer of the district's
obligations, liabilities, and assets.
(b) The ordinance must contain provisions that:
(1) eliminate the required payment of any flat tax or
assessments paid to the district by landowners in the district;
(2) ensure that all water rights are held in trust by
the city for the uses previously adjudicated;
(3) ensure that all individual water users are
entitled to continue to use or have access to the same amount of
water they were entitled to before the dissolution of the district;
(4) require the city to perform all the functions of
the district, including the provision of services; and
(5) ensure delivery of water to landowners at or below
the lowest comparable delivery charge imposed by any other
irrigation district in Hidalgo County.
(c) The ordinance takes effect only if two-thirds of the
city council votes in favor of the ordinance.
SECTION 7. CITY CONSENT; DISTRICT DUTIES. (a) On or
before the effective date of the ordinance described by Section 6 of
this Act, the district board shall provide the district's
management and operational records to the city that passed the
ordinance to ensure the orderly transfer of management and
operational responsibility to the city.
(b) Without the consent of a majority of the members of a
city council that publishes notice under Subsection (b), Section 4
of this Act, the district may not:
(1) sell, transfer, or encumber any district asset;
(2) issue debt or acquire additional obligations; or
(3) default on or fail to honor financial, legal, or
other obligations of the district.
(c) Unless a majority of the members of a city council that
publishes notice under Subsection (b), Section 4 of this Act, agree
otherwise, the district shall:
(1) maintain assets of the district in an appropriate
condition reflective of good stewardship and proper repair; and
(2) preserve district records, including information
maintained by the district in electronic format.
(d) Any action undertaken by the district that does not
comply with Subsection (b) of this section is void.
(e) This section expires on the date a city that has
published notice under Subsection (b), Section 4 of this Act,
repeals the city's ordinance described by Section 6 of this Act.
SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE OF TRANSFER. A transfer
ordinance under this Act takes effect on the date the city council
approves the ordinance under Subsection (c), Section 6 of this Act.
SECTION 9. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. (a) On or before the
effective date of a transfer ordinance under Section 8 of this Act,
the district shall:
(1) transfer to the city the ownership of any water
rights and certificates of adjudication;
(2) transfer the assets, debts, and contractual rights
and obligations of the district to the city;
(3) provide notice of the dissolution of the district
to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; and
(4) provide notice and make recordings of the
transfers under this section as required by the Water Code and other
law.
(b) On receipt of notice of the transfer of a district
certificate of adjudication, the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality shall note in its records that the certificate of
adjudication is owned and held by the city. The Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality shall transfer the district's certificate to
the city as a ministerial act without further application, notice,
or hearing. A person or other legal entity does not have a right to
object to or to request an administrative review of a transfer made
in accordance with this Act.
(c) The transfer of the district's water rights and any
certificate of adjudication to the city does not affect or impair
the priority, extent, validity, or purpose of the water rights or
certificate.
SECTION 10. EXPIRATION. This Act expires January 1, 2018.
SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 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.