Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1890 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1890
2	2	(Guerra)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to procedures for the dissolution of the Hidalgo County
8	8	Water Improvement District No. 3.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
11	11	(1) "City" means a municipality described by Section 2
12	12	of this Act.
13	13	(2) "City council" means the governing body of a city.
14	14	(3) "District" means the Hidalgo County Water
15	15	Improvement District No. 3.
16	16	(4) "District board" means the district's board of
17	17	directors.
18	18	SECTION 2. DISTRICT AND MUNICIPALITY TO WHICH ACT IS
19	19	APPLICABLE. This Act applies only to:
20	20	(1) the district; and
21	21	(2) a municipality that:
22	22	(A) has a population greater than 100,000; and
23	23	(B) contained on April 1, 2013, within its
24	24	corporate boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction more than
25	25	half of the district's territory.
26	26	SECTION 3. DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT; FINDINGS PREREQUISITE
27	27	TO MOTION TO TRANSFER. (a) The district is dissolved on the date a
28	28	transfer ordinance adopted pursuant to Section 6 of this Act takes
29	29	effect under Section 8 of this Act.
30	30	(b) At a regularly scheduled meeting of the city council, a
31	31	city may propose an ordinance to allow the city to accept a transfer
32	32	of the obligations, liabilities, and assets of the district if the
33	33	city council finds that as of the date of the meeting:
34	34	(1) at least 80 percent of the raw water diverted by
35	35	the district in the preceding 12 months was diverted for use by the
36	36	city or at least 80 percent of the revenue received by the district
37	37	from diverting raw water during the preceding 12 months was
38	38	received from the city;
39	39	(2) the city is capable of assuming all rights and
40	40	obligations of the district;
41	41	(3) the city is capable of assuming responsibility for
42	42	operating the district's facilities to benefit the district's
43	43	existing customers and performing the services and functions
44	44	performed by the district;
45	45	(4) dissolution of the district will result in an
46	46	overall cost savings to city residents; and
47	47	(5) dissolution of the district will result in a more
48	48	stable water supply for residents of the city and surrounding
49	49	communities.
50	50	SECTION 4. HEARING REQUIRED. (a) Before a city may hold an
51	51	election under Section 5 of this Act or propose an ordinance
52	52	described by Section 6 of this Act, the city must conduct a public
53	53	hearing on the issue.
54	54	(b) Notice of the public hearing must be:
55	55	(1) posted in accordance with the laws that apply to
56	56	regular meetings of the city council; and
57	57	(2) mailed to each district board member.
58	58	SECTION 5. ELECTION REQUIRED. (a) Before a city may
59	59	propose an ordinance described by Section 6 of this Act, the city
60	60	must hold an election within the boundaries of the territory of the
61	61	district to determine if the registered voters within those
62	62	boundaries support the district's dissolution. For purposes of
63	63	this section, the territory of the district includes all district
64	64	territory as of January 1, 2005, and any annexations of territory
65	65	after that date and before the last date for voter registration for
66	66	the election. Notwithstanding any other law, all registered voters
67	67	who reside within the boundaries of the territory of the district
68	68	are eligible to vote in the election called under this section.
69	69	(b) The city shall adopt an election order providing for an
70	70	election to be held in the territory of the district on the next
71	71	uniform election date after the hearing conducted under Section 4
72	72	of this Act. The election ballot must allow voting for or against
73	73	the proposition to dissolve the district and to transfer all
74	74	district obligations, liabilities, and assets to the city. The
75	75	city shall contract with the county elections administrator as
76	76	provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 31, Election Code, to conduct the
77	77	election.
78	78	(c) The district may not be dissolved and its obligations,
79	79	liabilities, and assets may not be transferred to the city unless a
80	80	majority of the voters voting at the election held under this
81	81	section vote in favor of the proposition described by Subsection
82	82	(b) of this section.
83	83	SECTION 6. TRANSFER ORDINANCE. (a) After a city council
84	84	has made the findings required by Subsection (b), Section 3 of this
85	85	Act, has conducted a public hearing as required by Section 4 of this
86	86	Act, and has held an election under Section 5 of this Act at which
87	87	the district's dissolution was approved by the registered voters
88	88	within the district, the city council may adopt an ordinance
89	89	allowing the city to accept a transfer of the district's
90	90	obligations, liabilities, and assets.
91	91	(b) The ordinance must contain provisions that:
92	92	(1) eliminate the required payment of any flat tax or
93	93	assessments paid to the district by landowners in the district;
94	94	(2) ensure that all water rights are held in trust by
95	95	the city for the uses previously adjudicated;
96	96	(3) ensure that all individual water users are
97	97	entitled to continue to use or have access to the same amount of
98	98	water they were entitled to before the dissolution of the district;
99	99	(4) require the city to perform all the functions of
100	100	the district, including the provision of services; and
101	101	(5) ensure delivery of water to landowners at or below
102	102	the lowest comparable delivery charge imposed by any other
103	103	irrigation district in Hidalgo County.
104	104	(c) The ordinance takes effect only if two-thirds of the
105	105	city council votes in favor of the ordinance.
106	106	SECTION 7. CITY CONSENT; DISTRICT DUTIES. (a) On or
107	107	before the effective date of the ordinance described by Section 6 of
108	108	this Act, the district board shall provide the district's
109	109	management and operational records to the city that passed the
110	110	ordinance to ensure the orderly transfer of management and
111	111	operational responsibility to the city.
112	112	(b) Without the consent of a majority of the members of a
113	113	city council that publishes notice under Subsection (b), Section 4
114	114	of this Act, the district may not:
115	115	(1) sell, transfer, or encumber any district asset;
116	116	(2) issue debt or acquire additional obligations; or
117	117	(3) default on or fail to honor financial, legal, or
118	118	other obligations of the district.
119	119	(c) Unless a majority of the members of a city council that
120	120	publishes notice under Subsection (b), Section 4 of this Act, agree
121	121	otherwise, the district shall:
122	122	(1) maintain assets of the district in an appropriate
123	123	condition reflective of good stewardship and proper repair; and
124	124	(2) preserve district records, including information
125	125	maintained by the district in electronic format.
126	126	(d) Any action undertaken by the district that does not
127	127	comply with Subsection (b) of this section is void.
128	128	(e) This section expires on the date a city that has
129	129	published notice under Subsection (b), Section 4 of this Act,
130	130	repeals the city's ordinance described by Section 6 of this Act.
131	131	SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE OF TRANSFER. A transfer
132	132	ordinance under this Act takes effect on the date the city council
133	133	approves the ordinance under Subsection (c), Section 6 of this Act.
134	134	SECTION 9. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. (a) On or before the
135	135	effective date of a transfer ordinance under Section 8 of this Act,
136	136	the district shall:
137	137	(1) transfer to the city the ownership of any water
138	138	rights and certificates of adjudication;
139	139	(2) transfer the assets, debts, and contractual rights
140	140	and obligations of the district to the city;
141	141	(3) provide notice of the dissolution of the district
142	142	to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; and
143	143	(4) 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, 2018.
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, 2013.