By: Keough H.B. No. 4149
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers, operations, and boundaries of The Woodlands
Township; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5(b), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The legislature finds that the creation of the district
is essential to further the public purposes of the economic
development and diversification of the state, the elimination of
unemployment and underemployment, and the stimulation and
development of transportation and commerce; that it is in the
public interest; and that it will promote the health, safety, and
general welfare of residents, employers, employees, and consumers
in the district and of the general public. The safe and efficient
movement of people by motor vehicle, rail, trolley, bus, bicycle,
pedestrian means, waterborne vessel, or other means of
transportation is a public purpose of the district. The present and
prospective traffic congestion in the district and the safety of
pedestrians and the limited availability of funds require the
promotion and development of public transportation and pedestrian
facilities and systems by new and alternative means, and the
district will serve the public purpose of securing expanded and
improved transportation and pedestrian facilities and systems. The
district will provide needed funding for the Town Center area to
preserve, maintain, and enhance the economic health and vitality of
the area as a community and business and commerce center. The
district will further promote the health, safety, welfare,
education, convenience, and enjoyment of the public by improving,
landscaping, and developing certain areas within and adjacent to
the district and providing public services and facilities within
and adjacent to the district which are necessary for the
restoration, preservation, enhancement, and enjoyment of scenic
and aesthetic beauty. Each and all of the improvement projects
authorized by this Act are hereby found and declared to be essential
to carrying out a public purpose. The district will not act as the
agent or instrumentality of any private interests, even though many
private interests will be benefited by the district as will the
general public.
SECTION 2. Sections 7(t) and (v), Chapter 289, Acts of the
73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, are amended to read as
follows:
(t) In order to promote business retention, sustain
employment, and prevent substandard and blighted housing
conditions, the district may:
(1) merge or consolidate with a qualified association
to carry out a function described by this subsection;
(1-a) except as otherwise provided by this subsection
and in the same manner as a qualified association, assume, accept an
assignment of, succeed to, or contract to undertake, exercise, or
perform:
(A) all or part of the rights, powers,
privileges, duties, responsibilities, assets, liabilities, and
obligations of a qualified association under community covenants;
(B) any contracts, agreements, leases,
commitments, loans, pledges, instruments of indebtedness, or other
undertakings with any person, regardless of whether the person is a
qualified association, in the exercise of the rights, powers,
privileges, duties, or responsibilities described by Paragraph
(A);
(C) the administration, enforcement, amendment,
supplementation, repeal, revocation, or rescission of a community
covenant as provided by the covenant; or
(D) the functions, duties, and responsibilities
of the board of directors of a qualified association, without the
necessity of electing or appointing members of the board of
directors of the qualified association;
(2) administer and perform procedures established in a
community covenant or a related agreement for the selection or
appointment of members or officers to committees, village
association governing bodies, or similar positions;
(3) arrange or contract with one or more
municipalities, political subdivisions, or nonprofit organizations
for the provision of services and facilities to all or part of the
territory in or adjacent to the district that are substantially
equivalent to the services or facilities provided by the district
or a qualified association in the district, provided that the
district may not transfer, assign, or abrogate responsibility for
the administration or enforcement of any land use restrictions or
negative covenants included in a community covenant that apply to
land in or adjacent to the district;
(4) own, acquire, construct, improve, repair,
rehabilitate, operate, maintain, lease, purchase, sell, dispose
of, encumber, abandon, or remove:
(A) any buildings, improvements, or facilities;
or
(B) any real, personal, or mixed property; and
(5) assess, charge, collect, pledge, encumber, and
apply any fees, rents, charges, or proceeds received for the use,
enjoyment, or disposition of a building, improvement, facility, or
property or for a service or facility.
(v) In this section:
(1) "Qualified association" means a nonprofit
property owners' association created and operated by or in a
planned community, as that term is defined by Section 43.0754,
Local Government Code.
(2) "Community covenant" means recorded land use
restrictions and covenants applicable to land in a planned
community, as that term is defined by Section 43.0754, Local
Government Code.
SECTION 3. Section 7, Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding
Subsections (ee) and (ff) to read as follows:
(ee) The district is an "endorsing municipality" for the
purposes of Chapter 1507 (S.B. 456), Acts of the 76th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1999 (Article 5190.14, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes).
(ff) The district is entitled to receive a certified
appraisal roll, an estimate of the taxable value of property in the
district, and assistance in determining values of property in the
district in the manner provided by Section 26.01, Tax Code, for a
municipality.
SECTION 4. Section 7-a(c), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
(c) A description of [map or plat showing] the boundaries of
the district, as adjusted from time to time, shall be recorded in
the real property records of each county in which all or part of the
district is situated not later than the seventh day after the date
of each such boundary adjustment. The boundaries of the district
may be described by metes and bounds, plat, or reference to a
previously recorded instrument.
SECTION 5. Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd Legislature,
Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding Section 7I to read as
follows:
Sec. 7I. TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, FACILITIES, PROGRAMS,
AND SERVICES. (a) The district may engage in or contract with
another person to perform activities that accomplish the
transportation and traffic movement purposes of the district,
including the acquisition, analysis, construction, design,
financing, investigation, implementation, improvement,
maintenance, operation, ownership, planning, provision,
relocation, repair, replacement, or study of improvement projects,
facilities, programs, and services in the district and in areas
adjacent to the district for:
(1) mass transportation;
(2) parking;
(3) pedestrian movement;
(4) rail systems;
(5) traffic movement;
(6) transit terminals;
(7) waterborne transit; or
(8) other modes of transportation and mobility
enhancements that reduce congestion or promote or aid in the
circulation of traffic and movement of people in the district and in
areas adjacent to the district.
(b) The district may apply for and receive state and federal
transportation funding, including grants or other assistance. The
district has the rights associated with the funding and may carry
out functions and perform obligations associated with the funding,
as the designated recipient or otherwise.
(c) The district may contract for an improvement to a
boundary highway and consent to the imposition of an assessment by a
municipality in the manner provided by Sections 313.022 and
313.046, Transportation Code, for a municipality.
(d) The district may adopt and enforce by ordinary civil
remedies rules regarding access to and use of the district's
transportation projects, facilities, programs, and services.
(e) The district may charge a fare, fee, rate, toll, or
other charge for the use of a district transportation project,
facility, program, or service.
SECTION 6. The legislature finds that the powers,
authority, and functions of the district authorized by this Act are
essential and beneficial to the district and to the state as a whole
as a program for promoting, facilitating, and accomplishing the
public purposes of Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution,
by:
(1) promoting, sustaining, and advancing employment
and economic diversification and development in the state;
(2) sustaining and stimulating business in the state;
(3) conserving and sustaining property values and
living conditions in the state;
(4) promoting traffic circulation and public safety in
the state;
(5) promoting the development of parks, recreational
facilities, and cultural education in the state; and
(6) serving other purposes beneficial to the state.
SECTION 7. (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 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,
lieutenant governor, and 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 8. 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, 2015.