Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4149 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1		-	By: Keough (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) H.B. No. 4149
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2015;
3		-	May 11, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
4		-	Administration; May 18, 2015, reported favorably by the following
5		-	vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 18, 2015, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 4149
7	2
8	3
9		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	4		AN ACT
11	5		relating to the powers, operations, and boundaries of The Woodlands
12	6		Township; authorizing a fee.
13	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	8		SECTION 1. Section 5(b), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
15	9		Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
16	10		(b) The legislature finds that the creation of the district
17	11		is essential to further the public purposes of the economic
18	12		development and diversification of the state, the elimination of
19	13		unemployment and underemployment, and the stimulation and
20	14		development of transportation and commerce; that it is in the
21	15		public interest; and that it will promote the health, safety, and
22	16		general welfare of residents, employers, employees, and consumers
23	17		in the district and of the general public. The safe and efficient
24	18		movement of people by motor vehicle, rail, trolley, bus, bicycle,
25	19		pedestrian means, waterborne vessel, or other means of
26	20		transportation is a public purpose of the district. The present and
27	21		prospective traffic congestion in the district and the safety of
28	22		pedestrians and the limited availability of funds require the
29	23		promotion and development of public transportation and pedestrian
30	24		facilities and systems by new and alternative means, and the
31	25		district will serve the public purpose of securing expanded and
32	26		improved transportation and pedestrian facilities and systems. The
33	27		district will provide needed funding for the Town Center area to
34	28		preserve, maintain, and enhance the economic health and vitality of
35	29		the area as a community and business and commerce center. The
36	30		district will further promote the health, safety, welfare,
37	31		education, convenience, and enjoyment of the public by improving,
38	32		landscaping, and developing certain areas within and adjacent to
39	33		the district and providing public services and facilities within
40	34		and adjacent to the district which are necessary for the
41	35		restoration, preservation, enhancement, and enjoyment of scenic
42	36		and aesthetic beauty. Each and all of the improvement projects
43	37		authorized by this Act are hereby found and declared to be essential
44	38		to carrying out a public purpose. The district will not act as the
45	39		agent or instrumentality of any private interests, even though many
46	40		private interests will be benefited by the district as will the
47	41		general public.
48	42		SECTION 2. Sections 7(t) and (v), Chapter 289, Acts of the
49	43		73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, are amended to read as
50	44		follows:
51	45		(t) In order to promote business retention, sustain
52	46		employment, and prevent substandard and blighted housing
53	47		conditions, the district may:
54	48		(1) merge or consolidate with a qualified association
55	49		to carry out a function described by this subsection;
56	50		(1-a) except as otherwise provided by this subsection
57	51		and in the same manner as a qualified association, assume, accept an
58	52		assignment of, succeed to, or contract to undertake, exercise, or
59	53		perform:
60	54		(A) all or part of the rights, powers,
61	55		privileges, duties, responsibilities, assets, liabilities, and
62	56		obligations of a qualified association under community covenants;
63	57		(B) any contracts, agreements, leases,
64	58		commitments, loans, pledges, instruments of indebtedness, or other
65	59		undertakings with any person, regardless of whether the person is a
66	60		qualified association, in the exercise of the rights, powers,
67	61		privileges, duties, or responsibilities described by Paragraph
68	62		(A);
69	63		(C) the administration, enforcement, amendment,
70	64		supplementation, repeal, revocation, or rescission of a community
71	65		covenant as provided by the covenant; or
72	66		(D) the functions, duties, and responsibilities
73	67		of the board of directors of a qualified association, without the
74	68		necessity of electing or appointing members of the board of
75	69		directors of the qualified association;
76	70		(2) administer and perform procedures established in a
77	71		community covenant or a related agreement for the selection or
78	72		appointment of members or officers to committees, village
79	73		association governing bodies, or similar positions;
80	74		(3) arrange or contract with one or more
81	75		municipalities, political subdivisions, or nonprofit organizations
82	76		for the provision of services and facilities to all or part of the
83	77		territory in or adjacent to the district that are substantially
84	78		equivalent to the services or facilities provided by the district
85	79		or a qualified association in the district, provided that the
86	80		district may not transfer, assign, or abrogate responsibility for
87	81		the administration or enforcement of any land use restrictions or
88	82		negative covenants included in a community covenant that apply to
89	83		land in or adjacent to the district;
90	84		(4) own, acquire, construct, improve, repair,
91	85		rehabilitate, operate, maintain, lease, purchase, sell, dispose
92	86		of, encumber, abandon, or remove:
93	87		(A) any buildings, improvements, or facilities;
94	88		or
95	89		(B) any real, personal, or mixed property; and
96	90		(5) assess, charge, collect, pledge, encumber, and
97	91		apply any fees, rents, charges, or proceeds received for the use,
98	92		enjoyment, or disposition of a building, improvement, facility, or
99	93		property or for a service or facility.
100	94		(v) In this section:
101	95		(1) "Qualified association" means a nonprofit
102	96		property owners' association created and operated by or in a
103	97		planned community, as that term is defined by Section 43.0754,
104	98		Local Government Code.
105	99		(2) "Community covenant" means recorded land use
106	100		restrictions and covenants applicable to land in a planned
107	101		community, as that term is defined by Section 43.0754, Local
108	102		Government Code.
109	103		SECTION 3. Section 7, Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
110	104		Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding
111	105		Subsections (ee) and (ff) to read as follows:
112	106		(ee) The district is an "endorsing municipality" for the
113	107		purposes of Chapter 1507 (S.B. 456), Acts of the 76th Legislature,
114	108		Regular Session, 1999 (Article 5190.14, Vernon's Texas Civil
115	109		Statutes).
116	110		(ff) The district is entitled to receive a certified
117	111		appraisal roll, an estimate of the taxable value of property in the
118	112		district, and assistance in determining values of property in the
119	113		district in the manner provided by Section 26.01, Tax Code, for a
120	114		municipality.
121	115		SECTION 4. Section 7-a(c), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
122	116		Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
123	117		(c) A description of [map or plat showing] the boundaries of
124	118		the district, as adjusted from time to time, shall be recorded in
125	119		the real property records of each county in which all or part of the
126	120		district is situated not later than the seventh day after the date
127	121		of each such boundary adjustment. The boundaries of the district
128	122		may be described by metes and bounds, plat, or reference to a
129	123		previously recorded instrument.
130	124		SECTION 5. Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd Legislature,
131	125		Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding Section 7I to read as
132	126		follows:
133	127		Sec. 7I. TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, FACILITIES, PROGRAMS,
134	128		AND SERVICES. (a) The district may engage in or contract with
135	129		another person to perform activities that accomplish the
136	130		transportation and traffic movement purposes of the district,
137	131		including the acquisition, analysis, construction, design,
138	132		financing, investigation, implementation, improvement,
139	133		maintenance, operation, ownership, planning, provision,
140	134		relocation, repair, replacement, or study of improvement projects,
141	135		facilities, programs, and services in the district and in areas
142	136		adjacent to the district for:
143	137		(1) mass transportation;
144	138		(2) parking;
145	139		(3) pedestrian movement;
146	140		(4) rail systems;
147	141		(5) traffic movement;
148	142		(6) transit terminals;
149	143		(7) waterborne transit; or
150	144		(8) other modes of transportation and mobility
151	145		enhancements that reduce congestion or promote or aid in the
152	146		circulation of traffic and movement of people in the district and in
153	147		areas adjacent to the district.
154	148		(b) The district may apply for and receive state and federal
155	149		transportation funding, including grants or other assistance. The
156	150		district has the rights associated with the funding and may carry
157	151		out functions and perform obligations associated with the funding,
158	152		as the designated recipient or otherwise.
159	153		(c) The district may contract for an improvement to a
160	154		boundary highway and consent to the imposition of an assessment by a
161	155		municipality in the manner provided by Sections 313.022 and
162	156		313.046, Transportation Code, for a municipality.
163	157		(d) The district may adopt and enforce by ordinary civil
164	158		remedies rules regarding access to and use of the district's
165	159		transportation projects, facilities, programs, and services.
166	160		(e) The district may charge a fare, fee, rate, toll, or
167	161		other charge for the use of a district transportation project,
168	162		facility, program, or service.
169	163		SECTION 6. The legislature finds that the powers,
170	164		authority, and functions of the district authorized by this Act are
171	165		essential and beneficial to the district and to the state as a whole
172	166		as a program for promoting, facilitating, and accomplishing the
173	167		public purposes of Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution,
174	168		by:
175	169		(1) promoting, sustaining, and advancing employment
176	170		and economic diversification and development in the state;
177	171		(2) sustaining and stimulating business in the state;
178	172		(3) conserving and sustaining property values and
179	173		living conditions in the state;
180	174		(4) promoting traffic circulation and public safety in
181	175		the state;
182	176		(5) promoting the development of parks, recreational
183	177		facilities, and cultural education in the state; and
184	178		(6) serving other purposes beneficial to the state.
185	179		SECTION 7. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
186	180		introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
187	181		Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
188	182		copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
189	183		officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
190	184		under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
191	185		Government Code.
192	186		(b) The governor has submitted the notice and Act to the
193	187		Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
194	188		(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
195	189		its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor,
196	190		lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
197	191		within the required time.
198	192		(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
199	193		state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
200	194		to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
201	195		and accomplished.
202	196		SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
203	197		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
204	198		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
205	199		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
206	200		Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
207		-	* * * * *
	201	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	202	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	203	+	I certify that H.B. No. 4149 was passed by the House on May 8,
	204	+	2015, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	205	+	voting.
	206	+	______________________________
	207	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	208	+	I certify that H.B. No. 4149 was passed by the Senate on May
	209	+	22, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	210	+	______________________________
	211	+	Secretary of the Senate
	212	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	213	+	Date
	214	+	_____________________
	215	+	Governor