By: Campbell S.B. No. 2073
(In the Senate - Filed May 6, 2015; May 7, 2015, read first
time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental Relations;
May 18, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5,
Nays 0; May 18, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Hays County Development District No. 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1, Chapter 1503, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended by amending
Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(a) The legislature finds that the creation of Hays County
Development District No. 1 (the "district"), [and] the project
approved by the Hays County Commissioners Court on January 11, 2000
(the "project"), and other projects described by Section 5A will
serve the public purpose of attracting visitors and tourists to
Hays County and will result in employment and economic activity in
the manner contemplated by Section 52-a, Article III, Texas
Constitution, and Chapter 383, Local Government Code.
(c) The legislature further finds that the creation and
operation of the district and the acquisition or financing of the
project or another project described by Section 5A by the district
serve the purpose of Section 59, Article XVI, and Section 52,
Article III, Texas Constitution, and that all steps necessary to
create the district have been taken.
(d) The legislature further finds that the creation and
continued operation of the district is essential to accomplish the
purposes of Sections 52 and 52-a, Article III, and Section 59,
Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and other public purposes stated
in this Act.
(e) A legislative finding made under this Act is conclusive
and the district is not required to offer proof of the purpose or
results before exercising a power granted by this Act.
SECTION 2. Section 5, Chapter 1503, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 5. POWERS. (a) The district has all of the rights,
powers, privileges, authority, functions, and duties provided by
Chapters 375 and 383, Local Government Code, to county development
districts and municipal management districts, and by Chapters 49
and 54, Water Code, to municipal utility districts.
(b) The district's rights, powers, privileges, authority,
functions, and duties include, [including] but are not limited to:
(1) the authority to levy, assess, and collect ad
valorem taxes for the purposes approved at the elections conducted
on November 7, 2000, or at an election conducted in the district
after that date;
(2) the authority, after approval by voters at an
election conducted within the boundaries of the district, to levy,
assess and collect taxes for maintenance and operating purposes in
the manner set forth in Sections 49.107(a)-(e), Water Code, and for
the repayment of bonds, notes, warrants, lease purchase agreements,
certificates of assessment, certificates of participation in lease
purchase agreements, and other interest-bearing obligations in the
manner set forth in Sections 49.106(a)-(d), Water Code, and for all
of the purposes for which the district may expend funds;
(3) to establish, levy, and collect special
assessments in the manner specified in Sections 375.111-375.124,
Local Government Code; provided, however, that Sections
375.161-375.163, Local Government Code, shall not apply to the
assessments imposed by the district;
(4) to utilize funds, whether the funds are derived
from ad valorem taxes, sales and use taxes, hotel occupancy taxes,
assessments, revenues from the project, or any other source, for
payment of projects or services in the manner authorized by
Section 375.181, Local Government Code, [and] Chapter 383, Local
Government Code, and Chapter 54, Water Code;
(5) to enter into obligations, including, but not
limited to, lease purchase agreements, certificates of
participation in lease purchase agreements, general obligation
bonds and notes and revenue bonds and notes, and combination
general obligation and revenue bonds and notes and other
interest-bearing obligations, in the manner specified in Sections
375.201-375.205 [375.201-375.204], Local Government Code. To
enter into these obligations, the district shall obtain only those
approvals required for the issuance of obligations by Hays County
by Chapter 53, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Second Called Session,
1987;
(6) to adopt and exercise the rights, powers, and
authority of a road district under Section 52(b)(3), Article III,
Texas Constitution, in the manner specified in Sections 53.029(c)
and (d), Water Code;
(7) to levy, assess, and collect ad valorem taxes to
make payments on a contract under Sections 49.108(a)-(d), Water
Code, after obtaining those approvals specified in Section 1,
Chapter 778, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995;
(8) to exercise all of the rights, powers, and
authority of a [road district, a municipal management district, and
a] water control and improvement district which are not
specifically contradicted by Chapter 383, Local Government Code;
and
(9) to exercise all of the rights, powers, and
authority granted to the district by this Act, and all of the
rights, powers, and authority granted to the district by Chapters
383 and 375, Local Government Code, and to a municipal utility
district by Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code, which are not contrary
to [any provisions of] this Act, to finance, construct, or
otherwise acquire the project, [or] any element of the project, or
another project described by Section 5A [identified in the
Commissioners Court Order Upon Hearing and Granting Petition
Requesting the Creation of Hays County Development District No. 1
and Appointing Temporary Directors dated January 11, 2000],
including, but not limited to, a [the] hotel, a [the] golf course,
[the] water, sewer, drainage, and road improvements, [the]
organizational costs, and [the] costs of issuance of the
obligations of the district.
SECTION 3. Chapter 1503, Acts of the 77th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2001, is amended by adding Sections 5A, 5B, and 5C
to read as follows:
Sec. 5A. DISTRICT PROJECTS. (a) The district may provide,
or it may contract with a governmental or private entity to provide,
the following types of projects or activities in support of or
incidental to those projects:
(1) the project approved by the Hays County
Commissioners Court on January 11, 2000, wholly or partly;
(2) an improvement project that is a public
improvement, facility, or service that may be provided by the
district under the powers granted to the district of a county
development district, municipal management district, municipal
utility district, or water control and improvement district,
including a water, wastewater, reclamation, drainage, road, trail,
or bridge improvement; or
(3) a project, other than the project or an
improvement project described by Subdivision (2), that is approved
by the board and that the district is authorized to provide under
the powers granted to the district by this Act.
(b) A project, improvement, facility, or service described
by Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is not required to have been considered
for or included in an order issued by the Hays County Commissioners
Court on January 11, 2000.
Sec. 5B. ROAD STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS. (a) A road
project must meet all applicable construction standards, zoning and
subdivision requirements, and regulations of each municipality in
whose corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction the road
project is located.
(b) If a road project is not located in the corporate limits
or extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality, the road
project must meet all applicable construction standards,
subdivision requirements, and regulations of each county in which
the road project is located.
(c) If the state will maintain and operate the road, the
Texas Transportation Commission must approve the plans and
specifications of the road project.
Sec. 5C. LIMIT ON EMINENT DOMAIN POWER. The district may
not exercise the power of eminent domain outside the district and in
the corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality unless the governing body of the municipality consents
by ordinance or resolution.
SECTION 4. Section 7, Chapter 1503, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended by adding Subsection
(f) to read as follows:
(f) Section 375.070, Local Government Code, does not apply
to the district. A director is entitled to receive fees of office
and reimbursement for actual expenses as provided by Section
49.060, Water Code, except that:
(1) a director is entitled to receive fees of office of
not more than $200 a day for each day the director actually spends
performing the duties of a director; and
(2) the district may not set the annual limit on the
fees of office that a director may receive at an amount greater than
$8,200.
SECTION 5. Section 8, Chapter 1503, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 8. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. [The legislature finds that
the principal function of the district is to provide for
development and operation of the project, to facilitate economic
development, and to attract visitors and tourists, which will
result in employment and economic activity in Hays County.] The
legislature finds that the district may provide water and sewer,
landscaping, road, drainage, and reclamation services to
residential retail or commercial customers in the district. The
district is a district described in Section 49.181(h)(4), Water
Code.
SECTION 6. Section 9, Chapter 1503, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 9. ADDITION AND EXCLUSION OF LANDS. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), in [In] addition to the authority
granted to the district by Section 383.084, Local Government Code,
the district may add lands in the manner provided by Section 49.301,
Water Code, and may exclude lands in the methods provided by
Sections 49.303 through 49.308, Water Code.
(b) Section 42.0425, Local Government Code, applies to the
annexation of land in the extraterritorial jurisdiction or
corporate boundaries of a municipality.
(c) Land added or annexed under this section is not required
to be contiguous to the district's territory.
SECTION 7. This Act does not affect an agreement between the
district and a municipality in whose corporate limits or
extraterritorial jurisdiction the district is located that was
entered into before the effective date of this Act. This section
does not affect the authority of the district and municipality to
amend such an agreement.
SECTION 8. (a) The legislature confirms and validates all
actions of the Hays County Development District No. 1 that were
taken before the effective date of this Act, including any
elections conducted by the district, including any election to
impose maintenance and operation taxes or to adopt the powers of a
road district.
(b) The Hays County Development District No. 1 is not
required to repeat an election described by Subsection (a) of this
section.
SECTION 9. (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 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.
(c) 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 10. 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.
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