Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2183 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Keough H.B. No. 2183
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to The Woodlands Township.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 8(e), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
9	9	Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
10	10	(e) A vacancy in the office of director shall be filled by
11	11	appointment of a qualified individual by a majority vote of the
12	12	remaining directors[, except that if the number of directors for
13	13	any reason is less than four, on petition of a resident of or owner
14	14	of real property in the district, the commission shall appoint the
15	15	required number of qualified individuals to fill the vacancies].
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 11C(p), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
17	17	Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
18	18	(p) Sections 311.002 and 311.014 through 311.017, Tax Code,
19	19	apply to the district, except that for purposes of this subsection:
20	20	(1) a reference in those sections to a municipality
21	21	means the district and the development zone;
22	22	(2) a reference in those sections to an ordinance
23	23	means an order;
24	24	(3) a reference in those sections to a reinvestment
25	25	zone means a development zone;
26	26	(4) a reference in those sections to an agreement made
27	27	under Subsection (b), Section 311.010, Tax Code, means an agreement
28	28	made under Subsection (l) of this section;
29	29	(5) "development" means initial development;
30	30	(6) "redevelopment" means substantial redevelopment;
31	31	(7) Section 311.016, Tax Code, applies only if ad
32	32	valorem taxes are used, in whole or in part, in payment of project
33	33	costs of a development zone; and
34	34	(8) a development zone created without a duration or
35	35	date of termination may be dissolved by a two-thirds vote of the
36	36	board of directors of the district or of the governing body of a
37	37	municipality or other form of local government other than the
38	38	development zone succeeding to the principal assets, powers,
39	39	functions, and liabilities of the district, but only if:
40	40	(A) the development zone has no outstanding
41	41	indebtedness or other obligations; or
42	42	(B) the assets, powers, functions, and
43	43	liabilities, and any outstanding indebtedness or obligations, of
44	44	the development zone are expressly assumed by the district or the
45	45	succeeding municipality or local government.
46	46	SECTION 3. Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd Legislature,
47	47	Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding Section 14A to read as
48	48	follows:
49	49	Sec. 14A. INCORPORATION. (a) This section prevails over
50	50	any other provision of this Act that conflicts with or is
51	51	inconsistent with this section.
52	52	(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (f) of this
53	53	section, and subject to any applicable limitations of the
54	54	constitution of this state, if the incorporation of at least 99
55	55	percent of the territory of the district and the transfer of the
56	56	rights, powers, privileges, duties, purposes, functions, and
57	57	responsibilities of the district and the district's authority to
58	58	issue bonds and impose a tax to the municipality are approved by a
59	59	majority of the voters voting in an election held for that purpose,
60	60	including an election described by Section 9(h)(2):
61	61	(1) the assets, liabilities, obligations, rights,
62	62	powers, privileges, duties, purposes, functions, and
63	63	responsibilities of the district and the district's authority to
64	64	issue bonds and impose a tax are transferred to the municipality;
65	65	and
66	66	(2) the district is dissolved.
67	67	(c) If on the date the incorporation of the territory of the
68	68	district is approved at an election described by Subsection (b) of
69	69	this section the district owes any debt that cannot be transferred
70	70	to the municipality, the district is continued until the debt is
71	71	retired or is restructured in a manner that the debt may be
72	72	transferred to the municipality.
73	73	(d) If the conditions described by Subsection (c) of this
74	74	section are met:
75	75	(1) the board shall adopt an order certifying that the
76	76	conditions have been met; and
77	77	(2) on the effective date of the order:
78	78	(A) the assets, liabilities, obligations,
79	79	rights, powers, privileges, duties, purposes, functions, and
80	80	responsibilities of the district and the district's authority to
81	81	issue bonds and impose a tax are transferred to the municipality;
82	82	and
83	83	(B) the district is dissolved.
84	84	(e) In addition to any other restructuring methods
85	85	permitted by law, the district may restructure its outstanding debt
86	86	for the purpose of transferring the debt to the municipality by
87	87	issuing refunding bonds secured by:
88	88	(1) a limited pledge of ad valorem tax revenue not
89	89	greater than that authorized to be levied by the municipality;
90	90	(2) a pledge of one or more other sources of revenue
91	91	available to the district that are also available to the
92	92	municipality under this section or general law; or
93	93	(3) a pledge of a combination of revenues described by
94	94	Subdivisions (1) and (2).
95	95	(f) The transfer of assets, liabilities, obligations,
96	96	rights, powers, privileges, duties, purposes, functions, and
97	97	responsibilities of the district and the district's authority to
98	98	issue bonds and impose a tax to the municipality under this section
99	99	is effective regardless of whether the boundaries of the
100	100	municipality are coterminous with the boundaries of the district,
101	101	unless the transfer would materially impair the security for a debt
102	102	transferred to the municipality. If the transfer would materially
103	103	impair the security for a debt transferred to the municipality, the
104	104	debt must be restructured in the manner provided by this section
105	105	before the transfer may occur.
106	106	SECTION 4. Subtitle X, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
107	107	Code, is amended by adding Chapter 11011 to read as follows:
108	108	CHAPTER 11011. THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP
109	109	Sec. 11011.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "district"
110	110	means The Woodlands Township.
111	111	Sec. 11011.002. LAW GOVERNING DISTRICT. The district is
112	112	governed by this chapter and Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
113	113	Legislature, Regular Session, 1993.
114	114	Sec. 11011.003. DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT. (a) If at least
115	115	99 percent of the territory of the district is incorporated and the
116	116	district is dissolved in the manner provided by Section 14A,
117	117	Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993,
118	118	only the following sections of Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
119	119	Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, apply to the municipality in
120	120	addition to any applicable general law provisions, a reference in
121	121	those sections to the district means the municipality, and a
122	122	reference in those sections to the board or board of directors means
123	123	the governing body of the municipality:
124	124	(1) Sections 6(a) and (c);
125	125	(2) Sections 7(a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i),
126	126	(j), (l), (n), (o), (p), (q), (r), (t), (u), (v), (w), (y), (z), and
127	127	(aa);
128	128	(3) Section 7H;
129	129	(4) Sections 9(h)(3), (4), and (5);
130	130	(5) Section 11;
131	131	(6) Section 11A;
132	132	(7) Section 11B;
133	133	(8) Section 11B-1;
134	134	(9) Section 11C;
135	135	(10) Sections 12A(a), (c), (d), (e), and (f); and
136	136	(11) Section 13.
137	137	(b) The remaining provisions of Chapter 289, Acts of the
138	138	73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, do not apply to the
139	139	municipality after the dissolution of the district.
140	140	SECTION 5. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
141	141	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
142	142	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
143	143	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
144	144	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
145	145	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
146	146	Government Code.
147	147	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
148	148	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
149	149	Environmental Quality.
150	150	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
151	151	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor,
152	152	lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
153	153	within the required time.
154	154	(d) The general law relating to consent by political
155	155	subdivisions to the creation of districts with conservation,
156	156	reclamation, and road powers and the inclusion of land in those
157	157	districts has been complied with.
158	158	(e) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
159	159	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
160	160	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act have been
161	161	fulfilled and accomplished.
162	162	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
163	163	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
164	164	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
165	165	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
166	166	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.