85R26129 SLB-F
By: Faircloth H.B. No. 2499
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2499:
By: Herrero C.S.H.B. No. 2499
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the disposition of real property interests by
navigation districts and port authorities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 60.038, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 60.038. DISPOSITION [SALE OR LEASE] OF INTERESTS IN
REAL PROPERTY [LAND]. (a) A district may sell, exchange, or lease
real property or any interest in real property [all or any part of
land] owned by it, whether the real property was [land is] acquired
by gift or purchase, in settlement of any litigation, controversy,
or claim in behalf of the district, or in any other manner, except
that lands or flats heretofore purchased from the State of Texas
under Article 8225, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, or
granted by the State of Texas in any general or special act, may be
sold only to the State of Texas or exchanged with the State of Texas
for other lands or exchanged for adjacent littoral land as
authorized by Section 61.117 [of this code]. The district may
impose restrictions on the development, use, and transfer of any
real property or interest in real property in connection with its
sale or exchange under this section.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), before [Before] a
district may sell or exchange real property [land], the commission
shall determine by resolution that the land is no longer needed for
use by the district in connection with the development of a
navigation project.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), (e), or (f), a
sale [Sale] or exchange [lease] of real property [land] shall be
made as provided by Sections 60.040-60.042 [60.039-60.042 of this
code].
(d) A district may donate, exchange, convey, sell, or lease
land, improvements, easements, or any other interests in real
property to an electric utility, as that term is defined by Section
31.002, Utilities Code, to promote a public purpose related to the
development of a district. The district shall determine the terms
and conditions of the transaction so as to:
(1) achieve the public purpose; and
(2) be consistent with the requirements of Title 2,
Utilities Code.
(e) A district may donate, exchange, convey, sell, or lease
a real property interest under Subsection (d) for less than its fair
market value and without complying with the notice and bidding
requirements of Sections 60.040-60.042.
(f) Narrow strips of real property resulting from boundary
or surveying conflicts or similar causes, or from insubstantial
encroachments by abutting real property owners, or real property of
larger configuration that has been subject to encroachments by
abutting real property owners for more than 25 years may be
abandoned, released, exchanged, or transferred to such abutting
owners on terms and conditions considered appropriate or
advantageous to the district. A district may convey real property
under this subsection for less than its fair market value and
without complying with the notice and bidding requirements of
Sections 60.040-60.042.
(g) A district may grant easements over, on, or under its
real property on terms and conditions the commission determines to
be advantageous to the district.
(h) The authority granted to a district by this section to
dispose of interests in real property is in addition to any
authority granted by Chapter 272, Local Government Code.
(i) Nothing in this section may be construed to affect the
application by the Parks and Wildlife Department of a statute or
rule governing the taking, conservation, or protection of marine
wildlife, including the authority of the department to issue oyster
leases to individuals and private entities for the purpose of
bedding, harvesting, and selling oysters consistent with Sections
1.011(d) and 12.001(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, and Chapter 76,
Parks and Wildlife Code.
SECTION 2. 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, 2017.