By: Kacal, Guerra (Senate Sponsor - Hinojosa) H.B. No. 4122
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 9, 2017;
May 9, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on
Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs; May 16, 2017, reported
favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 1; May 16, 2017, sent
to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the transference of certain territory from one
groundwater conservation district to another.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter J-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J-1. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN TERRITORY
Sec. 36.341. PETITION TO TRANSFER. The owner of a
contiguous parcel of land that is greater than 1,000 acres in area
and is included in the territory of two or more groundwater
conservation districts by a petition presented to the districts may
request that the districts transfer portions of their territories
as necessary for the entire parcel to be included in the territory
of a single district only if:
(1) the districts in which the parcel of land is
located have regulatory authority over the same aquifer or
subdivision of an aquifer that underlies the parcel of land;
(2) the district to which the owner of the land
petitions the parcel of land to be transferred contains the portion
of the parcel of land with the greatest amount of taxable value of
property compared to each other portion of the parcel of land that
is located in another district;
(3) none of the land included in the parcel has been
transferred under this subchapter by a previous petition; and
(4) all of the districts in which the parcel is located
agree to the transfer.
Sec. 36.342. REQUIREMENTS FOR PETITION. (a) A petition
submitted under this subchapter must accurately describe the
boundaries of the parcel. The petitioner must provide a copy of the
petition to each district in which the land described by Section
36.341 is located.
(b) The petition must state the taxable value of the portion
of the parcel of land in each district.
Sec. 36.343. HEARING. (a) Each district, on receiving a
petition under this subchapter, shall hold a hearing on the matter
of the transfer requested in the petition.
(b) The board of each district by order shall set a time and
place to hold a hearing on the petition to include or exclude the
parcel in the district. The hearing may be held not earlier than
the 31st day after the date on which the board issues the order.
(c) The secretary of the board shall give notice of the
hearing. The notice must contain the time and place for the hearing
and a description of the parcel proposed to be annexed into or
excluded from the district.
(d) The secretary shall:
(1) post copies of the notice in three public places in
the district and one public place in the parcel proposed to be
annexed into or excluded from the district for at least 15 days
before the date of the hearing; and
(2) not later than the 16th day before the date on
which the hearing will be held, publish the notice once in a
newspaper of general circulation in the county.
(e) If after the hearing the board finds that annexation of
the parcel into the district or exclusion of the parcel from the
district would be feasible and would benefit the district, the
board may approve the annexation or exclusion by a resolution
entered in its minutes. The board is not required to include or
exclude all of the parcel described in the petition if the board
finds that a change is necessary or desirable.
(f) If the board of each district approves the transfer on
the same terms, the districts may enter into an agreement to
effectuate the transfer of territory as the boards agree and within
a reasonable period of time. If a district from which territory is
to be excluded under this section has outstanding debt or
obligations, that district and the district to which the territory
is to be added shall include in the agreement terms that ensure that
the debts of the originating district are not impaired by the
transfer of the territory.
Sec. 36.344. NOTIFICATION OF COMMISSION. Each district
that adds or removes territory under this subchapter shall notify
the commission of the change in territory.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.
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