By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 2047
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation, territory, and operation of municipal
management districts and public improvement districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 375.022(c), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The petition must:
(1) describe the boundaries of the proposed district:
(A) by metes and bounds;
(B) by verifiable landmarks, including a road,
creek, or railroad line; or
(C) if there is a recorded map or plat and survey
of the area, by lot and block number;
(2) demonstrate that the boundaries of the proposed
district comply with Section 375.045;
(3) state the specific purposes for which the district
will be created;
(4) [(3)] state the general nature of the work,
projects, or services proposed to be provided, the necessity for
those services, and the costs as estimated by the persons filing the
petition;
(5) [(4)] include a name of the district, which must be
generally descriptive of the location of the district, followed by
"Management District" or "Improvement District";
(6) [(5)] include a proposed list of initial directors
that includes the directors' experience and initial term of
service; and
(7) [(6)] include a resolution of the governing body of
the municipality in support of the creation of the district.
(8) and show that the land to be included in the proposed
district is: unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted.
(9) The attorney general shall determine, by application of
accepted legal principles, the meaning of "unproductive,"
"underdeveloped," and "blighted" for purposes of section (9) and by
rule define those terms.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 375, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 375.0225 to read as follows:
Sec. 375.0225. CREATION OF SIMILAR DISTRICT
PROHIBITED. The commission may not grant a petition to create a
district under this subchapter if, less than 10 years before the
date the commission receives the petition, there was introduced for
consideration by the legislature a bill to authorize by local law
the creation of a substantially similar district.
SECTION 3. Section 375.025(c), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) If after the hearing the commission finds that the
petition conforms to the requirements of Section 375.022(c), that
the commission is not prohibited from granting the petition by
Section 375.0225, and that the district is feasible and necessary
and would benefit the public, the commission by order shall make
that finding and grant the petition. In determining if the project
is feasible and necessary and would benefit the public, the
commission shall consider:
(1) the availability of comparable services from other
systems, including special districts, municipalities, and regional
authorities; and
(2) the reasonableness of the proposed public purpose
projects and services.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 375, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 375.045 to read as follows:
Sec. 375.045. RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY EXCLUDED IN CERTAIN
DISTRICTS. A district created after September 1, 2017, may not
include single-family detached residential property.
SECTION 5. Section 375.063, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 375.063. QUALIFICATIONS OF DIRECTOR. To be qualified
to serve as a director, a person must be at least 18 years old and:
(1) [a resident of the district;
[(2)] an owner of property in the district;
(2) [(3)] an owner of stock, whether beneficial or
otherwise, of a corporate owner of property in the district;
(3) [(4)] an owner of a beneficial interest in a trust
that owns property in the district; or
(4) [(5)] an agent, employee, or tenant of a person
covered by Subdivision (1), (2), or (3) [, or (4)].
SECTION 6. Sections 375.064(a), (b), and (c), Local
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The initial and each succeeding board of directors shall,
and the owners of a majority of the assessed value of property
subject to assessment by the district may, recommend to the
governing body of the municipality persons to serve on the
succeeding board.
(b) After reviewing the recommendations, the governing body
shall approve or disapprove the directors recommended under
Subsection (a) [by the board].
(c) If the governing body is not satisfied with the
recommendations submitted under Subsection (a) [by the board], the
board, on the request of the governing body, shall submit to the
governing body additional recommendations.
SECTION 7. Subchapter E, Chapter 375, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 375.099 to read as follows:
Sec. 375.099. ONLINE PUBLICATION OF FISCAL INFORMATION. A
district that maintains an Internet website shall:
(1) post the district's financial records on the
website; or
(2) provide a link on the website to another Internet
website on which the information is posted.
SECTION 8. Section 375.161, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 375.161. [CERTAIN] RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY EXEMPTIONS
[EXEMPT]. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the board may
not impose an impact fee, [assessment,] tax, or other requirement
for payment, construction, alteration, or dedication under this
chapter on single-family detached residential property, duplexes,
triplexes, and fourplexes.
(b) Subsection (a) [This section] does not apply to a tax
authorized or approved by the voters of the district or a required
payment for a service provided by the district, including water and
sewer services.
(c) The board may not impose an assessment on residential
property.
SECTION 9. Section 375.182, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 375.182. PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS. (a) Funds may not
be spent, an assessment imposed, or a tax levied under this chapter
to finance the opening, reopening, or maintenance of a pass, canal,
or waterway across a barrier island connecting the Gulf of Mexico
with inland waters.
(b) A district may not use the proceeds of a bond to finance
an improvement project or service outside the district.
SECTION 10. Subchapter J, Chapter 375, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 375.2015 to read as follows:
Sec. 375.2015. NOTICE OF PROPOSED BOND. Before a district
may authorize the issuance of a bond, the district must mail written
notice of the proposed bond to:
(1) the governing body of each municipality and county
in which the district is located;
(2) each senator and member of the house of
representatives who represents any part of the territory of the
county in which the district is located; and
(3) each person who owns real property in the district,
according to the most recent certified county property tax rolls.
SECTION 11. Section 375.205, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) Not earlier than the 14th day before and not later than
the seventh day before the date the district submits a bond under
Subsection (a), the district shall send notice describing the
submitted bond to:
(1) the governing body of each municipality and county
in which the district is located; and
(2) each senator and member of the house of
representatives who represents any part of the territory of the
county in which the district is located.
SECTION 12. Section 375.262, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 375.262. DISSOLUTION BY PETITION BY OWNERS. Except as
limited by Section 375.264, the board shall dissolve the district
on written petition filed with the board by the owners of:
(1) 75 percent or more of the assessed value of the
property in the district based on the more recent certified county
property tax rolls; or
(2) 75 percent or more of the surface area of the
district, excluding roads, streets, highways, utility
rights-of-way, other public areas, and other property exempt from
assessment under Sections 375.161 and[,] 375.163, [and 375.164,]
according to the most recent certified county property tax rolls.
SECTION 13. Section 382.052(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) If the population of the district is more than 1,000, to
be eligible to serve as a director, a person must be at least 18
years old, reside in the district, and be:
(1) an owner of property in the district;
(2) an owner of stock, whether beneficial or otherwise,
of a corporate owner of property in the district;
(3) an owner of a beneficial interest in a trust that
owns property in the district; or
(4) an agent, employee, or tenant of a person covered by
Subdivision (1), (2), or (3) [meet the qualifications of Section
375.063].
SECTION 14. Section 3855.052(b), Special District Local
Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Section 375.063(2) [375.063(3)], Local Government Code,
does not apply to the district.
SECTION 15. Section 375.164, Local Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 16. Sections 375.022 and 375.025, Local Government
Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 375.0225, Local
Government Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a petition
requesting the creation of a district submitted to the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective date
of this Act. A petition submitted before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect when the petition is
submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 17. The change in law made by this Act to Section
375.063, Local Government Code, does not affect the entitlement of
a member serving on the board of directors of a district to which
that section applies immediately before the effective date of this
Act to continue to carry out the board's functions for the remainder
of the member's term. The change in law applies only to a member
appointed on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 18. The termination of the authority for a district
to impose an assessment on residential property under Section
375.161, Local Government Code, as amended by this Act, does not
impair an obligation created before September 1, 2017, by the
issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness for which
payment was pledged from an assessment imposed as previously
authorized by Chapter 375, Local Government Code. A district from
which payment was pledged as described by this section may continue
to impose the assessment against the property until the bond or
other indebtedness is discharged, but only if the cessation of the
imposition would impair the obligation.
SECTION 19. Section 375.182(b), Local Government Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to the use of the proceeds of a bond
issued on or after the effective date of this Act. The use of
proceeds of a bond issued before that date is governed by the law in
effect on the date the bonds were issued, and that law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 20. Sections 375.2015 and 375.205(a-1), Local
Government Code, as added by this Act, apply only to bonds issued on
or after the effective date of this Act. Bonds issued before the
effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on the
date the bonds were issued, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 21. Section 375.262, Local Government Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to a petition filed on or after
the effective date of this Act. A petition filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the petition was filed, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 22. The changes in law made by this Act may not be
construed to impair an obligation under a contract entered into on
or after the effective date of this Act. A political subdivision
may fulfill the subdivision's obligations under a contract entered
into before that date but may not extend such a contract beyond the
contract's original term.
SECTION 23. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.