Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4620 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R17176 ANG-F
2	2	By: Canales H.B. No. 4620
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to procedures for the dissolution of the Hidalgo County
8	8	Water Improvement District No. 3.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
11	11	(1) "City" means a municipality described by Section 2
12	12	of this Act.
13	13	(2) "City commission" means the governing body of the
14	14	city.
15	15	(3) "District" means the Hidalgo County Water
16	16	Improvement District No. 3.
17	17	SECTION 2. DISTRICT AND MUNICIPALITY TO WHICH ACT IS
18	18	APPLICABLE. This Act applies only to:
19	19	(1) the district; and
20	20	(2) a municipality that:
21	21	(A) has a population greater than 100,000; and
22	22	(B) contained on April 1, 2021, within its
23	23	corporate boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction more than
24	24	half of the district's territory.
25	25	SECTION 3. TRANSFER OF ASSETS AND DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT.
26	26	(a) On the date the city commission passes an ordinance accepting
27	27	the assets, debts, and contractual rights and obligations of the
28	28	district:
29	29	(1) all assets, debts, and contractual rights and
30	30	obligations of the district are property of the city; and
31	31	(2) the district is dissolved.
32	32	(b) The ordinance must contain provisions that:
33	33	(1) eliminate the required payment of any flat tax or
34	34	assessments paid to the district by landowners in the district;
35	35	(2) ensure that all water rights are held in trust by
36	36	the city for the uses previously adjudicated;
37	37	(3) ensure that all individual water users are
38	38	entitled to continue to use or have access to the same amount of
39	39	water they were entitled to before the dissolution of the district;
40	40	(4) require the city to perform all the functions of
41	41	the district, including the provision of services; and
42	42	(5) ensure delivery of water to landowners at or below
43	43	the lowest comparable delivery charge imposed by any other
44	44	irrigation district in Hidalgo County.
45	45	(c) On the date of the dissolution of the district, and
46	46	notwithstanding Section 51.790, Water Code, ownership of any
47	47	certificate of adjudication held by the district, including any
48	48	attachments or amendments to the certificate, transfers to the
49	49	city.
50	50	(d) The city shall notify the Texas Commission on
51	51	Environmental Quality of the dissolution of the district and the
52	52	transfer of any certificate of adjudication held by the district to
53	53	the city.
54	54	(e) On receipt of notice under Subsection (d) of this
55	55	section, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall note
56	56	in its records that a certificate of adjudication transferred under
57	57	Subsection (c) of this section is owned by the city. The Texas
58	58	Commission on Environmental Quality shall, as a ministerial act,
59	59	transfer the certificate to the city without further application,
60	60	notice, or hearing. A person, party, or entity does not have any
61	61	right of protest, objection, or administrative review of the
62	62	transfer prescribed by this Act.
63	63	(f) The transfer of the district's water rights and any
64	64	certificate of adjudication to the city does not affect or impair
65	65	the priority, extent, validity, or purpose of the water rights or
66	66	certificate.
67	67	SECTION 4. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. On or before the effective
68	68	date of the dissolution of the district, the district shall:
69	69	(1) provide the district's management and operational
70	70	records to the city;
71	71	(2) transfer to the city the ownership of any water
72	72	rights and certificates of adjudication;
73	73	(3) transfer the assets, debts, and contractual rights
74	74	and obligations of the district to the city; and
75	75	(4) provide notice and make recordings of the
76	76	transfers under this section as required by the Water Code and other
77	77	law.
78	78	SECTION 5. CITY CONSENT. (a) Without the consent of a
79	79	majority of the members of a city commission that provides notice
80	80	under Section 3 of this Act, the district may not:
81	81	(1) sell, transfer, or encumber any district asset;
82	82	(2) issue debt or acquire additional obligations; or
83	83	(3) default on or fail to honor financial, legal, or
84	84	other obligations of the district.
85	85	(b) Unless a majority of the members of a city commission
86	86	that provides notice under Section 3 of this Act agree otherwise,
87	87	the district shall:
88	88	(1) maintain assets of the district in an appropriate
89	89	condition reflective of good stewardship and proper repair; and
90	90	(2) preserve district records, including information
91	91	maintained by the district in electronic format.
92	92	(c) Any action undertaken by the district that does not
93	93	comply with Subsection (a) of this section is void.
94	94	(d) This section expires on the date that a city has
95	95	provided notice under Section 3 of this Act.
96	96	SECTION 6. EXPIRATION. This Act expires January 1, 2026.
97	97	SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
98	98	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
99	99	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
100	100	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
101	101	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.