By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 2185
(In the Senate - Filed April 1, 2021; April 6, 2021, read
first time and referred to Committee on Local Government;
April 21, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
Nays 0; April 21, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures for the dissolution of the Hidalgo County
Water Improvement District No. 3.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
(1) "City" means a municipality described by Section 2
of this Act.
(2) "City commission" means the governing body of the
city.
(3) "District" means the Hidalgo County Water
Improvement District No. 3.
SECTION 2. DISTRICT AND MUNICIPALITY TO WHICH ACT IS
APPLICABLE. This Act applies only to:
(1) the district; and
(2) a municipality that:
(A) has a population greater than 100,000; and
(B) contained on April 1, 2021, within its
corporate boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction more than
half of the district's territory.
SECTION 3. TRANSFER OF ASSETS AND DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT.
(a) On the date the city commission passes an ordinance accepting
the assets, debts, and contractual rights and obligations of the
district:
(1) all assets, debts, and contractual rights and
obligations of the district are property of the city; and
(2) the district is dissolved.
(b) The ordinance must contain provisions that:
(1) eliminate the required payment of any flat tax or
assessments paid to the district by landowners in the district;
(2) ensure that all water rights are held in trust by
the city for the uses previously adjudicated;
(3) ensure that all individual water users are
entitled to continue to use or have access to the same amount of
water they were entitled to before the dissolution of the district;
(4) require the city to perform all the functions of
the district, including the provision of services; and
(5) ensure delivery of water to landowners at or below
the lowest comparable delivery charge imposed by any other
irrigation district in Hidalgo County.
(c) On the date of the dissolution of the district, and
notwithstanding Section 51.790, Water Code, ownership of any
certificate of adjudication held by the district, including any
attachments or amendments to the certificate, transfers to the
city.
(d) The city shall notify the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality of the dissolution of the district and the
transfer of any certificate of adjudication held by the district to
the city.
(e) On receipt of notice under Subsection (d) of this
section, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall note
in its records that a certificate of adjudication transferred under
Subsection (c) of this section is owned by the city. The Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall, as a ministerial act,
transfer the certificate to the city without further application,
notice, or hearing. A person, party, or entity does not have any
right of protest, objection, or administrative review of the
transfer prescribed by this Act.
(f) The transfer of the district's water rights and any
certificate of adjudication to the city does not affect or impair
the priority, extent, validity, or purpose of the water rights or
certificate.
SECTION 4. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. On or before the effective
date of the dissolution of the district, the district shall:
(1) provide the district's management and operational
records to the city;
(2) transfer to the city the ownership of any water
rights and certificates of adjudication;
(3) transfer the assets, debts, and contractual rights
and obligations of the district to the city; and
(4) provide notice and make recordings of the
transfers under this section as required by the Water Code and other
law.
SECTION 5. CITY CONSENT. (a) Without the consent of a
majority of the members of a city commission that provides notice
under Section 3 of this Act, the district may not:
(1) sell, transfer, or encumber any district asset;
(2) issue debt or acquire additional obligations; or
(3) default on or fail to honor financial, legal, or
other obligations of the district.
(b) Unless a majority of the members of a city commission
that provides notice under Section 3 of this Act agree otherwise,
the district shall:
(1) maintain assets of the district in an appropriate
condition reflective of good stewardship and proper repair; and
(2) preserve district records, including information
maintained by the district in electronic format.
(c) Any action undertaken by the district that does not
comply with Subsection (a) of this section is void.
(d) This section expires on the date that a city has
provided notice under Section 3 of this Act.
SECTION 6. EXPIRATION. This Act expires January 1, 2026.
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 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, 2021.
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