Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2185 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	S.B. No. 2185
	1	+	By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 2185
	2	+	(Canales)
2	3
3	4
	5	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	6		AN ACT
5		-	relating to restrictions on certain special districts.
	7	+	relating to procedures for the dissolution of the Hidalgo County
	8	+	Water Improvement District No. 3.
6	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
7		-	SECTION 1. In this Act, "district" means the Hidalgo County
8		-	Water Improvement District No. 3.
9		-	SECTION 2. GENERAL MANAGER. The general manager shall be an
10		-	employee of the district. The general manager serves at the
11		-	pleasure of and reports only to the board. The general manager may
12		-	not serve as a director on the board of directors of the district.
13		-	SECTION 3. EDUCATION PROGRAM. (a) The district's board of
14		-	directors shall establish a program of education for the district's
15		-	directors that includes information on:
16		-	(1) the history of the district;
17		-	(2) the district's statutory authority;
18		-	(3) laws applicable to the district, including the
19		-	requirements of Chapters 551 and 552, Government Code;
20		-	(4) relevant legal developments related to water
21		-	district governance;
22		-	(5) the duties and responsibilities of the district's
23		-	board of directors;
24		-	(6) conflict of interest laws and other laws related
25		-	to public officials;
26		-	(7) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
27		-	Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the Texas Ethics
28		-	Commission.
29		-	(b) The district shall pay any costs associated with the
30		-	development of the education program from district revenue.
31		-	(c) The education program may include training provided by
32		-	an organization offering courses that have been approved by the
33		-	Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
34		-	(d) The district's board of directors may adopt bylaws
35		-	modifying the education program as necessary to meet district
36		-	needs.
37		-	SECTION 4. EDUCATION FOR DIRECTORS. (a) Each director of
38		-	the district shall complete the education program established under
39		-	Section 3 of this Act before the first anniversary of the date on
40		-	which the director was appointed or elected. A director serving on
41		-	the district's board of directors on the effective date of this Act
42		-	shall complete the education program not later than September 1,
43		-	2022.
44		-	(b) The district shall reimburse a director of the district
45		-	for the reasonable expenses incurred by the director in attending
46		-	the education program.
47		-	(c) A director of the district who is elected to serve a
48		-	subsequent term shall fulfill the education requirements specified
49		-	by district bylaws.
50		-	SECTION 5. PROHIBITED CONDUCT FOR DIRECTORS AND DISTRICT
51		-	EMPLOYEES. A director of the district or a district employee may
52		-	not:
53		-	(1) accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service
54		-	that:
55		-	(A) might reasonably influence the director or
56		-	employee in the discharge of an official duty; or
57		-	(B) the director or employee knows or should know
58		-	is offered with the intent to influence the director's or employee's
59		-	official conduct;
60		-	(2) accept other employment or engage in a business or
61		-	professional activity that the director or employee might
62		-	reasonably expect would require or induce the director or employee
63		-	to disclose confidential information acquired in the course of the
64		-	director's or employee's duties under this chapter;
65		-	(3) accept other employment or compensation that could
66		-	reasonably be expected to impair the director's or employee's
67		-	independent judgment in the performance of the director's or
68		-	employee's duties under this chapter;
69		-	(4) make personal investments that could reasonably be
70		-	expected to create a substantial conflict between the director's or
71		-	employee's private interest and the interest of the district;
72		-	(5) intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or
73		-	agree to accept a benefit for the director's or employee's exercise
74		-	of powers under this chapter or performance of duties under this
75		-	chapter in favor of a third party; or
76		-	(6) have a personal interest in an agreement executed
77		-	by the district.
78		-	SECTION 6. SEARCHABLE DISTRICT EXPENDITURE DATABASE. (a)
79		-	The district shall establish and post on the district's Internet
80		-	website a database of district check register reports, including
81		-	district expenditures and contracts. The database must include the
82		-	amount, date, description, payor, and payee of the expenditures
83		-	and, if applicable, parties to the contract.
84		-	(b) The district may not include in the database developed
85		-	under Subsection (a) a district employee's salary or personal
86		-	identifying information, as defined by Section 521.002, Business &
87		-	Commerce Code.
88		-	(c) The district shall prominently display a link to the
89		-	database established under this section on the district's Internet
90		-	website. The information provided in the district check register
91		-	reports must be updated monthly.
92		-	(d) The district shall keep in the database information
93		-	required by this section related to an adopted budget until the
94		-	third anniversary of the date the budget was adopted.
95		-	SECTION 7. CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS. The district shall
96		-	publish once before each election to elect members of the board of
97		-	directors of the district the procedure for conducting an election
98		-	to elect members of the board of directors of the district in a
99		-	newspaper of general circulation in each municipality or county in
100		-	which the district or a portion of the district is located.
101		-	SECTION 8. Subchapter H, Chapter 49, Water Code, is amended
102		-	by adding Section 49.2127 to read as follows:
103		-	Sec. 49.2127. PIPELINE FEES AND REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED BY
104		-	CERTAIN DISTRICTS. (a) In this section, "retail public utility"
105		-	has the meaning assigned by Section 13.002.
106		-	(b) This section applies only to a district whose territory
107		-	is located wholly or partly in a county:
108		-	(1) located on the Gulf of Mexico and an international
109		-	border; or
110		-	(2) adjacent to a county described by Subdivision (1).
111		-	(c) Notwithstanding Section 49.002, this section prevails
112		-	over a special law governing a district.
113		-	(d) A district may not impose on a retail public utility
114		-	that proposes to construct a water or sewer pipeline or associated
115		-	infrastructure in the district's service area:
116		-	(1) requirements for constructing the pipeline that
117		-	are unduly burdensome; or
118		-	(2) a fee that is greater than the actual, reasonable,
119		-	and documented costs incurred by the district for review, legal
120		-	services, engineering services, inspection, construction, and
121		-	repair associated with the retail public utility construction, and
122		-	any other related costs incurred by the district in association
123		-	with the retail public utility construction.
124		-	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
125		-	______________________________ ______________________________
126		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
127		-	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2185 passed the Senate on
128		-	April 29, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
129		-	the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 29, 2021, by the
130		-	following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1, one present not voting.
131		-	______________________________
132		-	Secretary of the Senate
133		-	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2185 passed the House, with
134		-	amendments, on May 26, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 144,
135		-	Nays 1, two present not voting.
136		-	______________________________
137		-	Chief Clerk of the House
138		-	Approved:
139		-	______________________________
140		-	Date
141		-	______________________________
142		-	Governor
	10	+	SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
	11	+	(1) "City" means a municipality described by Section 2
	12	+	of this Act.
	13	+	(2) "City commission" means the governing body of the
	14	+	city.
	15	+	(3) "District" means the Hidalgo County Water
	16	+	Improvement District No. 3.
	17	+	SECTION 2. DISTRICT AND MUNICIPALITY TO WHICH ACT IS
	18	+	APPLICABLE. This Act applies only to:
	19	+	(1) the district; and
	20	+	(2) a municipality that:
	21	+	(A) has a population greater than 100,000; and
	22	+	(B) contained on April 1, 2021, within its
	23	+	corporate boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction more than
	24	+	half of the district's territory.
	25	+	SECTION 3. TRANSFER OF ASSETS AND DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT.
	26	+	(a) On the date the city commission passes an ordinance accepting
	27	+	the assets, debts, and contractual rights and obligations of the
	28	+	district:
	29	+	(1) all assets, debts, and contractual rights and
	30	+	obligations of the district are property of the city; and
	31	+	(2) the district is dissolved.
	32	+	(b) The ordinance must contain provisions that:
	33	+	(1) eliminate the required payment of any flat tax or
	34	+	assessments paid to the district by landowners in the district;
	35	+	(2) ensure that all water rights are held in trust by
	36	+	the city for the uses previously adjudicated;
	37	+	(3) ensure that all individual water users are
	38	+	entitled to continue to use or have access to the same amount of
	39	+	water they were entitled to before the dissolution of the district;
	40	+	(4) require the city to perform all the functions of
	41	+	the district, including the provision of services; and
	42	+	(5) ensure delivery of water to landowners at or below
	43	+	the lowest comparable delivery charge imposed by any other
	44	+	irrigation district in Hidalgo County.
	45	+	(c) On the date of the dissolution of the district, and
	46	+	notwithstanding Section 51.790, Water Code, ownership of any
	47	+	certificate of adjudication held by the district, including any
	48	+	attachments or amendments to the certificate, transfers to the
	49	+	city.
	50	+	(d) The city shall notify the Texas Commission on
	51	+	Environmental Quality of the dissolution of the district and the
	52	+	transfer of any certificate of adjudication held by the district to
	53	+	the city.
	54	+	(e) On receipt of notice under Subsection (d) of this
	55	+	section, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall note
	56	+	in its records that a certificate of adjudication transferred under
	57	+	Subsection (c) of this section is owned by the city. The Texas
	58	+	Commission on Environmental Quality shall, as a ministerial act,
	59	+	transfer the certificate to the city without further application,
	60	+	notice, or hearing. A person, party, or entity does not have any
	61	+	right of protest, objection, or administrative review of the
	62	+	transfer prescribed by this Act.
	63	+	(f) The transfer of the district's water rights and any
	64	+	certificate of adjudication to the city does not affect or impair
	65	+	the priority, extent, validity, or purpose of the water rights or
	66	+	certificate.
	67	+	SECTION 4. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. On or before the effective
	68	+	date of the dissolution of the district, the district shall:
	69	+	(1) provide the district's management and operational
	70	+	records to the city;
	71	+	(2) transfer to the city the ownership of any water
	72	+	rights and certificates of adjudication;
	73	+	(3) transfer the assets, debts, and contractual rights
	74	+	and obligations of the district to the city; and
	75	+	(4) provide notice and make recordings of the
	76	+	transfers under this section as required by the Water Code and other
	77	+	law.
	78	+	SECTION 5. CITY CONSENT. (a) Without the consent of a
	79	+	majority of the members of a city commission that provides notice
	80	+	under Section 3 of this Act, the district may not:
	81	+	(1) sell, transfer, or encumber any district asset;
	82	+	(2) issue debt or acquire additional obligations; or
	83	+	(3) default on or fail to honor financial, legal, or
	84	+	other obligations of the district.
	85	+	(b) Unless a majority of the members of a city commission
	86	+	that provides notice under Section 3 of this Act agree otherwise,
	87	+	the district shall:
	88	+	(1) maintain assets of the district in an appropriate
	89	+	condition reflective of good stewardship and proper repair; and
	90	+	(2) preserve district records, including information
	91	+	maintained by the district in electronic format.
	92	+	(c) Any action undertaken by the district that does not
	93	+	comply with Subsection (a) of this section is void.
	94	+	(d) This section expires on the date that a city has
	95	+	provided notice under Section 3 of this Act.
	96	+	SECTION 6. EXPIRATION. This Act expires January 1, 2026.
	97	+	SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
	98	+	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
	99	+	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
	100	+	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
	101	+	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.