By: Jetton H.B. No. 2815
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers, authorities, duties, and responsibilities
of water districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION __. Section 57.059, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 57.059. QUALIFICATIONS FOR [ELECTED] DIRECTORS. To be
qualified [for election] as a director, a person must be at least 18
years old, either own land subject to taxation in the district or be
a qualified voter within the district, [property taxpaying elector
of the precinct and county from which he is elected] and, in the
case of an elected director, be a qualified voter within the
precinct within the district established by the commissioners court
in accordance with Section 57.058 [eligible under the constitution
and laws of this state to hold the office to which he is elected].
SECTION __. Section 57.053, Water Code, is amended by
amending subsection (a) and adding subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) A vacancy on an appointed board is filled by the
appointment of a director by a majority vote of the commissioners
court. [A director appointed to fill a vacancy must be a person
qualified for election as a director under Section 57.059.] The
commissioners court shall appoint directors so that he board will
always have full membership.
(d) A director appointed to fill a vacancy must be a person
qualified as a director under Section 57.059.
SECTION ____. Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 49.316, Water Code, to read as follows:
Sec. 49.316. DIVISION OF DISTRICT. (a) The board, on its
own motion or on receipt of a petition signed by the owner or owners
of a majority of the assessed value of the real property in the
district, may adopt an order dividing the district.
(b) An order dividing a district may create one or more new
districts and may provide for the continuation of the district.
(c) An order dividing the district shall:
(1) name any new district;
(2) include the metes and bounds description of the
territory of each of the districts;
(3) appoint temporary directors for any new district;
and
(4) provide for the division of assets and liabilities
between the districts.
(d) The board may adopt an order dividing the district
before or after the date the board holds an election to confirm the
district's creation.
(e) The district may be divided only if the district:
(1) has never issued any bonds; and
(2) is not imposing ad valorem taxes.
(f) A new district created by the division of the district
may not, at the time the new district is created, contain any land
outside the area of the district at the time of creation.
(g) On or before the 30th day after the date of adoption of
an order dividing the district, the district shall file the order
with the commission and record the order in the real property
records of each county in which the district is located.
(h) A new district created by the division of the district
shall hold a confirmation and directors' election.
(j) If the creation of a new district is confirmed, the new
district shall provide the election date and results to the
commission.
(k) Any new district created by the division of the district
must hold an election as required by this chapter to obtain voter
approval before the district may impose a maintenance tax or issue
bonds payable wholly or partly from ad valorem taxes.
(l) The district may continue to rely on confirmation,
directors', bond, and tax elections held prior to the division.
(m) Municipal consent to the creation of the district and to
the inclusion of land in the district acts as municipal consent to
the creation of any new district created by the division of the
district and to the inclusion of land in the new district.
SECTION __. Subsection 49.011(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) On receipt by the commission of all required
documentation associated with an application for creation of a
district by the commission under Chapter 36, 50, 51, 54, 55, 58, 65,
or 66, or Chapter 375, Local Government Code, the commission shall
issue a notice indicating that the application is administratively
complete.
SECTION __. Section 49.060, Water Code, is amended by
amending subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding subsections (a-2) and
(a-3) to read as follows:
(a) A director is entitled to receive fees of office [of not
more than $150 a day] for each day the director actually spends
performing the duties of a director. The daily fee of office shall
be set by resolution of the board and may not be more than the
legislative per diem as set by the Texas Ethics Commission. In this
subsection, "performing the duties of a director" means substantive
performance of the management or business of the district,
including participation in board and committee meetings and other
activities involving the substantive deliberation of district
business and in pertinent educational programs. The phrase does not
include routine or ministerial activities such as the execution of
documents, self-preparation for meetings, or other activities
requiring a minimal amount of time.
(a-2) Notwithstanding subsection (a-1), an authority
created by special law that implements a groundwater reduction plan
and is a wholesale water supplier may not set the annual limit at an
amount greater than the amount that would be produced by 60 days of
service per year at the maximum daily rate.
SECTION ____. Subsection 49.065 is amended by adding
subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) Subsection (b) does not apply to a personal email
address of a director. In this subsection, a "personal email
address" means an email address not paid for by public funds and
not primarily used in the transaction of official business as long
as an official email address is made publicly available for the
director or for the governmental body.
SECTION __. Section 49.102, Water Code, is amended by
amending subsection (j) and by adding subsection (k) to read as
follows:
(j) The provisions of this section requiring a confirmation
election shall not be applicable to any district exercising the
powers of Chapter 375, Local Government Code, or any district
created by a special Act of the legislature that does not require a
confirmation election.
(k) The board shall consider the conduct and administration
of the confirmation election and the other district elections held
on the same date. If the board determines that it is in the best
interest of the district and voters of the district for the district
to administer the elections, the district shall establish precincts
and designate polling locations inside the district's boundaries,
notwithstanding any other law.
SECTION ____. Section 49.106, Water Code, is amended to add
subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) The board may submit new money bond authorization and
refunding bond authorization in a single proposition at an
election.
SECTION ____. Subchapter H, Chapter 49, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 49.2225 to read as follows:
Sec. 49.2225. LIMITATION ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN. A
district operating under Chapters 51, 53, and 54 may not exercise
the power of eminent domain outside the district boundaries to
acquire:
(1) a site for a water treatment plant or a wastewater
treatment plant, unless the engineer for the district makes a
recommendation, based on the engineer's professional judgment, to
acquire the site;
(2) a site for a park or recreational facility, as
defined by Section 49.462;
(3) an exclusive easement through a county regional
park; or
(4) a site, right of way, or easement for a road
project.
SECTION __. Section 49.23602, Water Code, is amended by
adding subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) An election under subsection (c) is not required if
the adopted tax rate is less than or equal to the voter-approval tax
rate.
SECTION ____. Subchapter O, Chapter 51, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.7131 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.7131. ALTERNATIVE SUBSTITUTION PROCEDURES. In the
alternative to the provisions of this subchapter for the
substitution of land within the district, a district may substitute
land in the manner provided by Sections 54.739 through 54.747,
Water Code.
SECTION ____. Section 51.714, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 51.714. ADDING LAND BY PETITION OF LANDOWNER. The
owner of land may file with the board a petition requesting that the
land described by metes and bounds in the petition be included in
the district. Notwithstanding any municipal ordinance, resolution,
or any other statute to the contrary, a municipality may not require
the annexing district or the landowner who is requesting annexation
to obtain the municipality's consent to the district's annexation
of the additional land if, at the time the petition is filed, the
land to be annexed is contiguous to the district and at any time
within the preceding 12 months was not located within an area
designated by ordinance or resolution of the municipality's
governing body as the municipality's water and sewer service area
or corporate limits, and the district has not previously issued any
bonded indebtedness. The land shall be deemed to be contiguous to
the district if it is separated from the district by public land or
right of way. A district may not increase its total land area by
more than 100 percent in any one calendar year under this section. A
municipality's consent shall not be required for the inclusion or
annexation of irrigable land within the boundaries of a district
primarily engaged in providing irrigation service to lands within
its boundaries.
SECTION ____. Section 54.728, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 54.728. CONSOLIDATION OF DISTRICTS. (a) Two or more
districts governed by the provisions of this chapter may
consolidate into one district as provided by Sections 54.729-54.733
of this code.
(b) One or more districts governed by the provisions of this
chapter and one or more districts governed by the provisions of
Chapter 375, Local Government Code, may consolidate into one
district as provided by this subsection and Sections 54.729- 54.733
of this code. Directors of the consolidated district shall be
elected and serve terms as provided by Section 49.103. The
consolidation agreement may provide that the consolidated district
continue operating with the powers, authorities, duties, and
responsibilities of one of the original districts prior to
consolidation.
SECTION ____. Section 375.022, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) A petition may request that succeeding boards be elected
under Section 375.0645 rather than be appointed under Section
375.064.
(e) The commission shall give notice of an application as
required by Section 49.011, Water Code, and may conduct a hearing on
the application if the commission determines that a hearing is
necessary under Section 49.011, Water Code.
SECTION ____. Subsection 375.025(c), Local Government Code
is amended to read as follows:
(c) If [after the hearing] the commission finds that the
petition is sufficient and conforms to the requirements of Section
375,022(c) 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 ____. Subchapter D, Chapter 375, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 375.0645 to read as follows:
Sec. 375.0645. ELECTED DIRECTORS. (a) This section
applies to a district created by order of the commission providing
for an elected board of directors as requested in the petition of
the landowner under Section 375.022.
(b) The commission shall appoint the initial directors.
(c) Subsequent directors shall be elected in the manner
provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 49, Water Code.
(d) A director is entitled to receive fees of office and
reimbursement for actual expenses as provided by Section 49.060,
Water Code. Sections 375.069 and 375.070 do not apply to the board.
(e) Subsection 49.052(f), Water Code, does not exempt a
director from disqualification under Section 49.052, Water Code.
(f) Sections 375.064, 375.161 and 375.243 do not apply to
the district.
SECTION ____. Section 375.065, Local Government Code is
amended to read as follows: REMOVAL OF DIRECTOR. The governing body
of the municipality after notice and hearing may remove a director
appointed by that municipality for misconduct or failure to carry
out the director's duties on petition by a majority of the remaining
directors.
SECTION ____. Section 375.071, Local Government Code is
amended to read as follows:
(a) One-half of the serving directors constitutes a quorum,
and a concurrence of a majority of a quorum of directors is required
for any official action of the district.
(b) The written consent of at least two-thirds of the
directors is required to authorize the levy of assessments, the
levy of taxes, the imposition of impact fees, or the issuance of
bonds, which may be authorized by a simple majority of a quorum at a
board meeting. A director who was not present at a board meeting may
execute a written consent outside of a board meeting.
SECTION ____. Subsection 375.161(b), Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not apply to a tax or assessment, if a
tax is 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.
SECTION ____. Section 375.208, Local Government Code is
amended to read as follows:
A district must obtain approval of the commission to issue
bonds as provided by Section 49.181, [Chapter 54,] Water Code, if
the [it issues] bonds are to provide water, sewage, or drainage
facilities. [Except as expressly provided by this section and
Sections 375.062 and 375.064, a district is not subject to the
jurisdiction of the commission.]
SECTION ____. The following sections are repealed:
(a) Sections 375.023 and 375.024 and Subsections 375.025(a)
and (b), Local Government Code;
(b) Subsection 54.030(b), as amended by Acts 2019, 86th
Leg., R.S., Ch. 539 (H.B. 2914), Sec. 2;
(c) Subsection 54.032(a), as amended by Acts 2019, 86th
Leg., R.S., Ch. 539 (H.B. 2914), Sec. 3;
(d) Subsection 54.033(a), as amended by Acts 2019, 86th
Leg., R.S., Ch. 539 (H.B. 2914), Sec. 4;
(e) Section 54.103, Water Code; and
(f) Section 54.209.
SECTION ____. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
shall evaluate the economic feasibility of bonds issued by water
districts in whole or in part in (i) Chambers, Liberty, Walker,
Grimes, Brazos, Austin, and Wharton counties the same as the bonds
issued by water districts in Harris County; (ii) Grayson, Wise,
Parker, Hood, Johnson, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall, and Hunt counties
the same as the bonds issued by water districts in Dallas County;
(iii) Caldwell, Bastrop, Lee, Milam, Bell, Burnet, Blanco, and
Kendall counties the same as the bonds issued by water districts in
Travis County.
SECTION ____. (a) Section __ of this Act adding Section
49.2225, Water Code, as it applies to districts governed by
Chapters 51 and 53, Water Code, takes effect December 31, 2024, and
as it applies to districts governed by Chapter 54, Water Code, takes
effect September 1, 2023.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this Act, 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,
2023.