Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4978 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R10466 MP-D
2	2	By: Hickland H.B. No. 4978
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the creation of municipal utility districts in the
10	10	extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Sections 42.042(c), (f), and (g), Local
13	13	Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
14	14	(c) If, within 120 days after the date the governing body
15	15	receives the petition, the governing body fails to make a contract
16	16	with a majority of the qualified voters of the area of the proposed
17	17	political subdivision and the owners of at least 50 percent of the
18	18	land in the proposed political subdivision to provide the services,
19	19	that failure constitutes the governing body's consent to the
20	20	creation of the proposed political subdivision. This subsection
21	21	does not apply to the creation of a municipal utility district.
22	22	(f) If the municipality fails or refuses to give its consent
23	23	to the creation of the political subdivision, including a water
24	24	district previously created by an act of the legislature, or fails
25	25	or refuses to execute a contract providing for the water or sanitary
26	26	sewer services requested within the time limits prescribed by this
27	27	section, the applicant may petition the Texas Commission on
28	28	Environmental Quality for the creation of the political subdivision
29	29	or the inclusion of the land in a political subdivision. The
30	30	commission shall allow creation or confirmation of the creation of
31	31	the political subdivision or inclusion of the land in a proposed
32	32	political subdivision on finding that the municipality either does
33	33	not have the reasonable ability to serve or has failed to make a
34	34	legally binding commitment with sufficient funds available to
35	35	provide water and wastewater service adequate to serve the proposed
36	36	development at a reasonable cost to the landowner. The commitment
37	37	must provide that construction of the facilities necessary to serve
38	38	the land will begin within two years and will be substantially
39	39	completed within 4-1/2 years after the date the petition was filed
40	40	with the municipality. This subsection does not apply to the
41	41	creation of a municipal utility district.
42	42	(g) On an appeal taken to the district court from the ruling
43	43	of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, all parties to
44	44	the commission hearing must be made parties to the appeal. The
45	45	court shall hear the appeal within 120 days after the date the
46	46	appeal is filed. If the case is continued or appealed to a higher
47	47	court beyond the 120-day period, the court shall require the
48	48	appealing party or party requesting the continuance to post a bond
49	49	or other adequate security in the amount of damages that may be
50	50	incurred by any party as a result of the appeal or delay from the
51	51	commission action. The amount of the bond or other security shall
52	52	be determined by the court after notice and hearing. On final
53	53	disposition, a court may award damages, including any damages for
54	54	delays, attorney's fees, and costs of court to the prevailing
55	55	party. This subsection does not apply to the creation of a
56	56	municipal utility district.
57	57	SECTION 2. Section 54.016(a), Water Code, is amended to
58	58	read as follows:
59	59	(a) No land within the corporate limits of a city or within
60	60	the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a city, shall be included in a
61	61	district created under this chapter or by local law unless the city
62	62	grants its written consent, by resolution or ordinance, to the
63	63	inclusion of the land within the district in accordance with
64	64	Section 42.042, Local Government Code, and this section. The
65	65	request to a city for its written consent to the creation of a
66	66	district, shall be signed by a majority in value of the holders of
67	67	title of the land within the proposed district as indicated by the
68	68	county tax rolls. A petition for the written consent of a city to
69	69	the inclusion of land within a district shall describe the
70	70	boundaries of the land to be included in the district by metes and
71	71	bounds or by lot and block number, if there is a recorded map or plat
72	72	and survey of the area, and state the general nature of the work
73	73	proposed to be done, the necessity for the work, and the cost of the
74	74	project as then estimated by those filing the petition. [If, at the
75	75	time a petition is filed with a city for creation of a district, the
76	76	district proposes to connect to a city's water or sewer system or
77	77	proposes to contract with a regional water and wastewater provider
78	78	which has been designated as such by the commission as of the date
79	79	such petition is filed, to which the city has made a capital
80	80	contribution for the water and wastewater facilities serving the
81	81	area, the proposed district shall be designated as a "city service
82	82	district." If such proposed district does not meet the criteria for
83	83	a city service district at the time the petition seeking creation is
84	84	filed, such district shall be designated as a "noncity service
85	85	district." The city's consent shall not place any restrictions or
86	86	conditions on the creation of a noncity service district as defined
87	87	by this chapter other than those expressly provided in Subsection
88	88	(e) of this section and shall specifically not limit the amounts of
89	89	the district's bonds.] A city may not require annexation as a
90	90	consent to creation of any district. A city shall not refuse to
91	91	approve a district bond issue for any reason except that the
92	92	district is not in compliance with valid consent requirements
93	93	applicable to the district. [If a city grants its written consent
94	94	without the concurrence of the applicant to the creation of a
95	95	noncity service district containing conditions or restrictions
96	96	that the petitioning land owner or owners reasonably believe exceed
97	97	the city's powers, such land owner or owners may petition the
98	98	commission to create the district and to modify the conditions and
99	99	restrictions of the city's consent. The commission may declare any
100	100	provision of the consent to be null and void. The commission may
101	101	approve the creation of a district that includes any portion of the
102	102	land covered by the city's consent to creation of the district. The
103	103	legislature may create and may validate the creation of a district
104	104	that includes any portion of the land covered by the city's consent
105	105	to the creation of the district.]
106	106	SECTION 3. Section 8324.107, Special District Local Laws
107	107	Code, is amended to read as follows:
108	108	Sec. 8324.107. LIMITATION ON ANNEXATION OF LAND BY
109	109	DISTRICT. The [Notwithstanding Section 54.016(d), Water Code,
110	110	the] district may not annex land that is located in the
111	111	extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality unless the City of
112	112	Weatherford provides written consent to that annexation.
113	113	SECTION 4. Section 8325.107, Special District Local Laws
114	114	Code, is amended to read as follows:
115	115	Sec. 8325.107. LIMITATION ON ANNEXATION OF LAND BY
116	116	DISTRICT. The [Notwithstanding Section 54.016(d), Water Code, the]
117	117	district may not annex land that is located in the extraterritorial
118	118	jurisdiction of a municipality unless the City of Weatherford
119	119	provides written consent to that annexation.
120	120	SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Water Code, is amended
121	121	by adding Section 54.017 to read as follows:
122	122	Sec. 54.017. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN DISTRICT,
123	123	MUNICIPALITY, AND COUNTY. (a) If a municipality approves the
124	124	creation of a district within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of
125	125	the municipality under Section 54.016, the district, municipality,
126	126	and county in which the district will be located shall enter into a
127	127	memorandum of understanding as to how services will be provided to
128	128	the district.
129	129	(b) The memorandum of understanding entered into under this
130	130	section must detail the provision of:
131	131	(1) water services; and
132	132	(2) road services.
133	133	SECTION 6. The following provisions of the Water Code are
134	134	repealed:
135	135	(1) Sections 54.016(c) and (d); and
136	136	(2) Sections 54.0165(b) and (c).
137	137	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
138	138	the creation of a municipal utility district on or after the
139	139	effective date of this Act. A petition for the creation of a
140	140	municipal utility district pending before the Texas Commission on
141	141	Environmental Quality on the effective date of this Act is governed
142	142	by the law in effect on the date the petition was filed, and the
143	143	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
144	144	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.