Bill Text: TX HB1324 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to exclusion of land from certain water districts that fail to provide service to the land; clarifying and limiting the authority of those districts with outstanding bonds payable from ad valorem taxes to impose taxes on excluded land; providing for a financial review.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/13 [HB1324 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB1324-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to exclusion of land from certain water districts that fail to provide service to the land; clarifying and limiting the authority of those districts with outstanding bonds payable from ad valorem taxes to impose taxes on excluded land; providing for a financial review.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/13 [HB1324 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB1324-Comm_Sub.html
83R19985 SGA-F | |||
By: J. Davis of Harris, et al. | H.B. No. 1324 | ||
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1324: | |||
By: King of Zavala | C.S.H.B. No. 1324 |
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relating to exclusion of land from certain water districts that | ||
fail to provide service to the land; clarifying and limiting the | ||
authority of those districts with outstanding bonds payable from ad | ||
valorem taxes to impose taxes on excluded land. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 49.3076, Water Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (f) and adding Subsection | ||
(g-1) to read as follows: | ||
(a) The board of a district that has a total area of more | ||
than 10,000 [ |
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land from the district on or before the 60th day after receiving a | ||
written petition filed with the secretary of the board by a | ||
landowner who owns [ |
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has been included in and taxable by the district for more than 20 | ||
[ |
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in part from taxes of the district are outstanding and the petition: | ||
(1) is [ |
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excluded, as reflected by the most recent certified tax roll of the | ||
district; | ||
(2) includes a claim that the district does [ |
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provide [ |
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(3) describes the property to be excluded; and | ||
(4) provides facts necessary for the board to make the | ||
findings required by Subsection (b)[ |
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(b) The board of a district shall [ |
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this section if [ |
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(1) the district does not provide [ |
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retail utility service [ |
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petition; | ||
(2) the district has imposed a tax on more than half | ||
the acreage of the land for at least 20 years [ |
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(3) all taxes the district has levied and assessed | ||
against the land and all fees and assessments the district has | ||
imposed against the land or the owner that are due and payable on or | ||
before the date of the petition are fully paid. | ||
(c) Unless the district presents evidence at the hearing | ||
that conclusively demonstrates that the requirements and grounds | ||
for exclusion described by Subsection (a) [ |
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enter an order excluding the land from the district and shall | ||
redefine in the order the boundaries of the district to embrace all | ||
land not excluded. | ||
(f) After any land is excluded under this section, the | ||
district may issue any unissued additional debt approved by the | ||
voters of the district before exclusion of the land under this | ||
section without holding a new election. Additional debt issued | ||
after land is excluded from the district may not be payable from | ||
taxes levied against and does not create a lien against the taxable | ||
value of the excluded land. | ||
(g-1) This section does not apply to a district: | ||
(1) whose primary activity is the wholesale supply of | ||
raw water; and | ||
(2) that has fewer than 500 retail customers. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 49.3077, Water Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 49.3077. TAX LIABILITY OF EXCLUDED LAND; BONDS | ||
OUTSTANDING. (a) In this section: | ||
(1) "Adjusted gross value" means the gross assessed | ||
value of property, as of January 1, including land, improvements, | ||
and personal property, as determined by the appraisal district for | ||
the tax year in which the determination is made, reduced by any | ||
state-mandated exemptions but not reduced for any exemptions from | ||
taxation that are within the discretion of the governing body of the | ||
district. | ||
(2) "Carry costs" means interest calculated at an | ||
annual rate equal to the weighted average interest rate of the | ||
district debt that accrues on the excluded land's share of the | ||
district debt, with reductions for prior payments, from the later | ||
of the exclusion date or the last interest payment date for district | ||
debt for which district taxes have been levied and collected to the | ||
earlier of: | ||
(A) the date of the final interest payment on | ||
district debt before the next delinquency for the district's tax | ||
collection; or | ||
(B) the earliest dates on which an aggregate | ||
amount of district obligations equal to the district debt may be | ||
redeemed at the option of the district, provided the amount is paid | ||
in advance of any future district tax levy, using the redemption | ||
dates available for the district's outstanding obligations as of | ||
the exclusion date. | ||
(3) "District debt" means the principal outstanding | ||
from time to time of the tax-supported debt of the district | ||
outstanding on the exclusion date, including debt used to refund | ||
district debt outstanding on the exclusion date. | ||
(4) "Excluded land" means land that is excluded from a | ||
district under Section 49.3076. | ||
(5) "Excluded land payment" means, with respect to | ||
excluded land, the sum of the excluded land's share of district debt | ||
plus the carry costs, less any taxes collected by the district under | ||
Subsection (b). | ||
(6) "Excluded land's share of district debt" means the | ||
portion of the district debt that is calculated by multiplying the | ||
district debt by a fraction the numerator of which is the adjusted | ||
gross value of the excluded land on the exclusion date and the | ||
denominator of which is the adjusted gross value of all property in | ||
the district on the exclusion date. | ||
(7) "Exclusion date" means the date that the owner | ||
files the petition requesting that the excluded land be excluded | ||
from the district with the district secretary. | ||
(8) "Termination date" means the earlier of: | ||
(A) the date on which the amount of taxes | ||
collected from the excluded land equals the excluded land payment; | ||
and | ||
(B) the date on which the excluded land payment | ||
is made in full. | ||
(b) Excluded land that has been pledged as security for any | ||
outstanding debt of the district remains pledged for the excluded | ||
land's share of district debt until the excluded land payment is | ||
paid. A district is entitled to continue to levy and collect debt | ||
service taxes on the excluded land until the termination date at the | ||
same rate those taxes are levied on the land remaining in the | ||
district. From the exclusion date to the termination date, the | ||
excluded land remains in the district for the limited purpose of | ||
assessment and collection of such taxes. After the termination | ||
date, the excluded land is excluded from the district for all | ||
purposes, and the district may not levy any further tax on the | ||
excluded land. | ||
(c) The district shall apply the taxes collected on the | ||
excluded land only to payment of the excluded land payment, which | ||
shall be reduced by the amount of taxes collected. | ||
(d) A person is entitled to pay to the district the excluded | ||
land payment, in whole or in part, at any time on or after the | ||
exclusion date by delivering payment to the district tax | ||
assessor-collector. If partial payment is made, the payment is | ||
credited first against all carry costs due and owing, and any | ||
remainder is credited against the excluded land's share of district | ||
debt. After a partial payment, carry costs must be calculated and | ||
assessed and collected only on the remaining excluded land's share | ||
of district debt. [ |
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SECTION 3. Sections 49.312(a) and (c), Water Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Except as provided by Section 49.3077, upon [ |
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issuance of an order excluding property, that property is no longer | ||
a part of the district and is not entitled to water service from the | ||
district. | ||
(c) Except as provided by Section 49.3077, once land is | ||
[ |
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district for future taxes, assessments, or other charges of the | ||
district. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 49.3076(a-1), Water Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 49.3076, Water Code, as amended by this | ||
Act, applies only to a petition for exclusion of land that is filed | ||
with a district on or after the effective date of this Act. A | ||
petition filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by | ||
the law in effect on the date the petition is filed, and that law | ||
continues in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 6. 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, 2013. |