Bill Text: TX HB2851 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the creation of the Onion Creek Watershed Hays and Travis Counties Flood Control District No. 1; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to impose assessments and fees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-11 - Recommendations filed with the Speaker [HB2851 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB2851-Introduced.html
85R5700 SLB-D | ||
By: Workman | H.B. No. 2851 |
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relating to the creation of the Onion Creek Watershed Hays and | ||
Travis Counties Flood Control District No. 1; granting a limited | ||
power of eminent domain; providing authority to impose assessments | ||
and fees. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subtitle E, Title 6, Special District Local Laws | ||
Code, is amended by adding Chapter 7812 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 7812. ONION CREEK WATERSHED HAYS AND TRAVIS COUNTIES FLOOD | ||
CONTROL DISTRICT NO. 1 | ||
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS | ||
Sec. 7812.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Board" means the district's board of directors. | ||
(2) "Director" means a member of the board. | ||
(3) "District" means the Onion Creek Watershed Hays | ||
and Travis Counties Flood Control District No. 1. | ||
Sec. 7812.002. NATURE OF DISTRICT. (a) The district is a | ||
conservation and reclamation district as provided by this chapter. | ||
(b) The creation of the district is essential to accomplish | ||
the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution. | ||
Sec. 7812.003. DISTRICT TERRITORY. The district initially | ||
is composed of the territory described as the Onion Creek Watershed | ||
using the National Hydrography Dataset and the Watershed Boundary | ||
Dataset and the remainder of any property any part of which falls | ||
inside the district on the date this chapter takes effect. | ||
Sec. 7812.004. ANNEXATION OR EXCLUSION OF LAND. (a) The | ||
district may annex land to or may exclude land from the district in | ||
accordance with Subchapter J, Chapter 49, or Subchapter H, Chapter | ||
54, Water Code. | ||
(b) The district is not required to hold an exclusion | ||
hearing. | ||
Sec. 7812.005. PROVISIONS NOT APPLICABLE. The following | ||
provisions of Chapter 49, Water Code, do not apply to the district: | ||
(1) Section 49.104; | ||
(2) Section 49.1045; | ||
(3) Section 49.152; | ||
(4) Section 49.154; | ||
(5) Section 49.155; | ||
(6) Section 49.219; | ||
(7) Section 49.222; | ||
(8) Section 49.236; | ||
(9) Section 49.2361; | ||
(10) Subchapter F; | ||
(11) Subchapter L; and | ||
(12) Subchapter N. | ||
SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS | ||
Sec. 7812.051. COMPOSITION OF BOARD. The district is | ||
governed by a board of seven elected directors who serve staggered | ||
terms. | ||
Sec. 7812.052. OFFICERS. (a) The board shall elect from | ||
among its members a president, a vice president, and a | ||
secretary-treasurer at the first board meeting after each | ||
directors' election. | ||
(b) The secretary-treasurer: | ||
(1) is the custodian of district records; and | ||
(2) shall attest to all legal documents executed by | ||
the district. | ||
Sec. 7812.053. DIRECTOR'S BOND; SECRETARY-TREASURER'S | ||
BOND. (a) Each director shall give bond in the amount of $1,000 for | ||
the faithful performance of the director's duties. | ||
(b) The secretary-treasurer of the district shall give bond | ||
in the amount of $2,500 for the faithful performance of the | ||
secretary-treasurer's duties. | ||
Sec. 7812.054. OFFICIAL ACTIONS; QUORUM. (a) The board | ||
shall perform official actions by resolution. | ||
(b) A majority of the board constitutes a quorum for the | ||
transaction of any business of the district. | ||
(c) A majority vote of a quorum is sufficient in any | ||
official action, including final passage and enactment of a | ||
resolution. | ||
Sec. 7812.055. BOARD MEETINGS. (a) The board shall hold | ||
regular meetings at least once every three months. The dates of | ||
regular meetings must be established in the district's bylaws or by | ||
resolution. | ||
(b) The president or any three directors may call a special | ||
meeting as necessary to administer district business. At least | ||
five days before the date of a special meeting, the | ||
secretary-treasurer shall mail notice of the meeting to the address | ||
each director filed with the secretary-treasurer. A director in | ||
writing may waive notices of special meetings. | ||
Sec. 7812.056. BOARD COMPENSATION FOR ATTENDING MEETINGS. | ||
(a) A director is entitled to receive a fee of $20 for attending | ||
each board meeting and may not be paid more than $40 for meetings | ||
held in one calendar month. | ||
(b) In all areas of conflict with Subsection (a) of this | ||
section, Section 49.060, Water Code, takes precedence. | ||
(c) A director's compensation may be increased as | ||
authorized by Section 49.060, Water Code, by resolution adopted by | ||
the board in accordance with Subsection (e) of that section. | ||
SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES | ||
Sec. 7812.101. FLOOD CONTROL POWERS AND DUTIES. The | ||
district may: | ||
(1) exercise a power, right, privilege, or function | ||
conferred by general law on a flood control district created under | ||
Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, as applicable to Hays | ||
and Travis Counties and essential to the flood control project; | ||
(2) devise plans and construct works to lessen and | ||
control floods; | ||
(3) reclaim land in the district; | ||
(4) prevent the deposit of silt in navigable streams; | ||
(5) remove natural or artificial obstructions from | ||
streams and other watercourses; | ||
(6) regulate the flow of surface and floodwaters; | ||
(7) provide drainage essential to the flood control | ||
project; | ||
(8) acquire, by gift, devise, purchase, or | ||
condemnation: | ||
(A) land; | ||
(B) a right or interest in land; or | ||
(C) any other character of property needed to | ||
carry on the work of flood control; | ||
(9) sell, trade, or otherwise dispose of land or other | ||
property, or a right in the property, no longer needed for the flood | ||
control project or flood control purposes; | ||
(10) use the bed and banks of a bayou, river, or stream | ||
in the district, subject to the requirements of the Texas | ||
Commission on Environmental Quality; | ||
(11) authorize its officers, employees, or agents to | ||
enter any land in the district to make or examine a survey in | ||
connection with a flood control plan or project or for any other | ||
authorized purpose; | ||
(12) overflow or inundate any public land or public | ||
property, and require the relocation of a road or highway, in the | ||
manner and to the extent permitted to a district organized under | ||
general law under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, | ||
subject to the requirements of the state agency with jurisdiction | ||
over the land or property or the Texas Transportation Commission, | ||
as applicable; | ||
(13) appoint a flood control manager and any agents or | ||
employees of the counties as necessary for flood control purposes, | ||
including an engineer and counsel, prescribe their duties, and set | ||
the amounts of their bonds and compensation; | ||
(14) cooperate or contract with the United States to | ||
receive and use money from a grant, loan, or advancement to exercise | ||
a power or further a purpose under this chapter; | ||
(15) contribute to the United States in connection | ||
with any project undertaken by the United States that affects or | ||
relates to flood control in Hays or Travis County; | ||
(16) cooperate or contract with an agency or political | ||
subdivision of this state, including a municipality in Hays or | ||
Travis County, in relation to: | ||
(A) a survey; | ||
(B) the acquisition of land or a right-of-way; or | ||
(C) the construction, maintenance, or financing | ||
of all or part of a project in connection with any matter within the | ||
scope of this chapter; | ||
(17) contract with an agency or political subdivision | ||
of this state, including a municipality in Hays or Travis County, | ||
for the imposition of taxes on behalf of and for the benefit of the | ||
district; | ||
(18) sue and be sued under the laws of this state; and | ||
(19) perform any act necessary or proper to carry out | ||
the powers described by this section or Section 7812.102. | ||
Sec. 7812.102. CONTRACTS AND WARRANTS. The district may | ||
enter into contracts and issue warrants payable from current funds | ||
under the applicable provisions of Chapter 252, Local Government | ||
Code, that relate to a municipality with a population of less than | ||
5,000, to the extent those provisions are not in conflict with this | ||
chapter. | ||
Sec. 7812.103. EASEMENT OVER AND RELOCATION OF ROADS. The | ||
district has a right-of-way and easement over and across a road or | ||
highway of this state or a subdivision of this state for the | ||
construction or maintenance of a district flood control project, | ||
subject to the requirements of the Texas Transportation Commission | ||
if the project requires the relocation or bridging of a state | ||
highway. | ||
Sec. 7812.104. MAINTENANCE OF FEDERAL FLOOD CONTROL | ||
PROJECTS. The district is entitled to maintain a flood control | ||
project constructed in Hays or Travis County by the United States if | ||
the project: | ||
(1) extends wholly or partly into the district or is | ||
within five miles of the boundaries of the district; and | ||
(2) is considered by the board to protect property in | ||
the district. | ||
Sec. 7812.105. EMINENT DOMAIN. The district may exercise | ||
the power of eminent domain inside district boundaries to acquire | ||
property or an interest in property of any kind that is necessary or | ||
convenient for the district to exercise a right, power, privilege, | ||
or function conferred on the district by this chapter. | ||
SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS | ||
Sec. 7812.151. GRANTS AND GIFTS. A district may make or | ||
accept from any source grants, gratuities, advances, and loans in | ||
any form approved by the board, including any governmental entity, | ||
any private or public corporation, and any other person and may make | ||
and enter into contracts, agreements, and covenants the board | ||
considers appropriate in connection with acceptance of grants, | ||
gratuities, advances, and loans. | ||
Sec. 7812.152. DEPOSITORY. The board may select one or more | ||
depositories. | ||
Sec. 7812.153. INVESTMENT OF DISTRICT MONEY. District | ||
money may be invested by the board or the board's designee under | ||
Subchapter E, Chapter 49, Water Code. | ||
Sec. 7812.154. EXPENDITURES. An expenditure of the | ||
district must be made by check signed by two directors. | ||
SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective | ||
date of this Act, the temporary directors of the Onion Creek | ||
Watershed Hays and Travis Counties Flood Control District No. 1 | ||
shall be appointed as follows: | ||
(1) one director appointed by the county judge of | ||
Travis County; | ||
(2) one director appointed by the Travis County | ||
commissioner for the Travis County commissioners precinct in which | ||
the largest portion of the district's population is located; | ||
(3) one director appointed by the county judge of Hays | ||
County; | ||
(4) one director appointed by the Hays County | ||
commissioner for the Hays County commissioners precinct in which | ||
the largest portion of the district's population is located; | ||
(5) one director appointed by the state representative | ||
who represents the house district in which the largest portion of | ||
the district's population is located; and | ||
(6) two directors appointed by the state senator who | ||
represents the senate district in which the largest portion of the | ||
district's population is located. | ||
(b) The temporary directors appointed under Subsection (a) | ||
of this section shall: | ||
(1) serve until directors have been elected at an | ||
election called under this section and those directors have | ||
qualified for office; and | ||
(2) order an election to be held on the uniform | ||
election date in November 2019 in the Onion Creek Watershed Hays and | ||
Travis Counties Flood Control District No. 1 for the election of | ||
directors for the district. | ||
(c) The directors elected at the election ordered under | ||
Subsection (b) of this section shall draw lots to determine which | ||
three directors shall serve two-year terms and which four directors | ||
shall serve four-year terms. | ||
(d) This section expires January 1, 2020. | ||
SECTION 3. (a) The legal notice of the intention to | ||
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this | ||
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a | ||
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies, | ||
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished | ||
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313, | ||
Government Code. | ||
(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has | ||
submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on | ||
Environmental Quality. | ||
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed | ||
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the | ||
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of | ||
representatives within the required time. | ||
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this | ||
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect | ||
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled | ||
and accomplished. | ||
SECTION 4. If this Act does not receive a two-thirds vote of | ||
all the members elected to each house, Subchapter C, Chapter 7812, | ||
Special District Local Laws Code, as added by Section 1 of this Act, | ||
is amended by striking Section 7812.104 and substituting Section | ||
7812.104 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 7812.104. NO EMINENT DOMAIN POWER. The district may | ||
not exercise the power of eminent domain. | ||
SECTION 5. 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, 2017. |