Bill Text: TX SB2014 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the administration of certain water districts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [SB2014 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB2014-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to the administration of certain water districts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [SB2014 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB2014-Comm_Sub.html
85R31822 DMS-D | ||
By: Creighton | S.B. No. 2014 | |
(Schubert) | ||
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 2014: No. |
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relating to the administration of certain water districts. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 49.181, Water Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsections (i), (j), (k), and | ||
(l) to read as follows: | ||
(f) The commission shall determine whether the project to be | ||
financed by the bonds is feasible and issue an order either | ||
approving or disapproving, as appropriate, the issuance of the | ||
bonds. If the commission determines that an application for the | ||
approval of bonds complies with the requirements for financial | ||
feasibility and the district submitting the application is not | ||
required to comply with rules regarding project completion, the | ||
commission may not disapprove the issuance of bonds for all or a | ||
portion of a project or require that the funding for all or a | ||
portion of a project be escrowed solely on the basis that the | ||
construction of the project is not complete at the time of the | ||
commission's determination. The commission shall retain a copy of | ||
the order and send a copy of the order to the district. | ||
(i) An application for the approval of bonds under this | ||
section may include financing for payment of creation and | ||
organization expenses. Expenses are creation and organization | ||
expenses if the expenses were incurred through the date of the | ||
canvassing of the confirmation election. A commission rule | ||
regarding continuous construction periods or the length of time for | ||
the payment of expenses during construction periods does not apply | ||
to expenses described by this section. | ||
(j) The commission shall approve an application to issue | ||
bonds to finance the costs of spreading and compacting fill to | ||
remove property from the 100-year floodplain made by a levee | ||
improvement district if the application otherwise meets all | ||
applicable requirements for bond applications. | ||
(k) The commission shall approve an application to issue | ||
bonds to finance the costs of spreading and compacting fill to | ||
provide drainage that is made by a municipal utility district or a | ||
district with the powers of a municipal utility district if the | ||
costs are less than the cost of constructing or improving drainage | ||
facilities. | ||
(l) If a district is approved for the issuance of bonds by | ||
the commission to use a certain return flow of wastewater, the | ||
approval applies to subsequent bond authorizations unless the | ||
district seeks approval to use a different return flow of | ||
wastewater. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 49.273(i), Water Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(i) If changes in plans, [ |
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work are necessary or beneficial to the district, as determined by | ||
the board, after the performance of the contract is begun, or if it | ||
is necessary or beneficial to the district, as determined by the | ||
board, to decrease or increase the quantity of the work to be | ||
performed or of the materials, equipment, or supplies to be | ||
furnished, the board may approve change orders making the changes. | ||
The board may grant authority to an official or employee | ||
responsible for purchasing or for administering a contract to | ||
approve a change order that involves an increase or decrease of | ||
$50,000 or less. The aggregate of the change orders that [ |
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increase the original contract price by more than 25 percent[ |
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unanticipated conditions encountered during construction, repair, | ||
or renovation or changes in regulatory criteria or to facilitate | ||
project coordination with other political entities. A change order | ||
is not subject to the requirements of Subsection (d) or (e). | ||
SECTION 3. Sections 54.016(a), (b), and (f), Water Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) No land within the corporate limits of a city or within | ||
the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a city, shall be included in a | ||
district unless the city grants its written consent, by resolution | ||
or ordinance, to the inclusion of the land within the district in | ||
accordance with Section 42.042, Local Government Code, and this | ||
section. The request to a city for its written consent to the | ||
creation of a district, shall be signed by a majority in value of | ||
the holders of title of the land within the proposed district as | ||
indicated by the county tax rolls or, if there are more than 50 | ||
persons holding title to the land in the proposed district as | ||
indicated by the county tax rolls, the request to the city will be | ||
sufficient if it is signed by 50 holders of title to the land in the | ||
district. A petition for the written consent of a city to the | ||
inclusion of land within a district shall describe the boundaries | ||
of the land to be included in the district by metes and bounds or by | ||
lot and block number, if there is a recorded map or plat and survey | ||
of the area, and state the general nature of the work proposed to be | ||
done, the necessity for the work, and the cost of the project as | ||
then estimated by those filing the petition. If, at the time a | ||
petition is filed with a city for creation of a district, the | ||
district proposes to connect to a city's water or sewer system or | ||
proposes to contract with a regional water and wastewater provider | ||
which has been designated as such by the commission as of the date | ||
such petition is filed, to which the city has made a capital | ||
contribution for the water and wastewater facilities serving the | ||
area, the proposed district shall be designated as a "city service | ||
district." If such proposed district does not meet the criteria for | ||
a city service district at the time the petition seeking creation is | ||
filed, such district shall be designated as a "noncity service | ||
district." The city's consent shall not place any restrictions or | ||
conditions on the creation of a noncity service district as defined | ||
by this chapter [ |
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those expressly provided in Subsection (e) of this section and | ||
shall specifically not limit the amounts of the district's bonds. A | ||
city may not require annexation as a consent to creation of any | ||
district. A city shall not refuse to approve a district bond issue | ||
for any reason except that the district is not in compliance with | ||
valid consent requirements applicable to the district. If a city | ||
grants its written consent without the concurrence of the applicant | ||
to the creation of a noncity service district containing conditions | ||
or restrictions that the petitioning land owner or owners | ||
reasonably believe exceed the city's powers, such land owner or | ||
owners may petition the commission to create the district and to | ||
modify the conditions and restrictions of the city's consent. The | ||
commission may declare any provision of the consent to be null and | ||
void. The commission may approve the creation of a district that | ||
includes any portion of the land covered by the city's consent to | ||
creation of the district. The legislature may create and may | ||
validate the creation of a district that includes any portion of the | ||
land covered by the city's consent to the creation of the district. | ||
(b) If the governing body of a city fails or refuses to grant | ||
permission for the inclusion of land within its extraterritorial | ||
jurisdiction in a district, including a district created by a | ||
special act of the legislature, within 90 days after receipt of a | ||
written request, a majority of the electors in the area proposed to | ||
be included in the district or the owner or owners of 50 percent or | ||
more of the land to be included may petition the governing body of | ||
the city and request the city to make available to the land the | ||
water or sanitary sewer service contemplated to be provided by the | ||
district. | ||
(f) A city may provide in its written consent for the | ||
inclusion of land in a district that is initially located wholly or | ||
partly outside the corporate limits of the city that a contract | ||
("allocation agreement") between the district and the city be | ||
entered into prior to the first issue of bonds, notes, warrants, or | ||
other obligations of the district. The allocation agreement shall | ||
contain the following provisions: | ||
(1) a method by which the district shall continue to | ||
exist following the annexation of all territory within the district | ||
by the city, if the district is [ |
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corporate limits of the city at the time the creation of the | ||
district is approved by the district's voters; | ||
(2) an allocation of the taxes or revenues of the | ||
district or the city which will assure that, following the date of | ||
the inclusion of all the district's territory within the corporate | ||
limits of the city, the total annual ad valorem taxes collected by | ||
the city and the district from taxable property within the district | ||
does not exceed an amount greater than the city's ad valorem tax | ||
upon such property; | ||
(3) an allocation of governmental services to be | ||
provided by the city or the district following the date of the | ||
inclusion of all of the district's territory within the corporate | ||
limits of the city; and | ||
(4) such other terms and conditions as may be deemed | ||
appropriate by the city. | ||
SECTION 4. The change in law made to Section 54.016(f), | ||
Water Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an agreement | ||
entered into on or after the effective date of this Act. An | ||
agreement entered into before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the date the agreement was entered | ||
into, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |