Bill Text: TX HB3436 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the creation of the Waller County Municipal Utility District No. 40; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-15 - Effective immediately [HB3436 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB3436-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 3436

AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Waller County Municipal Utility
District No. 40; granting a limited power of eminent domain;
providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose
assessments, fees, and taxes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle F, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by adding Chapter 7901 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7901. WALLER COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 40
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 7901.0101. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the district's board of directors.
(2) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(3) "Director" means a board member.
(4) "District" means the Waller County Municipal
Utility District No. 40.
Sec. 7901.0102. NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a
municipal utility district created under Section 59, Article XVI,
Texas Constitution.
Sec. 7901.0103. CONFIRMATION AND DIRECTOR ELECTION
REQUIRED. The temporary directors shall hold an election to
confirm the creation of the district and to elect five permanent
directors as provided by Section 49.102, Water Code.
Sec. 7901.0104. CONSENT OF MUNICIPALITY REQUIRED. The
temporary directors may not hold an election under Section
7901.0103 until each municipality in whose corporate limits or
extraterritorial jurisdiction the district is located has
consented by ordinance or resolution to the creation of the
district and to the inclusion of land in the district.
Sec. 7901.0105. FINDINGS OF PUBLIC PURPOSE AND BENEFIT.
(a) The district is created to serve a public purpose and benefit.
(b) The district is created to accomplish the purposes of:
(1) a municipal utility district as provided by
general law and Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution; and
(2) Section 52, Article III, Texas Constitution, that
relate to the construction, acquisition, improvement, operation,
or maintenance of macadamized, graveled, or paved roads, or
improvements, including storm drainage, in aid of those roads.
Sec. 7901.0106. INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. (a) The
district is initially composed of the territory described by
Section 2 of the Act enacting this chapter.
(b) The boundaries and field notes contained in Section 2 of
the Act enacting this chapter form a closure. A mistake made in the
field notes or in copying the field notes in the legislative process
does not affect the district's:
(1) organization, existence, or validity;
(2) right to issue any type of bond for the purposes
for which the district is created or to pay the principal of and
interest on a bond;
(3) right to impose a tax; or
(4) legality or operation.
SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sec. 7901.0201. GOVERNING BODY; TERMS. (a) The district is
governed by a board of five elected directors.
(b) Except as provided by Section 7901.0202, directors
serve staggered four-year terms.
Sec. 7901.0202. TEMPORARY DIRECTORS. (a) The temporary
board consists of:
(1) Amy Hancock;
(2) Linda Schmidt;
(3) Grant Beehler;
(4) Rhonda Emerson; and
(5) Robin Ross.
(b) Temporary directors serve until the earlier of:
(1) the date permanent directors are elected under
Section 7901.0103; or
(2) the fourth anniversary of the effective date of
the Act enacting this chapter.
(c) If permanent directors have not been elected under
Section 7901.0103 and the terms of the temporary directors have
expired, successor temporary directors shall be appointed or
reappointed as provided by Subsection (d) to serve terms that
expire on the earlier of:
(1) the date permanent directors are elected under
Section 7901.0103; or
(2) the fourth anniversary of the date of the
appointment or reappointment.
(d) If Subsection (c) applies, the owner or owners of a
majority of the assessed value of the real property in the district
may submit a petition to the commission requesting that the
commission appoint as successor temporary directors the five
persons named in the petition. The commission shall appoint as
successor temporary directors the five persons named in the
petition.
SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 7901.0301. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. The district
has the powers and duties necessary to accomplish the purposes for
which the district is created.
Sec. 7901.0302. MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT POWERS AND
DUTIES. The district has the powers and duties provided by the
general law of this state, including Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code,
applicable to municipal utility districts created under Section 59,
Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
Sec. 7901.0303. AUTHORITY FOR ROAD PROJECTS. Under Section
52, Article III, Texas Constitution, the district may design,
acquire, construct, finance, issue bonds for, improve, operate,
maintain, and convey to this state, a county, or a municipality for
operation and maintenance macadamized, graveled, or paved roads, or
improvements, including storm drainage, in aid of those roads.
Sec. 7901.0304. ROAD STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
road project must meet all applicable construction standards,
zoning and subdivision requirements, and regulations of each
municipality in whose corporate limits or extraterritorial
jurisdiction the road project is located.
(b) If a road project is not located in the corporate limits
or extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality, the road
project must meet all applicable construction standards,
subdivision requirements, and regulations of each county in which
the road project is located.
(c) If the state will maintain and operate the road, the
Texas Transportation Commission must approve the plans and
specifications of the road project.
Sec. 7901.0305. COMPLIANCE WITH MUNICIPAL CONSENT
ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION. The district shall comply with all
applicable requirements of any ordinance or resolution that is
adopted under Section 54.016 or 54.0165, Water Code, and that
consents to the creation of the district or to the inclusion of land
in the district.
Sec. 7901.0306. DIVISION OF DISTRICT. (a) The district may
be divided into two or more new districts only if the district:
(1) has no outstanding bonded debt; and
(2) is not imposing ad valorem taxes.
(b) This chapter applies to any new district created by the
division of the district, and a new district has all the powers and
duties of the district.
(c) 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 described by Section 2 of the Act enacting this
chapter.
(d) 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.
(e) The board may adopt an order dividing the district
before or after the date the board holds an election under Section
7901.0103 to confirm the district's creation.
(f) An order dividing the district shall:
(1) name each new district;
(2) include the metes and bounds description of the
territory of each new district;
(3) appoint temporary directors for each new district;
and
(4) provide for the division of assets and liabilities
between the new districts.
(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) Any new district created by the division of the district
shall hold a confirmation and directors' election as required by
Section 7901.0103. If the voters of a new district do not confirm
the creation of the new district, the assets, obligations,
territory, and governance of the new district revert to the
original district.
(i) If the creation of the new district is confirmed, the
new district shall provide the election date and results to the
commission.
(j) 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.
(k) Municipal consent to the creation of the district and to
the inclusion of land in the district granted under Section
7901.0104 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.
SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 7901.0401. ELECTIONS REGARDING TAXES OR BONDS. (a)
The district may issue, without an election, bonds and other
obligations secured by:
(1) revenue other than ad valorem taxes; or
(2) contract payments described by Section 7901.0403.
(b) The district must hold an election in the manner
provided by Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code, to obtain voter approval
before the district may impose an ad valorem tax or issue bonds
payable from ad valorem taxes.
(c) The district may not issue bonds payable from ad valorem
taxes to finance a road project unless the issuance is approved by a
vote of a two-thirds majority of the district voters voting at an
election held for that purpose.
Sec. 7901.0402. OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE TAX. (a) If
authorized at an election held under Section 7901.0401, the
district may impose an operation and maintenance tax on taxable
property in the district in accordance with Section 49.107, Water
Code.
(b) The board shall determine the tax rate. The rate may not
exceed the rate approved at the election.
Sec. 7901.0403. CONTRACT TAXES. (a) In accordance with
Section 49.108, Water Code, the district may impose a tax other than
an operation and maintenance tax and use the revenue derived from
the tax to make payments under a contract after the provisions of
the contract have been approved by a majority of the district voters
voting at an election held for that purpose.
(b) A contract approved by the district voters may contain a
provision stating that the contract may be modified or amended by
the board without further voter approval.
SUBCHAPTER E. BONDS AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS
Sec. 7901.0501. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE BONDS AND OTHER
OBLIGATIONS. The district may issue bonds or other obligations
payable wholly or partly from ad valorem taxes, impact fees,
revenue, contract payments, grants, or other district money, or any
combination of those sources, to pay for any authorized district
purpose.
Sec. 7901.0502. TAXES FOR BONDS. At the time the district
issues bonds payable wholly or partly from ad valorem taxes, the
board shall provide for the annual imposition of a continuing
direct ad valorem tax, without limit as to rate or amount, while all
or part of the bonds are outstanding as required and in the manner
provided by Sections 54.601 and 54.602, Water Code.
Sec. 7901.0503. BONDS FOR ROAD PROJECTS. At the time of
issuance, the total principal amount of bonds or other obligations
issued or incurred to finance road projects and payable from ad
valorem taxes may not exceed one-fourth of the assessed value of the
real property in the district.
SECTION 2. Waller County Municipal Utility District No. 40
initially includes all the territory contained in the following
area:
A METES & BOUNDS description of a certain 377.77 acre tract situated
in the Nathan W. Bush Survey, Abstract No. 76 and B.B.B. & C.R.R.
Co. Survey, Abstract No. 93 in Waller County, Texas being the
remainder of a called 590.4 acre tract (remainder tract) conveyed
by Special Warranty Deed to Sorsby Family Farm, LP recorded in
Volume 895, Page 208 of the Deed Records of Waller County and all of
a called 1 acre tract conveyed by Deed to J.B. Sorsby, Jr. recorded
in Volume 202, Page 245 of the Deed Records of Waller County; said
377.77 acre tract being more particularly described as follows with
all bearings based on the Texas Coordinate System of 1983, South
Central Zone (4204);
BEGINNING at a set 5/8-inch iron rod (with cap stamped
"JonesCarter") marking an easterly south corner of the herein
described subject tract, being common with the southwest corner of
a called 6.00 acre portion (Tract 1) of said remainder tract
surveyed on equal date herewith and in the south line of said
remainder tract and the occupied north right-of-way line of Cameron
Road (Unknown Width);
THENCE South 87°22'02" West, along the common line of said remainder
tract and said occupied north right-of-way line of Cameron Road,
7964.88 feet to a set 5/8-inch iron rod (with cap stamped
"JonesCarter") marking a westerly south corner of the herein
described subject tract, being common with the southeast corner of
a called 4.00 acre portion (Tract 2) of said remainder tract
surveyed on equal date herewith and in the south line of said
remainder tract and the occupied north right-of-way line of Cameron
Road;
THENCE North 02°19'35" West, along the east line of said Tract 2,
418.00 feet to a set 5/8-inch iron rod (with cap stamped
"JonesCarter") marking an interior southwest corner of the herein
described subject tract, being common with the northeast corner of
said Tract 2;
THENCE South 87°22'02" West, along the north line of said Tract 2,
416.70 feet to a set 5/8-inch iron rod (with cap stamped
"JonesCarter") marking a southerly west corner of the herein
described subject tract, being common with the northwest corner of
said Tract 2 and in the west line of aforementioned remainder tract
and occupied east right-of-way line of Flukinger Road (Unknown
Width);
THENCE North 02°17'06" West, along the common line of said remainder
tract and said occupied east right-of-way line of Flukinger Road,
637.93 feet to a found 8-inch corner fence post marking a northwest
corner of the herein described subject tract, being common with a
northwest corner of said remainder tract, the southwest corner of a
called 110.00 acre tract conveyed to Prairie View A&M University
(Waller County Central Appraisal District, no deed of record
found);
THENCE along the common line of said remainder tract and said 110.00
acre tract, the following two (2) courses and distances:
(1) North 87°09'53" East, 1849.82 feet to a found 1/2-inch
iron pipe;
(2) North 07°12'03" East, 1192.07 feet to a found 6-inch
cedar fence post marking a northwest corner of the herein described
subject tract, being common with the northwest corner of said
remainder tract, the southwest corner of the remainder of a called
100 acre tract conveyed by Deed of Gift to Alice Sorsby McGuffie in
Volume 1037, Page 285 Official Public Records of Waller County and
Deed of Gift to William Bascom Sorsby recorded in Volume 1037, Page
289 of the Official Public Records of Waller County and in the east
line of said 110.00 acre tract;
THENCE North 86°27'47" East, along the common line of said remainder
tract and said remainder of a 100 acre tract, passing at 5137.90
feet, 0.28 feet to the right a found 3/8-inch iron rod, continuing
in all a total distance of 5970.18 feet to a point-for-corner
marking the northeast corner of the herein described subject tract,
being common with the northeast corner of said remainder tract, the
southeast corner of a called 7.399 acre tract conveyed by Partition
Deed to Alice Sorsby McGuffie recorded in Volume 334, Page 585 of
the Deed Records of Waller County and in the west right-of-way line
of F.M. Highway 362 (called 80-Foot Wide, State Project
No. R-523-2-3, Volume 117, Page 262 Deed Records of Waller County)
and from which a found 3/8-inch iron rod bears North 70°16'07" East,
0.87 feet;
THENCE South 22°03'23" East, along the common line of said remainder
tract and said west right-of-way line of F.M. Highway 362, 1845.75
feet to a set 5/8-inch iron rod (with cap stamped "JonesCarter")
marking a southerly east corner of the herein described subject
tract, being common with the northeast corner of aforementioned
Tract 1 and being in the east line of said remainder tract and said
west right-of-way line of F.M. Highway 362;
THENCE South 87°13'41" West, along the north line of said Tract 1,
416.63 feet to a set 5/8-inch iron rod (with cap stamped
"JonesCarter") marking an interior southeast corner of the herein
described subject tract, being common with the northwest corner of
said Tract 1;
THENCE South 17°24'25" East, 609.66 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING,
CONTAINING 377.77 acres of land in Waller County, Texas as shown on
Dwg No. 15061 V2 filed in the offices of JonesCarter in College
Station, Texas.
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. (a) If this Act does not receive a two-thirds
vote of all the members elected to each house, Subchapter C, Chapter
7901, Special District Local Laws Code, as added by Section 1 of
this Act, is amended by adding Section 7901.0307 to read as follows:
Sec. 7901.0307. NO EMINENT DOMAIN POWER. The district may
not exercise the power of eminent domain.
(b) This section is not intended to be an expression of a
legislative interpretation of the requirements of Section 17(c),
Article I, Texas Constitution.
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, 2021.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3436 was passed by the House on May
14, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 102, Nays 43, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3436 was passed by the Senate on May
27, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor