BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	C.S.S.B. 2370
88R23257 MCF-F	By: Campbell
	Local Government
	5/2/2023
	Committee Report (Substituted)

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

S.B. 2370 aims to amend the Special District Local Laws Code by creating the Comal County Water Improvement District No 3 (WID). The bill provides a way for voters in this district to petition for a division of the emergency services district overlaying the WID, in order to create a new emergency services district (ESD), after a public hearing and through an election. The purpose of this bill is to remove the WID from ESD 7 while keeping ESD 7 whole with regard to their property and sales tax collections, and to keep an agreement between the City of New Braunfels and Southstar Communities, the current property owner, intact. The WID encompasses land that was owned by the Texas General Land Office and sold to Southstar in 2021 for the development of a significant project in Comal County on the I-35 corridor, with parkland, trail connectivity, and housing. The purchase agreement required a development agreement with the City of New Braunfels, which included a strategic partnership agreement (SPA) for the limited annexation by the City and the sharing of sales tax collections for economic development. However, ESD 7 held an election in November 2021, capturing all of the available local sales tax, which undermined the SPA and the development agreement. S.B. 2370 provides the steps to remove the WID from ESD 7 in order to bring the site back to the baseline of where it was when the property was purchased and the agreement with the City was made.

(Original Author's/Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

S.B. 2370 provides the steps to remove the WID from ESD 7 in order to bring the site back to the baseline of where it was when the property was purchased and the agreement with the City was made.

The Bill:

S.B. 2370 proposes to amend Subtitle F, Title 5 Special District Local Laws Code, Chapter 8489, to allow for the division of Comal County Water Improvement District No. 3 into a new emergency services district by petition to the county judge of at least sixty percent of the district's qualified voters. The petition must include the name of the new emergency services district and a description of the territory proposed to be in the new emergency services district's territory. The bill also outlines the process for the commissioners court to approve the petition, order an election to confirm the division, and appoint a board for the new emergency services district.

Committee Substitute:

S.B. 2370 was filed as a non-legislative council draft. The language in S.B. 2370 is already provided in current statute under Section 775.221 of the Health and Safety Code, but the current statute language has been bracketed to certain counties that does not currently include Comal County. The committee substitute merely makes S.B. 2370 a legislative council draft and statutorily extends the capability for an emergency services district in Comal County to divide upon a majority vote in an election.

C.S.S.B. 2370 amends current law relating to the division of certain emergency services districts.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 775.22l(a), Health and Safety Code, as follows:

(a) Provides that Subchapter I (Division of District) applies only to a district located wholly in:

(1)-(2) makes nonsubstantive changes to these subdivisions; or

(3) a county with a population of more than 150,000 and less than 164,000.

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2023.