73R4646 GCH-F
By Cook H.B. No. 899
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation, re-creation, administration, powers and
1-3 duties, validation, and dissolution of rural rail transportation
1-4 districts.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th Legislature,
1-7 Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-8 Statutes), is amended by amending Sections 1-6 and adding Section
1-9 6A to read as follows:
1-10 Sec. 1. Findings. The legislature finds that:
1-11 (1) the state contains many rural areas that are
1-12 heavily dependent on agriculture for economic survival;
1-13 (2) transportation of agricultural and industrial
1-14 products is essential to the continued economic vitality of rural
1-15 areas;
1-16 (3) the rail transportation systems in some rural
1-17 areas are threatened by railroad bankruptcies and abandonment
1-18 proceedings that would cause the cessation of rail services to the
1-19 areas; <and>
1-20 (4) it is in the interest of all citizens of the state
1-21 that existing rail systems be maintained for the most efficient and
1-22 economical movement of essential agricultural products from the
1-23 areas of production to the local, national, and export markets;
1-24 (5) rural rail transportation districts are
2-1 appropriate political subdivisions to provide for the continued
2-2 operation of railroads, which are declared by Article X, Section 2,
2-3 of the Texas Constitution to be public highways;
2-4 (6) the creation, re-creation, financing, maintenance,
2-5 and operation of rural rail transportation districts and facilities
2-6 acquired by the districts under this Act will help develop,
2-7 maintain, and diversify the economy of the state, eliminate
2-8 unemployment or underemployment, foster the growth of enterprises
2-9 based on agriculture, and serve to develop and expand
2-10 transportation and commerce within the state under the authority
2-11 granted by Article III, Section 52-a, of the Texas Constitution;
2-12 and
2-13 (7) financing by rural rail transportation districts
2-14 for the purposes provided by this Act is a lawful and valid public
2-15 purpose.
2-16 Sec. 2. Definitions. In this Act:
2-17 (1) "Board" means the board of directors of a rural
2-18 rail transportation district <system>.
2-19 (2) "Bonds" means bonds; notes, including bond
2-20 anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, and grant
2-21 anticipation notes; warrants; certificates of obligation;
2-22 interest-bearing contracts; interest-bearing leases of property;
2-23 equipment trust certificates; commercial paper; and any obligation
2-24 issued to refund any type of bond.
2-25 (3) "Concurrent orders" means the orders adopted by
2-26 eligible counties that contain identical provisions regarding the
2-27 creation or re-creation of a district.
3-1 (4) "District" means a rural rail transportation
3-2 district created under this Act.
3-3 <(3) "System" means all real and personal property
3-4 held or used for rail transportation purposes, including land,
3-5 easements, rights-of-way, other interests in land, franchises,
3-6 stations, platforms, terminals, garages, shops, control houses,
3-7 other buildings and structures, rolling stock, tracks, signals,
3-8 other equipment, supplies, and other facilities necessary or
3-9 convenient for the use of or access to rail transportation.>
3-10 (5) "Earthworks and structures" includes the clearing
3-11 and grubbing of right-of-way; demolition of structures; relocation
3-12 of utilities, pipelines, and any other obstacles in right-of-way;
3-13 stripping and stockpiling; removal of subsoils for embankment or
3-14 spoil; borrow pits; dressing and seeding of slopes; construction of
3-15 culverts; road crossings; bridges; restoration of roadway; drainage
3-16 within a right-of-way or along road networks; and restoration of a
3-17 hydrologic system.
3-18 (6) "Eligible counties" means two or more counties
3-19 that meet the requirements of Sections 3(a) and (b) of this Act.
3-20 (7) "Operating contract" means a professional services
3-21 contract executed by a district and another person under which the
3-22 person agrees to provide:
3-23 (A) all or part of the rolling stock required
3-24 for operation as a common carrier over all or a part of the rail
3-25 facilities of the district; and
3-26 (B) all or part of the personnel required for
3-27 the operation of the rolling stock owned or leased by the district
4-1 or for the operation of the rail facilities of the district.
4-2 (8) "Maintenance and operating expenses" means all
4-3 expenses of operating and maintaining a district and its rail
4-4 facilities, including all compensation, labor, materials, repairs,
4-5 and extensions necessary, required, or convenient in the discretion
4-6 of the board to render efficient service or to maintain and operate
4-7 the district, and taxes or other amounts paid, payable, or to be
4-8 paid to the United States pursuant to Section 148(f) of the
4-9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any similar law.
4-10 (9) "Maintenance facility" includes a workshop, a
4-11 service, storage, security, or personnel facility, temporary or
4-12 transient lodging for district employees, and equipment for any
4-13 type of facility.
4-14 (10) "Person" has the meaning assigned by Section
4-15 311.005, Government Code.
4-16 (11) "Rail facilities" means any real, personal, or
4-17 mixed property, or any interest in that property that is determined
4-18 by the board to be necessary or convenient for the provision of a
4-19 rural rail transportation system and all property or interests
4-20 necessary or convenient for the acquiring, providing, constructing,
4-21 enlarging, remodeling, renovating, improving, furnishing, using, or
4-22 equipping of the system, including right-of-way, earthworks and
4-23 structures, trackwork, train controls, stations, rolling stock, and
4-24 maintenance facilities.
4-25 (12) "Revenues" means all income, receipts, and
4-26 collections received by, to be received by, or pledged to the
4-27 district from or by any source, except a restricted gift or a grant
5-1 in aid of construction.
5-2 (13) "Right-of-way" means a right of passage over
5-3 property; a strip of land in length and width determined required,
5-4 necessary, or convenient by the board over, on, or under which
5-5 trackwork is or is to be constructed or acquired; or a right of
5-6 precedential passing.
5-7 (14) "Rolling stock" means locomotives, engines, rail
5-8 cars, repair construction cars, or other cars designed to operate
5-9 on trackwork.
5-10 (15) "Station" means a passenger or freight service
5-11 building, terminal, or station, ticketing facility, waiting area,
5-12 platform, concession, elevator, escalator, facility for handicapped
5-13 access, access road, parking facility for passengers, baggage
5-14 handling facility, local maintenance facility, and offices for
5-15 district purposes, together with any interest in real property
5-16 necessary or convenient for any of the listed items.
5-17 (16) "Trackwork" means track, track beds, track bed
5-18 preparation, ties, rail fasteners, slabs, rails, emergency
5-19 crossovers, setout tracks, storage track, and switches.
5-20 (17) "Train controls" includes signalling,
5-21 interlocking equipment, speed monitoring equipment, emergency
5-22 braking systems, central traffic control facilities, and
5-23 communication systems.
5-24 Sec. 3. Creation, Re-creation, or Dissolution of District.
5-25 (a) The commissioners courts of two or more eligible counties
5-26 that, taken together, constitute a contiguous geographic area may
5-27 by order create or re-create a rural rail transportation district
6-1 consisting of the territory of the counties whose commissioners
6-2 courts adopt the order.
6-3 (b) <After approval by the board of directors of a district,
6-4 the commissioners court of an eligible county by order may include
6-5 the territory of that county in the district.>
6-6 <(c)> A county eligible to create or re-create <form or
6-7 join> a district is one in which is located a rail line that is in
6-8 the process of being or has been abandoned through a bankruptcy
6-9 court or Interstate Commerce Commission proceeding, or any line
6-10 carrying 3 million gross tons per mile per year or less.
6-11 (c) The commissioners courts of two or more eligible
6-12 counties that create a district or provide for the re-creation of a
6-13 district by the addition of one or more counties shall by
6-14 concurrent order at the time of creation or re-creation:
6-15 (1) declare the boundaries of the district as the
6-16 boundaries of the counties included;
6-17 (2) designate the name of the district; and
6-18 (3) designate the number of board members, which may
6-19 not be less than four, and the manner of their appointment.
6-20 (d) The commissioners courts of all counties included within
6-21 a district by order may provide for the dissolution of the district
6-22 if:
6-23 (1) the commissioners courts determine that the
6-24 dissolution will not impair an obligation of any contract of the
6-25 district; and
6-26 (2) the dissolution order will become effective only
6-27 on the creation or re-creation of another district in which each
7-1 county included within the dissolving district is included.
7-2 (e) A district created or re-created under this section
7-3 automatically assumes any obligation of a contract executed by the
7-4 district or a predecessor district and in force on the date of the
7-5 creation or re-creation unless the contract expressly expires on
7-6 the date of dissolution or re-creation of the district that
7-7 executed the contract.
7-8 Sec. 4. Board of Directors; Employees. (a) <Each
7-9 commissioners court that participates in the creation of or joins a
7-10 district shall appoint one person to be a member of the board of
7-11 directors of the district. Provided however, that if the district
7-12 shall be composed of three counties or less, then each
7-13 commissioners court shall appoint two directors to the board of
7-14 directors.> The board of directors is responsible for the
7-15 management, operation, and control of the district.
7-16 (b) To be eligible for appointment to the board, a person
7-17 must be a resident of the district. A board member serves for a
7-18 term of two years ending on the second anniversary of the latest
7-19 date a concurrent order was adopted creating or re-creating the
7-20 district. A vacancy on the board shall be filled for the remainder
7-21 of the term by the commissioners court that appointed the member
7-22 who vacated the position. A board member may be removed from
7-23 office for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office by the
7-24 commissioners court that appointed the member, after at least 10
7-25 days' written notice to the member and a hearing before the
7-26 commissioners court. At a hearing on the question of removal of a
7-27 board member, the board member is entitled to be heard in person or
8-1 through counsel.
8-2 (c) Members of the board shall select a president,
8-3 vice-president, treasurer, and secretary. The secretary is not
8-4 required to be a board member <their presiding officers>. The
8-5 board shall hold at least one regular meeting each month for the
8-6 purpose of transacting business of the district. The president
8-7 <presiding officer> may call special meetings of the board. A
8-8 majority of the members is a quorum.
8-9 (d) The board shall adopt rules for its proceedings and may
8-10 employ and compensate persons to carry out the powers and duties of
8-11 the district. The right to control and regulate the affairs of the
8-12 district is vested exclusively in the board except as specifically
8-13 otherwise provided by this Act.
8-14 (e) A board member or employee of a district may not be
8-15 pecuniarily interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract or
8-16 agreement to which the district is a party.
8-17 (f) Notice of a meeting of the board shall be posted at the
8-18 administrative office of the district and at the courthouse in the
8-19 county in which that office is located. In all other respects
8-20 Chapter 271, Acts of the 60th Legislature, Regular Session, 1967
8-21 (Article 6252-17, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), applies to
8-22 meetings of the board.
8-23 Sec. 5. POWERS AND DUTIES OF DISTRICT. (a) A rural rail
8-24 transportation district is a public body and a political
8-25 subdivision of the state exercising public and essential
8-26 governmental functions and having all the powers necessary or
8-27 convenient to carry out the purposes of this Act, including the
9-1 powers granted in this section. A district, in the exercise of
9-2 powers under this Act, is performing only governmental functions
9-3 and is a "governmental unit" within the meaning of Chapter 101,
9-4 Civil Practice and Remedies Code. A district is a "local
9-5 government" under Chapter 1084, Acts of the 70th Legislature,
9-6 Regular Session, 1987 (Article 715c, Vernon's Texas Civil
9-7 Statutes); an "issuer" under Chapter 503, Acts of the 54th
9-8 Legislature, Regular Session, 1955 (Article 717k, Vernon's Texas
9-9 Civil Statutes), Chapter 784, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular
9-10 Session, 1969 (Article 717k-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), the
9-11 Bond Procedures Act of 1981 (Article 717k-6, Vernon's Texas Civil
9-12 Statutes), Chapter 53, Acts of the 70th Legislature, 2nd Called
9-13 Session, 1987 (Article 717k-8, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and
9-14 Chapter 656, Acts of the 68th Legislature, Regular Session, 1983
9-15 (Article 717q, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); and a "public
9-16 agency" under Chapter 3, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular
9-17 Session, 1969 (Article 717k-2, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and
9-18 Chapter 400, Acts of the 66th Legislature, Regular Session, 1979
9-19 (Article 717m-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes). The acquisition,
9-20 improvement, or repair of rail facilities by a district is an
9-21 "eligible project" under Chapter 656, Acts of the 68th Legislature,
9-22 Regular Session, 1983 (Article 717q, Vernon's Texas Civil
9-23 Statutes).
9-24 (b) A district has perpetual succession.
9-25 (c) A district may sue and be sued in all courts of
9-26 competent jurisdiction, may institute and prosecute suits without
9-27 giving security for costs, and may appeal from a judgment without
10-1 giving supersedeas or cost bond. An action at law or in equity
10-2 against the district shall be brought in the county in which the
10-3 principal office of the district is located, except that in eminent
10-4 domain proceedings, suit shall be brought in the county in which
10-5 the land is located.
10-6 (d) A district may acquire by grant, purchase, gift, devise,
10-7 lease, or otherwise and may hold, use, sell, lease, or dispose of
10-8 real and personal property, licenses, patents, rights, and
10-9 interests necessary, convenient, or useful for the full exercise of
10-10 any of its powers under this Act.
10-11 (e) A district may plan, acquire, construct, complete,
10-12 develop, own, operate, and maintain rail facilities inside or
10-13 outside the district, and for those purposes may use streets,
10-14 alleys, roads, highways, and other public ways of any municipality,
10-15 county, or other political subdivision and may relocate, raise,
10-16 reroute, change the grade of, or alter, at the expense of the
10-17 district, the construction of any street, alley, highway, road,
10-18 railroad, electric lines and facilities, telegraph and telephone
10-19 properties and facilities, pipelines and facilities, conduits and
10-20 facilities, and other properties, whether publicly or privately
10-21 owned, as necessary or useful in the construction, reconstruction,
10-22 repair, maintenance, and operation of rail facilities. A district
10-23 may acquire by purchase, whenever it considers the purchase
10-24 expedient, any land, property rights, right-of-way, franchises,
10-25 easements, and other interests in land as it considers necessary
10-26 for the acquisition, construction, or operation of any rail
10-27 facility on such terms and at such price as agreed to between the
11-1 district and the owner and may take title in the name of the
11-2 district. The governing body of every municipality, county, other
11-3 political subdivision, or public agency is authorized without any
11-4 form of advertisement to make conveyance of title or rights and
11-5 easements to any property needed by the district to effect its
11-6 purposes in connection with the acquisition, construction, or
11-7 operation of rail facilities <acquire, construct, own, operate,
11-8 and maintain a system within its boundaries, both inside and
11-9 outside the limits of incorporated cities, towns, and villages, and
11-10 has the right to use the streets, alleys, roads, highways, and
11-11 other public ways and to relocate, raise, lower, reroute, regulate,
11-12 change the grade of, and alter the construction of any street,
11-13 alley, highway, or road; any railroad track, bridge, or other
11-14 facility or property; any gas transmission or distribution pipes,
11-15 pipelines, mains, or other facility or property; any water,
11-16 sanitary sewer, or storm sewer pipes, pipelines, or other facility
11-17 or property; any electric lines, telegraph or telephone facility or
11-18 property; any cable television lines, cables, conduits, or other
11-19 facility or property; and pipelines and facilities, conduits and
11-20 facilities, or other property whether publicly or privately owned,
11-21 in the construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance, or
11-22 operation of the system. A district shall pay the cost of any
11-23 change made under this subsection and is liable for any damage to
11-24 property occurring because of the change>.
11-25 (f) A district has the right of eminent domain to acquire
11-26 lands in fee simple and any interest less than fee simple in, on,
11-27 under, or above lands<, including, without limitation, easements,
12-1 rights-of-way, rights of use of airspace or subsurface space. The
12-2 right may not be exercised in a manner that would unduly interfere
12-3 with interstate commerce or unduly impair the neighborhood
12-4 character of property surrounding or adjacent to the property
12-5 sought to be condemned>. Eminent domain proceedings brought by a
12-6 district are governed by Title 52, Revised <Civil> Statutes <of
12-7 Texas, 1925>, except as it is inconsistent with this Act.
12-8 Proceedings for the exercise of the power of eminent domain are
12-9 commenced by the adoption by the board of a resolution declaring
12-10 the public necessity for the acquisition by the district of the
12-11 property or interest described in the resolution, and that the
12-12 acquisition is necessary and proper for the construction,
12-13 extension, improvement, or development of the system and is in the
12-14 public interest. The resolution of the district is conclusive
12-15 evidence of the public necessity of the proposed acquisition and
12-16 that the real or personal property or interest in property is
12-17 necessary for public use.
12-18 (g) A district may enter into agreements with any other
12-19 public utility, private utility, communication system, common
12-20 carrier, or transportation system for the joint use of its
12-21 facilities, installations, or properties within or outside the
12-22 district and establish through routes, joint fares, and, subject to
12-23 approval of any tariff-regulating body having jurisdiction,
12-24 divisions of tariffs.
12-25 (h) A district may adopt rules to govern the operation of
12-26 the district, its employees, the rail facilities, service provided
12-27 by the district, and any other necessary matter concerning its
13-1 purposes, including rules regarding health, safety, alcohol or
13-2 beverage service, food service, and telephone and utility services,
13-3 to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the state.
13-4 (i) A district may enter into joint ownership agreements
13-5 with any person.
13-6 (j) A district shall establish and maintain rents or other
13-7 compensation for the use of the facilities of the system acquired,
13-8 constructed, operated, regulated, or maintained by the district
13-9 that are reasonable and nondiscriminatory and, together with grants
13-10 received by the district, are sufficient to produce revenues
13-11 adequate:
13-12 (1) to pay all expenses necessary to the operation and
13-13 maintenance of the properties and facilities of the district;
13-14 (2) to pay the interest on and principal of all bonds
13-15 issued by the district under this Act payable in whole or in part
13-16 from the revenues, as they become due and payable; and
13-17 (3) to fulfill the terms of any agreements made with
13-18 the holders of bonds or with any person in their behalf.
13-19 (k) <(i)> A district may make contracts, leases, and
13-20 agreements with, and accept grants and loans from the United States
13-21 of America, its departments and agencies, the state, its agencies,
13-22 and political subdivisions, and public or private corporations and
13-23 persons, and may generally perform all acts necessary for the full
13-24 exercise of the powers vested in it. A district may acquire
13-25 rolling stock or other property under conditional sales contracts,
13-26 leases, equipment trust certificates, or any other form of contract
13-27 or trust agreement. Any revenue bond indenture may provide
14-1 limitations on the exercise of the powers granted by this section,
14-2 and the limitations apply so long as any of the revenue bonds
14-3 issued pursuant to the indenture are outstanding and unpaid.
14-4 (l) <(j)> A district may sell, lease, convey, or otherwise
14-5 dispose of any of its rights, interests, or properties not needed
14-6 for or, in the case of leases, not inconsistent with the efficient
14-7 operation and maintenance of the system. It may, on adoption of an
14-8 order by the board, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of, at any
14-9 time, any surplus materials or personal or real property not needed
14-10 for its requirements or for the purpose of carrying out its power
14-11 under this Act.
14-12 (m) <(k)> A district by resolution may adopt rules and
14-13 regulations governing the use, operation, and maintenance of the
14-14 system and shall determine all routings and change them whenever
14-15 the board considers it advisable.
14-16 (n) <(l)> A district may lease the system or any part to, or
14-17 contract for the use or operation of the system or any part by, any
14-18 operator. A district shall encourage to the maximum extent
14-19 practicable the participation of private enterprise in the
14-20 operation of the system. The term of a lease or operating contract
14-21 under this subsection may not exceed 20 years.
14-22 (o) <(m)> A district may contract with any county or other
14-23 political subdivision of the state for the district to provide rail
14-24 transportation services to any area outside the boundaries of the
14-25 district on such terms and conditions as may be agreed to by the
14-26 parties.
14-27 (p) Before beginning the operation of rail facilities the
15-1 board of a district shall adopt an annual operating budget
15-2 specifying the anticipated revenues and expenses of the district
15-3 for the remainder of the fiscal year, and the district shall adopt
15-4 an operating budget for each succeeding fiscal year. The fiscal
15-5 year of the district ends September 30 unless changed by the board
15-6 not more than once in any three-year period. The board shall hold
15-7 a public hearing before adopting each budget except the initial
15-8 budget. Notice of each hearing must be published at least seven
15-9 days before the date of the hearing in a newspaper of general
15-10 circulation in the district. A budget may be amended at any time
15-11 if notice of the proposed amendment is given in the notice of
15-12 meeting. An expenditure that is not budgeted may not be made.
15-13 (q) The board of a district shall by resolution name one or
15-14 more banks for the deposit of district funds. District funds are
15-15 public funds and may be invested in securities permitted by the
15-16 Public Funds Investment Act of 1987 (Article 842a-2, Vernon's Texas
15-17 Civil Statutes). To the extent funds of the district are not
15-18 insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or its
15-19 successor, they shall be collateralized in the manner provided for
15-20 county funds.
15-21 Sec. 6. Bonds and Notes. (a) A district may issue revenue
15-22 bonds and notes from time to time and in such amounts as its board
15-23 considers necessary or appropriate for the acquisition, purchase,
15-24 construction, reconstruction, repair, equipping, improvement, or
15-25 extension of its rail facilities <system>. All bonds and notes are
15-26 fully negotiable and may be made redeemable before maturity, at the
15-27 option of the issuing district, at such price or prices and under
16-1 such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the issuing district
16-2 in the resolution authorizing the bonds or notes, and may be sold
16-3 at public or private sale, as determined by the board.
16-4 (b) Before delivery, all bonds and notes authorized to be
16-5 issued, except notes issued to an agency of the federal or state
16-6 government, and the records relating to their issuance shall be
16-7 submitted to the attorney general for examination. If the attorney
16-8 general finds that they have been issued in accordance with the
16-9 constitution and this Act, and that they will be binding
16-10 obligations of the district issuing them, the attorney general
16-11 shall approve them, and they shall be registered by the state
16-12 comptroller of public accounts. After approval, registration, and
16-13 sale and delivery of the bonds to the purchaser, they are
16-14 incontestable.
16-15 (c) In order to secure the payment of the bonds or notes,
16-16 the district may encumber and pledge all or any part of the
16-17 revenues of its rail facilities <system>, may mortgage and encumber
16-18 all or any part of the properties of the rail facilities <system>,
16-19 and everything pertaining to them acquired or to be acquired, and
16-20 may prescribe the terms and provisions of the bonds and notes in
16-21 any manner not inconsistent with this Act. If not prohibited by
16-22 the resolution or indenture relating to outstanding bonds or notes,
16-23 any district may encumber separately any item or items of real
16-24 estate or personalty.
16-25 (d) All bonds and notes are legal and authorized investments
16-26 for banks, trust companies, savings and loan associations, and
16-27 insurance companies. The bonds and notes are eligible to secure
17-1 the deposit of public funds of the state, cities, towns, villages,
17-2 counties, school districts, or other political corporations or
17-3 subdivisions of the state. The bonds and notes are lawful and
17-4 sufficient security for the deposits to the extent of the bonds'
17-5 principal amount or market value, whichever is less<, when
17-6 accompanied by all unmatured coupons appurtenant to them>.
17-7 (e) Bonds payable solely from revenues may be issued by
17-8 resolution of the board.
17-9 Sec. 6A. ALTERNATIVE FINANCING. (a) A district may use the
17-10 procedures provided by Chapter 271, Local Government Code, to
17-11 finance rail facilities of the district, except to the extent of
17-12 conflict with this Act and except that the district may not levy or
17-13 collect ad valorem taxes.
17-14 (b) A district may issue nonnegotiable purchase money notes,
17-15 payable in installments and secured by the property being acquired
17-16 or constructed, to acquire or construct rail facilities. A
17-17 district may also secure the obligation of the notes by a pledge or
17-18 undertaking to issue bonds or bond anticipation notes. A district
17-19 may covenant with the purchaser of bond anticipation notes that the
17-20 proceeds of one or more particular series of bonds will be used for
17-21 the ultimate payment of the purchase money notes or bond
17-22 anticipation notes.
17-23 SECTION 2. All orders by the commissioners courts of
17-24 eligible counties, as defined by Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th
17-25 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas
17-26 Civil Statutes), as amended by this Act, that were adopted before
17-27 the effective date of this Act and have not been repealed, that
18-1 purported to create a rural rail transportation district under that
18-2 Act, that named the counties to be included in the district, and
18-3 that are not the subject of litigation as to their validity on the
18-4 effective date of this Act are validated, ratified, and confirmed
18-5 as if they were adopted in compliance with all applicable law.
18-6 SECTION 3. The board of each rural rail transportation
18-7 district that was created or re-created before the effective date
18-8 of this Act or is validated by this Act shall, not later than the
18-9 90th day after the effective date of this Act, file with the
18-10 Railroad Commission of Texas a certified copy of the orders
18-11 creating or re-creating the district.
18-12 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
18-13 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
18-14 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
18-15 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
18-16 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
18-17 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
18-18 passage, and it is so enacted.
18-19 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
18-20 Amend H.B. No. 899 as follows:
18-21 On Page 10, line 13, and insert between "purposes" and "may"
18-22 "subject to a grant previously secured or with the consent of any
18-23 municipality, county or other political subdivision".
18-24 Black
18-25 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2
18-26 Amend H.B. No. 899 as follows:
18-27 On Page 14, lines, 16 and 17, strike "system" and substitute
19-1 "rail facilities".
19-2 Black
19-3 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 3
19-4 Amend H.B. No. 899 as follows:
19-5 On page 14, line 20, strike "a lease or" and substitute "an".
19-6 Black