BILL ANALYSIS
S.B. 1261
By: Barrientos (Combs/Greenberg)
May 11, 1995
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND
The Maple Run Municipal Utility District (district) was created in
1983 by consent agreement with the City of Austin. Its developers
issued bonds for an amount of infrastructure far in excess of the
development which took place before the recession slowed down
development. The development partnership broke up, and litigation
ensued between residents and the developer, who left much of the
district undeveloped without subdivision plats being filed. A
recent development partnership trying to revive building in the
district went bankrupt. The district services may cease to be
provided if the district is not annexed.
PURPOSE
As proposed, the bill sets forth provisions relating to the
annexation and the provision of services to certain districts by
cities and the assessment of surcharges on the dissolution of those
districts.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1 Amends Chapter 43, Local Government Code, by adding
Section 43.082, as follows:
Sec. 43.082. (a) Provides that this section applies
to any district created in or after 1983 within the
extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of a municipality
with written consent by ordinance or resolution as
required by Section 42.042, Local Government Code, and
the district has issued not less than $17 million nor
more than $21 million in bonds repayable in a manner
authorized under Section 54.503(2), Water Code, before
June 1, 1993; and constructed all of the facilities for
which the bonds were issued prior to December 31, 1991.
(b) Authorizes the board of directors of a district
governed by this section to dissolve the district
pursuant to this section by adopting a resolution at a
regular meeting of a district. Requires the
municipality within whose ETJ the district is located
to provide full municipal services as defined by Section
43.056(c), Local Government Code, upon the dissolution
of a district under this section.
(c) Requires the district to be considered to be
annexed to the municipality within whose ETJ the
district is located after the adoption of a resolution
by the municipality without providing notice or holding
hearings otherwise required for annexation under this
code, upon the dissolution of a district subject to this
section.
(d) Requires the municipality within whose ETJ the
district is located to take ownership of the district's
assets and assume the district's bonding liabilities,
obligations and other debts, upon the dissolution of a
district subject to this section.
(e) Authorizes the municipality in which the ETJ the
district is located to assess certain fees after the
municipality takes ownership under Subsection (d).
(f) Requires the municipality to have no responsibility
to reimburse the developer of the district or a
successor for more than $800,000 for engineering and
construction costs to design and build certain water and
wastewater facilities, whether temporary or permanent,
installed after the effective date of this Act.
Authorizes any obligation to reimburse the developer to
be paid in installments over a three-year period.
(g) Requires this section to expire December 31, 1996.
SECTION 2 Severability clause.
SECTION 3 Emergency clause.
Effective upon passage.
SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION
S.B. 1261 was considered by the committee in a formal meeting on
May 10, 1995.
The bill was reported favorably without amendment, with the
recommendation that it do pass and be printed and be sent to the
Committee on Local and Consent Calendars, by a record vote of 7
ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, 2 absent.