By: Lucio S.B. No. 1172
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the exclusion of certain nonirrigated property from
1-2 certain water districts.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter O, Chapter 51, Water Code, is amended
1-5 by adding Sections 51.759 through 51.766 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 51.759. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NONIRRIGATED LAND.
1-7 (a) If a district is principally engaged in providing water for
1-8 agricultural irrigation or the primary purpose of the district is
1-9 to provide water for agricultural irrigation, by complying with
1-10 Sections 51.760 through 51.766, the board may exclude from the
1-11 district land that is not being irrigated because:
1-12 (1) the land is not irrigable;
1-13 (2) the owners of a majority of the acreage of the
1-14 land no longer intend to irrigate the land;
1-15 (3) the land has been subdivided into town lots, town
1-16 lots and blocks, or small parcels having the same general nature of
1-17 town lots, including lots and blocks designed, intended, or
1-18 suitable for a residential, commercial, or other nonagricultural
1-19 purpose; or
1-20 (4) the land is located on subdivided land and is:
1-21 (A) designated as a street, alley, parkway, or
1-22 park; or
1-23 (B) a railroad property or right-of-way.
1-24 (b) Land described by Subsection (a) may be excluded
2-1 regardless of whether:
2-2 (1) the land is within or near municipal boundaries;
2-3 or
2-4 (2) a plat or map of the land has been filed for
2-5 record in the office of the county clerk of the county in which any
2-6 part of the land is located.
2-7 (c) The board may not exclude land described by Subsection
2-8 (a) if the land has been used for an agricultural purpose within
2-9 the year preceding the date of the hearing held under Section
2-10 51.761.
2-11 Sec. 51.760. INITIATING EXCLUSION. (a) A petition to
2-12 exclude land may be filed with the board by the owners of a
2-13 majority in acreage of land described by Section 51.759 that is
2-14 located in the district.
2-15 (b) The petition must accurately describe the land to be
2-16 excluded by metes and bounds or lot and block number. A petition
2-17 for exclusion of other property must describe the property to be
2-18 excluded.
2-19 (c) The board may initiate a proceeding to exclude land
2-20 without receiving a petition by holding a hearing on its own motion
2-21 and issuing an order as provided by Section 51.761.
2-22 Sec. 51.761. HEARING, NOTICE, AND ORDER OF EXCLUSION.
2-23 (a) On the board's motion or on receipt of a petition to exclude
2-24 land, the board shall give notice and hold a hearing on the
2-25 proposed exclusion.
2-26 (b) The board shall publish notice of the hearing in a
2-27 newspaper of general circulation in the district once each week for
3-1 two consecutive weeks. The first publication must appear at least
3-2 14 days before the date of the hearing.
3-3 (c) The notice must advise interested property owners in the
3-4 district:
3-5 (1) of the right to offer evidence in support of or to
3-6 contest the proposed exclusion;
3-7 (2) of the right to present a petition for exclusion
3-8 under Sections 51.759 through 51.766;
3-9 (3) of the date, time, and place of the hearing; and
3-10 (4) by a general description of the property proposed
3-11 for exclusion.
3-12 (d) The board may adjourn the hearing from one day to
3-13 another until the board hears every person who desires to be heard.
3-14 (e) The board shall specifically describe all property that
3-15 it proposes to exclude on its own motion.
3-16 (f) In a hearing on exclusion of property on the board's own
3-17 motion, the board shall hear protests and evidence against the
3-18 exclusion before the board hears any other evidence or matter.
3-19 (g) The board shall issue an order excluding the property if
3-20 after considering evidence presented at the hearing the board finds
3-21 that:
3-22 (1) the described property is eligible for exclusion
3-23 under Section 51.759;
3-24 (2) if applicable, the written consent required by
3-25 Section 51.762 has been filed;
3-26 (3) the owners of the property to be excluded do not
3-27 object to the exclusion; and
4-1 (4) to exclude the property from the district is in
4-2 the best interest of the district and of the property.
4-3 Sec. 51.762. CONSENT OF DEBT HOLDERS. If the district has
4-4 outstanding bonded debt or debt under a loan from a governmental
4-5 agency, a written consent to the exclusion from an authorized
4-6 representative of the holders of the debt shall be obtained and
4-7 filed with the district before the hearing is held.
4-8 Sec. 51.763. RESULTS OF EXCLUSION. (a) On the issuance of
4-9 an order excluding property:
4-10 (1) the property is no longer a part of the district
4-11 and is not entitled to district services;
4-12 (2) any tax, assessment, or other charge owed to the
4-13 district at the time of exclusion remains the obligation of the
4-14 owner of excluded property and continues to be secured by statutory
4-15 liens on the property, if any; and
4-16 (3) the owner of excluded land has no further
4-17 liability to the district for future taxes, assessments, or other
4-18 charges of the district attributable to the excluded land.
4-19 (b) The district shall record a copy of the order excluding
4-20 the property from the district, certified and acknowledged by the
4-21 secretary of the board, in the real property records of the county
4-22 in which the excluded property is located.
4-23 Sec. 51.764. DISTRICT FACILITIES ON EXCLUDED PROPERTY. The
4-24 exclusion does not affect or interfere with any rights that the
4-25 district has to maintain and continue operation of any canal,
4-26 ditch, pipeline, pump, or other facility of the district located on
4-27 land excluded by the order to serve land remaining in the district.
5-1 Sec. 51.765. WATER ALLOCATIONS. (a) After the district
5-2 adopts an order excluding nonirrigated property, a municipality or
5-3 water supply corporation that serves the excluded land with a
5-4 potable water supply may petition the district to apply to the
5-5 commission to convert the proportionate irrigation water allocation
5-6 of the excluded land from irrigation use to municipal use
5-7 allocation.
5-8 (b) The district shall make the application to the
5-9 commission not later than the 30th day after the date a
5-10 municipality or water supply corporation that serves the land with
5-11 a potable water supply petitions the district to make the
5-12 application if the municipality or water supply corporation:
5-13 (1) pays the district the amount the district
5-14 estimates will be its reasonable expenses and attorney's fees
5-15 incurred in the commission conversion proceedings; and
5-16 (2) enters into an agreement with the district
5-17 establishing the terms on which the water allocation shall be
5-18 delivered or made available to the municipality or water supply
5-19 corporation.
5-20 (c) If the parties cannot agree to water allocation terms,
5-21 the parties shall attempt resolution of their differences through
5-22 mediation, arbitration, or another alternative dispute resolution
5-23 process. The commission does not have jurisdiction to resolve the
5-24 parties' differences.
5-25 (d) Together with the district's application, the
5-26 municipality or water supply corporation must provide the
5-27 commission with evidence to support the projected need for water
6-1 for the five years after the conversion to a municipal-use water
6-2 allocation.
6-3 Sec. 51.766. SUIT TO REVIEW EXCLUSION. (a) A person who
6-4 owns an interest in property affected by an exclusion order issued
6-5 under Section 51.761 may sue to review, set aside, modify, or
6-6 suspend the order not later than the 20th day after the effective
6-7 date of the order.
6-8 (b) Venue is in any district court that has jurisdiction in
6-9 the county in which the district is located. If the district
6-10 includes land in more than one county, venue is in the district
6-11 court having jurisdiction in the county in which the largest
6-12 portion of the acreage of the land sought to be excluded from the
6-13 district is located.
6-14 (c) A person may appeal from the judgment or order of a
6-15 district court in a suit brought under this section to the court of
6-16 civil appeals and the supreme court as in other civil cases in
6-17 which the district court has original jurisdiction.
6-18 SECTION 2. Subchapter O, Chapter 55, Water Code, is amended
6-19 by adding Section 55.755 to read as follows:
6-20 Sec. 55.755. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NONIRRIGATED LAND. If a
6-21 district is principally engaged in providing water for agricultural
6-22 irrigation or the primary purpose of the district is to provide
6-23 water for agricultural irrigation, the board may exclude from the
6-24 district land that is not being irrigated as provided by Sections
6-25 51.759 through 51.766. This section applies only to land that is
6-26 eligible for exclusion under Section 51.759.
6-27 SECTION 3. Subchapter N, Chapter 58, Water Code, is amended
7-1 by adding Section 58.731 to read as follows:
7-2 Sec. 58.731. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NONIRRIGATED LAND. The
7-3 board may exclude from the district land that is not being
7-4 irrigated as provided by Sections 51.759 through 51.766. This
7-5 section applies only to land that is eligible for exclusion under
7-6 Section 51.759.
7-7 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
7-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
7-12 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
7-13 passage, and it is so enacted.