1-1 By: Lucio S.B. No. 1172
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 1995; March 15, 1995, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
1-4 March 21, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 10,
1-5 Nays 0; March 21, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the exclusion of certain nonirrigated property from
1-9 certain water districts.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Subchapter O, Chapter 51, Water Code, is amended
1-12 by adding Sections 51.759 through 51.766 to read as follows:
1-13 Sec. 51.759. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NONIRRIGATED LAND.
1-14 (a) If a district is principally engaged in providing water for
1-15 agricultural irrigation or the primary purpose of the district is
1-16 to provide water for agricultural irrigation, by complying with
1-17 Sections 51.760 through 51.766, the board may exclude from the
1-18 district land that is not being irrigated because:
1-19 (1) the land is not irrigable;
1-20 (2) the owners of a majority of the acreage of the
1-21 land no longer intend to irrigate the land;
1-22 (3) the land has been subdivided into town lots, town
1-23 lots and blocks, or small parcels having the same general nature of
1-24 town lots, including lots and blocks designed, intended, or
1-25 suitable for a residential, commercial, or other nonagricultural
1-26 purpose; or
1-27 (4) the land is located on subdivided land and is:
1-28 (A) designated as a street, alley, parkway, or
1-29 park; or
1-30 (B) a railroad property or right-of-way.
1-31 (b) Land described by Subsection (a) may be excluded
1-32 regardless of whether:
1-33 (1) the land is within or near municipal boundaries;
1-34 or
1-35 (2) a plat or map of the land has been filed for
1-36 record in the office of the county clerk of the county in which any
1-37 part of the land is located.
1-38 (c) The board may not exclude land described by Subsection
1-39 (a) if the land has been used for an agricultural purpose within
1-40 the year preceding the date of the hearing held under Section
1-41 51.761.
1-42 Sec. 51.760. INITIATING EXCLUSION. (a) A petition to
1-43 exclude land may be filed with the board by the owners of a
1-44 majority in acreage of land described by Section 51.759 that is
1-45 located in the district.
1-46 (b) The petition must accurately describe the land to be
1-47 excluded by metes and bounds or lot and block number. A petition
1-48 for exclusion of other property must describe the property to be
1-49 excluded.
1-50 (c) The board may initiate a proceeding to exclude land
1-51 without receiving a petition by holding a hearing on its own motion
1-52 and issuing an order as provided by Section 51.761.
1-53 Sec. 51.761. HEARING, NOTICE, AND ORDER OF EXCLUSION.
1-54 (a) On the board's motion or on receipt of a petition to exclude
1-55 land, the board shall give notice and hold a hearing on the
1-56 proposed exclusion.
1-57 (b) The board shall publish notice of the hearing in a
1-58 newspaper of general circulation in the district once each week for
1-59 two consecutive weeks. The first publication must appear at least
1-60 14 days before the date of the hearing.
1-61 (c) The notice must advise interested property owners in the
1-62 district:
1-63 (1) of the right to offer evidence in support of or to
1-64 contest the proposed exclusion;
1-65 (2) of the right to present a petition for exclusion
1-66 under Sections 51.759 through 51.766;
1-67 (3) of the date, time, and place of the hearing; and
1-68 (4) by a general description of the property proposed
2-1 for exclusion.
2-2 (d) The board may adjourn the hearing from one day to
2-3 another until the board hears every person who desires to be heard.
2-4 (e) The board shall specifically describe all property that
2-5 it proposes to exclude on its own motion.
2-6 (f) In a hearing on exclusion of property on the board's own
2-7 motion, the board shall hear protests and evidence against the
2-8 exclusion before the board hears any other evidence or matter.
2-9 (g) The board shall issue an order excluding the property if
2-10 after considering evidence presented at the hearing the board finds
2-11 that:
2-12 (1) the described property is eligible for exclusion
2-13 under Section 51.759;
2-14 (2) if applicable, the written consent required by
2-15 Section 51.762 has been filed;
2-16 (3) the owners of the property to be excluded do not
2-17 object to the exclusion; and
2-18 (4) to exclude the property from the district is in
2-19 the best interest of the district and of the property.
2-20 Sec. 51.762. CONSENT OF DEBT HOLDERS. If the district has
2-21 outstanding bonded debt or debt under a loan from a governmental
2-22 agency, a written consent to the exclusion from an authorized
2-23 representative of the holders of the debt shall be obtained and
2-24 filed with the district before the hearing is held.
2-25 Sec. 51.763. RESULTS OF EXCLUSION. (a) On the issuance of
2-26 an order excluding property:
2-27 (1) the property is no longer a part of the district
2-28 and is not entitled to district services;
2-29 (2) any tax, assessment, or other charge owed to the
2-30 district at the time of exclusion remains the obligation of the
2-31 owner of excluded property and continues to be secured by statutory
2-32 liens on the property, if any; and
2-33 (3) the owner of excluded land has no further
2-34 liability to the district for future taxes, assessments, or other
2-35 charges of the district attributable to the excluded land.
2-36 (b) The district shall record a copy of the order excluding
2-37 the property from the district, certified and acknowledged by the
2-38 secretary of the board, in the real property records of the county
2-39 in which the excluded property is located.
2-40 Sec. 51.764. DISTRICT FACILITIES ON EXCLUDED PROPERTY. The
2-41 exclusion does not affect or interfere with any rights that the
2-42 district has to maintain and continue operation of any canal,
2-43 ditch, pipeline, pump, or other facility of the district located on
2-44 land excluded by the order to serve land remaining in the district.
2-45 Sec. 51.765. WATER ALLOCATIONS. (a) After the district
2-46 adopts an order excluding nonirrigated property, a municipality or
2-47 water supply corporation that serves the excluded land with a
2-48 potable water supply may petition the district to apply to the
2-49 commission to convert the proportionate irrigation water allocation
2-50 of the excluded land from irrigation use to municipal use
2-51 allocation.
2-52 (b) The district shall make the application to the
2-53 commission not later than the 30th day after the date a
2-54 municipality or water supply corporation that serves the land with
2-55 a potable water supply petitions the district to make the
2-56 application if the municipality or water supply corporation:
2-57 (1) pays the district the amount the district
2-58 estimates will be its reasonable expenses and attorney's fees
2-59 incurred in the commission conversion proceedings; and
2-60 (2) enters into an agreement with the district
2-61 establishing the terms on which the water allocation shall be
2-62 delivered or made available to the municipality or water supply
2-63 corporation.
2-64 (c) If the parties cannot agree to water allocation terms,
2-65 the parties shall attempt resolution of their differences through
2-66 mediation, arbitration, or another alternative dispute resolution
2-67 process. The commission does not have jurisdiction to resolve the
2-68 parties' differences.
2-69 (d) Together with the district's application, the
2-70 municipality or water supply corporation must provide the
3-1 commission with evidence to support the projected need for water
3-2 for the five years after the conversion to a municipal-use water
3-3 allocation.
3-4 Sec. 51.766. SUIT TO REVIEW EXCLUSION. (a) A person who
3-5 owns an interest in property affected by an exclusion order issued
3-6 under Section 51.761 may sue to review, set aside, modify, or
3-7 suspend the order not later than the 20th day after the effective
3-8 date of the order.
3-9 (b) Venue is in any district court that has jurisdiction in
3-10 the county in which the district is located. If the district
3-11 includes land in more than one county, venue is in the district
3-12 court having jurisdiction in the county in which the largest
3-13 portion of the acreage of the land sought to be excluded from the
3-14 district is located.
3-15 (c) A person may appeal from the judgment or order of a
3-16 district court in a suit brought under this section to the court of
3-17 civil appeals and the supreme court as in other civil cases in
3-18 which the district court has original jurisdiction.
3-19 SECTION 2. Subchapter O, Chapter 55, Water Code, is amended
3-20 by adding Section 55.755 to read as follows:
3-21 Sec. 55.755. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NONIRRIGATED LAND. If a
3-22 district is principally engaged in providing water for agricultural
3-23 irrigation or the primary purpose of the district is to provide
3-24 water for agricultural irrigation, the board may exclude from the
3-25 district land that is not being irrigated as provided by Sections
3-26 51.759 through 51.766. This section applies only to land that is
3-27 eligible for exclusion under Section 51.759.
3-28 SECTION 3. Subchapter N, Chapter 58, Water Code, is amended
3-29 by adding Section 58.731 to read as follows:
3-30 Sec. 58.731. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NONIRRIGATED LAND. The
3-31 board may exclude from the district land that is not being
3-32 irrigated as provided by Sections 51.759 through 51.766. This
3-33 section applies only to land that is eligible for exclusion under
3-34 Section 51.759.
3-35 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-36 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-37 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-38 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-39 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-40 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-41 passage, and it is so enacted.
3-42 * * * * *