By Raymond H.B. No. 3567
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the addition of territory to, the board of directors
1-3 of, and disannexation procedures for the Duval County Conservation
1-4 and Reclamation District.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 1, Chapter 398, Acts of the 51st
1-7 Legislature, Regular Session, 1949 (Article 8280-138, Vernon's
1-8 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-9 Sec. 1. Under and pursuant to the provisions of Article 16,
1-10 Section 59, of the Constitution of Texas, there is hereby created
1-11 within the State of Texas, in addition to the districts into which
1-12 the state has heretofore been divided, a conservation and
1-13 reclamation district to be known as the Duval County Conservation
1-14 and Reclamation District, hereinafter sometimes referred to as the
1-15 "District," and consisting of that part of the State of Texas which
1-16 is included within the boundaries of Duval County, exclusive of
1-17 that part of Duval County comprising the Freer Water Control and
1-18 Improvement District, of Duval County, and including that part of
1-19 Jim Wells County within the corporate limits of the City of San
1-20 Diego, Texas.
1-21 SECTION 2. Section 3, Chapter 398, Acts of the 51st
1-22 Legislature, Regular Session, 1949 (Article 8280-138, Vernon's
1-23 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-24 Sec. 3. (a) The management and control of the District is
2-1 hereby vested in a board of directors which shall have all of the
2-2 powers and authority conferred and imposed upon boards of directors
2-3 of Water Control and Improvement Districts organized under the
2-4 provisions of Chapter 25, Acts of the 39th Legislature passed in
2-5 1925, and amendments thereto, as incorporated in Title 128, Chapter
2-6 3A, of Vernon's Civil Statutes of the State of Texas and amendments
2-7 thereto.
2-8 (b) Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the [The]
2-9 board of directors shall be composed of seven [four (4)] members
2-10 elected to positions using the place system as described in this
2-11 section who shall have the same qualifications as directors of
2-12 Water Control and Improvement Districts. A director elected to
2-13 place 1, 2, or 3 must be a resident of San Diego and is elected by
2-14 the qualified voters of the District who are residents of San Diego
2-15 and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. A director elected to place
2-16 4 or 5 must be a resident of Benavides and is elected by the
2-17 qualified voters of the District who are residents of Benavides and
2-18 its extraterritorial jurisdiction. A director elected to place 6
2-19 or 7 must be a resident of, and is elected by the qualified voters
2-20 of the District who are residents of, the part of Duval County that
2-21 is not within:
2-22 (1) the corporate limits or extraterritorial
2-23 jurisdiction of:
2-24 (A) San Diego; or
2-25 (B) Benavides; or
2-26 (2) the Freer Water Control and Improvement District.
2-27 (c) In the event and to the extent that any of the
3-1 provisions of the General Laws referred to in this Section are in
3-2 conflict with or inconsistent with any of the provisions of this
3-3 Act relating to the powers, authority, and duties of the board of
3-4 directors and its members, the provisions of this Act shall
3-5 prevail.
3-6 (d) An [The Commissioners Court of Duval County is hereby
3-7 authorized and empowered to appoint four (4) persons qualified
3-8 under the law to serve as directors of the District until their
3-9 successors shall have been duly elected and shall have qualified.
3-10 The four (4) directors thus appointed shall serve for a term of two
3-11 (2) years beginning June 1, 1963. The first election of directors
3-12 shall be held on the first Tuesday in May, 1965, and said election
3-13 shall be ordered and conducted in the same manner as the election
3-14 for directors of Water Control and Improvement Districts. The
3-15 directors so elected shall qualify and begin their term of office
3-16 on June 1, 1965, or as soon thereafter as practical. The persons
3-17 elected directors at said election shall draw lots so that two (2)
3-18 directors shall serve for a term of one (1) year and two (2)
3-19 directors shall serve for a term of two (2) years. Thereafter an]
3-20 election shall be held on the first Tuesday in May of each
3-21 even-numbered year and the directors elected [after the first
3-22 election] shall each serve for a term of four [two (2)] years.
3-23 (e) If either San Diego or Benavides and the area within its
3-24 extraterritorial jurisdiction disannex under Section 4A of this
3-25 Act, a person on the board who represents San Diego and the area
3-26 within its extraterritorial jurisdiction or Benavides and the area
3-27 within its extraterritorial jurisdiction ceases to be a director on
4-1 the date disannexation takes effect. The remaining directors as
4-2 soon as possible shall call a special election to elect the
4-3 appropriate number of directors to fill the unexpired terms if the
4-4 disannexation results in vacancies on the board.
4-5 (f) If both San Diego and Benavides and the areas within
4-6 their extraterritorial jurisdictions disannex under Section 4A of
4-7 this Act, a director for each place on the board must be a resident
4-8 of the part of Duval County that is not within:
4-9 (1) the corporate limits or extraterritorial
4-10 jurisdiction of:
4-11 (A) San Diego; or
4-12 (B) Benavides; or
4-13 (2) the Freer Water Control and Improvement District.
4-14 (g) If San Diego and the area within its extraterritorial
4-15 jurisdiction disannex under Section 4A of this Act, the number of
4-16 board places is reduced to four.
4-17 (h) If Benavides and the area within its extraterritorial
4-18 jurisdiction disannex under Section 4A of this Act:
4-19 (1) a director for place 4 must be a resident of San
4-20 Diego or its extraterritorial jurisdiction if San Diego and the
4-21 area within its extraterritorial jurisdiction have not previously
4-22 disannexed; and
4-23 (2) a director for place 5, or for place 4 or place 5
4-24 if San Diego and the area within its extraterritorial jurisdiction
4-25 have previously disannexed, must be a resident of the part of Duval
4-26 County that is not within:
4-27 (A) the corporate limits or extraterritorial
5-1 jurisdiction of:
5-2 (i) San Diego; or
5-3 (ii) Benavides; or
5-4 (B) the Freer Water Control and Improvement
5-5 District.
5-6 SECTION 3. Chapter 398, Acts of the 51st Legislature,
5-7 Regular Session, 1949 (Article 8280-138, Vernon's Texas Civil
5-8 Statutes), is amended by adding Sections 4A and 4B to read as
5-9 follows:
5-10 Sec. 4A. (a) A municipality within the District and the
5-11 area within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of that municipality
5-12 may be disannexed from the District on petition for an election on
5-13 disannexation and a majority vote in favor of disannexation at the
5-14 election called for that purpose. A petition for an election to
5-15 disannex must be signed by at least 250 qualified voters of the
5-16 District who are residents of the municipality or its
5-17 extraterritorial jurisdiction or a number of qualified voters equal
5-18 to five percent of the total vote cast in the municipality and its
5-19 extraterritorial jurisdiction in the most recent District election,
5-20 whichever number is less. The petition must state that its purpose
5-21 is to call an election to determine whether the affected
5-22 municipality and its extraterritorial jurisdiction should be
5-23 disannexed from the District. The petition must include each
5-24 petitioner's signature, printed name, address, voting precinct, and
5-25 voter certificate number and the date on which the petitioner
5-26 signed.
5-27 (b) A petition must be filed with the District manager. Not
6-1 later than the 30th day after the date on which the petition is
6-2 filed, the District manager shall verify the validity of the
6-3 petition and determine whether the number of signatures required
6-4 for the calling of an election have been included. If the District
6-5 manager certifies the number of signatures required for the calling
6-6 of an election, the board of directors of the District shall call
6-7 an election for the purpose of disannexation not later than the
6-8 90th day after the date on which the manager certifies the
6-9 sufficiency of the petition. Only qualified voters who reside
6-10 within the corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of the
6-11 municipality to be disannexed may vote in the disannexation
6-12 election.
6-13 (c) The disannexation measure shall appear on the ballot in
6-14 a manner that provides for voting for one of the three following
6-15 propositions:
6-16 (1) "The City of (name of municipality) and the area
6-17 within its extraterritorial jurisdiction shall not be disannexed
6-18 from the jurisdiction of the Duval County Conservation and
6-19 Reclamation District";
6-20 (2) "The City of (name of municipality) and the area
6-21 within its extraterritorial jurisdiction shall be disannexed from
6-22 the Duval County Conservation and Reclamation District, and on
6-23 disannexation the city council of (name of municipality) shall
6-24 establish or acquire systems to provide the water and sewer
6-25 services formerly provided by the District in the disannexed area";
6-26 or
6-27 (3) "The City of (name of municipality) and the area
7-1 within its extraterritorial jurisdiction shall be disannexed from
7-2 the Duval County Conservation and Reclamation District, and on
7-3 disannexation the city council of (name of municipality) shall
7-4 initiate a petition for, and shall consent to, as provided by
7-5 Sections 54.014 and 54.016, Water Code, the creation of a municipal
7-6 utility district to provide the water and sewer services formerly
7-7 provided by the District in the disannexed area."
7-8 (d) If a majority of the total votes in the election is in
7-9 favor of proposition (1), the municipality and the area within its
7-10 extraterritorial jurisdiction are not disannexed. If the total
7-11 vote in favor of propositions (2) and (3) is a majority of the
7-12 votes cast in the election, the majority of the vote in the
7-13 election is for disannexation. As between propositions (2) and
7-14 (3), the proposition that receives the larger number of votes
7-15 prevails. If disannexation fails, an election under this section
7-16 to disannex the same municipality and the area within its
7-17 extraterritorial jurisdiction may not be held for one year.
7-18 (e) If a majority of the votes in the election is for
7-19 disannexation, the directors of the District shall vote to disannex
7-20 at the same board meeting at which the directors canvass the
7-21 election results. Not later than the 30th day after the canvass of
7-22 the election results and the District's disannexation vote, the
7-23 executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
7-24 Commission shall appoint an independent master to oversee the
7-25 distribution of assets consistent with disannexation. All
7-26 infrastructure and real property, including water and sewer lines,
7-27 storage tanks, treatment plants, towers, buildings, land, and other
8-1 facilities within the corporate limits or extraterritorial
8-2 jurisdiction of the disannexed municipality that are related to the
8-3 provision of water and sewer services by the District within the
8-4 disannexed municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, shall
8-5 revert to the disannexed municipality. All receivables from
8-6 connections within the corporate limits or extraterritorial
8-7 jurisdiction of the disannexed municipality transfer to the
8-8 municipality. Other assets, including vehicles, computers, office
8-9 furniture and equipment, and cash, shall be divided between the
8-10 District and the municipality by the master in proportion to the
8-11 number of residents, according to the most recent decennial federal
8-12 census, living within the boundaries of the District or within the
8-13 boundaries of the municipality and its extraterritorial
8-14 jurisdiction.
8-15 Sec. 4B. (a) If a municipality and the area within its
8-16 extraterritorial jurisdiction disannex as provided by Section 4A of
8-17 this Act and the city council of the disannexed municipality is
8-18 required, as a result of the approval of proposition (2) at the
8-19 disannexation election, to establish or acquire systems to provide
8-20 the water and sewer services formerly provided by the District in
8-21 the disannexed area, a municipal water or sewer system established
8-22 or acquired by the city council of the disannexed municipality may
8-23 serve an area immediately outside the extraterritorial jurisdiction
8-24 of the disannexed municipality if the residents of the area agree
8-25 to be served by that system.
8-26 (b) If the City of San Diego and the area within its
8-27 extraterritorial jurisdiction disannex as provided by Section 4A of
9-1 this Act and a municipal water or sewer system is established or
9-2 acquired as described by Subsection (a) of this section, the
9-3 Glossbrenner Substance Abuse Facility is disannexed from the
9-4 District effective on the date on which that system is established
9-5 or acquired, and that system may serve that facility.
9-6 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
9-7 (b) Directors serving on August 31, 1997, serve until their
9-8 successors are elected and have qualified under this section. The
9-9 additional positions on the district board created by Section 3,
9-10 Chapter 398, Acts of the 51st Legislature, Regular Session, 1949
9-11 (Article 8280-138, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by
9-12 this Act, shall be filled at the election to be held in May 1998,
9-13 and until that time the District is governed by a board of four
9-14 directors.
9-15 (c) The two directors elected at the May 1994 election and
9-16 the two directors elected at the May 1995 election serve until the
9-17 May 1998 election as provided by Section 50(b), Chapter 715, Acts
9-18 of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995.
9-19 (d) Except as provided by Subsection (f) of this section,
9-20 seven directors shall be elected at the May 1998 election. Those
9-21 directors shall draw lots to determine which three directors serve
9-22 two-year terms and which four directors serve four-year terms.
9-23 Successor directors serve four-year terms.
9-24 (e) If, before the May 1998 election, the City of Benavides
9-25 has disannexed as provided by Section 4A, Chapter 398, Acts of the
9-26 51st Legislature, Regular Session, 1949 (Article 8280-138, Vernon's
9-27 Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, and the City of San
10-1 Diego has not disannexed, four directors elected at that election
10-2 must be residents of San Diego or its extraterritorial
10-3 jurisdiction, and three directors elected must be residents of that
10-4 part of Duval County that is not within the corporate limits or
10-5 extraterritorial jurisdiction of San Diego or Benavides or within
10-6 the Freer Water Control and Improvement District.
10-7 (f) If, before the May 1998 election, the City of San Diego
10-8 has disannexed as provided by Section 4A, Chapter 398, Acts of the
10-9 51st Legislature, Regular Session, 1949 (Article 8280-138, Vernon's
10-10 Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, four directors shall
10-11 be elected at that election. If the City of Benavides has not
10-12 disannexed before that election, two directors elected at that
10-13 election must be residents of Benavides or its extraterritorial
10-14 jurisdiction, and two directors elected must be residents of that
10-15 part of Duval County that is not within the corporate limits or
10-16 extraterritorial jurisdiction of San Diego or Benavides or within
10-17 the Freer Water Control and Improvement District. If the City of
10-18 Benavides has disannexed before that election, all four directors
10-19 elected must be residents of that part of Duval County that is not
10-20 within the corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of San
10-21 Diego or Benavides or within the Freer Water Control and
10-22 Improvement District. Those directors shall draw lots to determine
10-23 which two directors serve two-year terms and which two directors
10-24 serve four-year terms. Successor directors serve four-year terms.
10-25 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
10-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
11-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
11-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.