By Armbrister S.B. No. 723
75R1997 JJT-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to granting the Bastrop County Water Control and
1-3 Improvement District No. 2 the powers and duties of a road
1-4 district.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
1-7 (1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
1-8 district.
1-9 (2) "City" means the City of Bastrop.
1-10 (3) "County" means Bastrop County.
1-11 (4) "District" means the Bastrop County Water Control
1-12 and Improvement District No. 2.
1-13 SECTION 2. ROAD DISTRICT POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The
1-14 district has all of the rights, powers, privileges, functions,
1-15 responsibilities, and duties that the general law grants a road
1-16 district created under Section 52, Article III, Texas Constitution.
1-17 The governing body of the district has within the district's
1-18 boundaries the powers that Chapter 257, Transportation Code, grants
1-19 a county commissioners court within its jurisdiction, to the extent
1-20 that chapter can be applied.
1-21 (b) To the extent this Act conflicts with any provision of
1-22 general law, this Act controls.
1-23 SECTION 3. MASTER PLAN. (a) The district shall:
1-24 (1) adopt a master plan for all road improvements; and
2-1 (2) make all road improvements in accordance with the
2-2 master plan.
2-3 (b) The master plan must include:
2-4 (1) a map of the district boundaries that shows:
2-5 (A) the proposed improvements; and
2-6 (B) how the proposed improvements would connect
2-7 to other entities' road and drainage systems; and
2-8 (2) a written plan that contains:
2-9 (A) general objectives for establishing the
2-10 proposed improvements;
2-11 (B) the sequence of the improvements;
2-12 (C) the estimated date of completion of each
2-13 phase of the proposed improvements;
2-14 (D) the estimated cost of each phase of the
2-15 proposed improvements;
2-16 (E) an analysis of the district's projected
2-17 revenues compared with the projected costs; and
2-18 (F) a proposed timetable for completion of the
2-19 work identified in the master plan.
2-20 SECTION 4. MASTER PLAN APPROVAL AND ADOPTION. (a) The
2-21 district shall present the master plan to the governing bodies of
2-22 the city and the county before the plan is adopted. The district
2-23 may not adopt the master plan until the plan is approved by the
2-24 governing body of:
2-25 (1) the city, for improvements to be made in the
2-26 city's jurisdiction; and
2-27 (2) the county, for improvements to be made in the
3-1 county's jurisdiction.
3-2 (b) Not later than the 61st day after the date the governing
3-3 body of the city or county receives the master plan, the governing
3-4 body of the city or county shall review the plan and present the
3-5 district with any proposed revisions necessary to obtain the body's
3-6 approval of the plan.
3-7 (c) The district shall review proposed plan revisions at a
3-8 public hearing held for that purpose.
3-9 (d) The district must adopt the master plan at a public
3-10 hearing.
3-11 SECTION 5. ANNUAL REVISIONS HEARING. The district shall
3-12 conduct an annual public hearing on revisions to the master plan
3-13 to:
3-14 (1) inform the public; and
3-15 (2) provide opportunity for public comment.
3-16 SECTION 6. CHARGES. (a) The board may impose a monthly
3-17 charge of five dollars for each developed or undeveloped lot,
3-18 tract, or reserve. The charge must be used for constructing,
3-19 maintaining, or repairing public streets or roadways in the
3-20 district.
3-21 (b) Of the money collected under Subsection (a) of this
3-22 section, not more than:
3-23 (1) 10 percent may be used for administrative
3-24 purposes; and
3-25 (2) 15 percent may be used for road maintenance.
3-26 SECTION 7. TAXES, BONDS, AND OBLIGATIONS. (a) The board
3-27 may not issue bonds or authorize a tax under this Act unless the
4-1 bond or tax is approved by a two-thirds majority of the voters of
4-2 the district who vote at an election called and held for that
4-3 purpose.
4-4 (b) Bonds, notes, or other obligations of the district
4-5 issued or incurred under this Act may not exceed one-fourth of the
4-6 assessed valuation of the real property in the district.
4-7 SECTION 8. APPROVAL OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS. (a) The
4-8 district shall present for the approval of the governing body of
4-9 the city or county, as appropriate, all road plans and
4-10 specifications before the district begins construction.
4-11 (b) The plans and specifications are considered approved if
4-12 the governing body to which they are presented does not by
4-13 resolution disapprove of them before the 22nd day after the date on
4-14 which they are presented.
4-15 (c) In reviewing plans or specifications for construction in
4-16 a subdivision, the city or county shall generally apply, as a
4-17 minimum standard, the standard the city or county applied to review
4-18 similar plans or specifications at the time the subdivision was
4-19 created. If the specifications exceed that minimum standard, the
4-20 standard for approval shall be based on good engineering practices
4-21 related to subjects such as vehicle and pedestrian safety, soil and
4-22 terrain variables, watershed impacts, projected traffic use, and
4-23 future maintenance requirements.
4-24 SECTION 9. INSPECTIONS, SAMPLING, AND TESTING. (a) The
4-25 city or county may:
4-26 (1) perform reasonable inspections, gather and test
4-27 samples, and perform other testing; or
5-1 (2) require the district or the contractor performing
5-2 work to perform reasonable inspections, gather and test samples,
5-3 and perform other testing.
5-4 (b) The district may include the cost of inspections,
5-5 sampling, and testing in the bid specifications. If the district
5-6 includes the costs in the specifications, the costs are allowable
5-7 charges for expending road money.
5-8 SECTION 10. CONVEYANCE OF IMPROVEMENTS. (a) The district
5-9 shall convey the completed improvements to the city or county as
5-10 appropriate.
5-11 (b) If the improvements comply with the minimum standards
5-12 the city or county, as applicable, prescribes for improvements in
5-13 its jurisdiction, the city or county shall accept the improvements.
5-14 (c) If the jurisdictions of the city and the county overlap,
5-15 the more stringent standards apply.
5-16 SECTION 11. ADDITIONAL POWERS. The district may:
5-17 (1) select professional and consultant personnel for
5-18 engineering, legal, and other necessary support services;
5-19 (2) select and approve work contractors and
5-20 subcontractors;
5-21 (3) supervise road and drainage work in the district;
5-22 (4) contract in accordance with state law to carry out
5-23 the improvements provided by the master plan, including entering
5-24 into a contract with a professional or contractor;
5-25 (5) supervise the cost-effective use of district money
5-26 allocated for permanent improvements; and
5-27 (6) approve expenditures for necessary maintenance.
6-1 SECTION 12. REPORT TO LEGISLATORS. The district annually
6-2 shall present a report concerning road district activities to each
6-3 state representative and each state senator who represents the area
6-4 in the district's jurisdiction. The report must include:
6-5 (1) information regarding the progress of work during
6-6 the preceding year;
6-7 (2) the amount of revenue expended during the
6-8 preceding year;
6-9 (3) any revisions to the master plan; and
6-10 (4) a complete financial statement that lists all
6-11 funds of the district and fund balances, expenditures, and interest
6-12 earnings.
6-13 SECTION 13. TERMINATION OF ROAD DISTRICT AUTHORITY;
6-14 DISTRIBUTION OF DISTRICT MONEY. (a) The road district authority
6-15 conferred on the district by this Act terminates when:
6-16 (1) all road improvements called for under the master
6-17 plan, as adopted and amended by the district, are completed; and
6-18 (2) the appropriate governmental entities have
6-19 accepted all road improvements in the district.
6-20 (b) When the conditions provided by Subsection (a) of this
6-21 section are met, the district shall give any related money that
6-22 remains in the district's possession or control to the appropriate
6-23 governmental entities for road maintenance in the district. The
6-24 district shall distribute the money to each appropriate
6-25 governmental entity in the proportion that the number of miles of
6-26 road improvements by the district accepted by the entity bears to
6-27 the total number of miles of road improvements by the district
7-1 accepted by all governmental entities.
7-2 SECTION 14. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
7-3 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
7-7 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
7-8 passage, and it is so enacted.