By: Armbrister, Truan S.B. No. 834 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the authority of a county to operate a water or sewer 1-2 utility in unincorporated areas of a county, including the 1-3 authority to issue bonds and to acquire property through eminent 1-4 domain. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 412, Local Government Code, 1-7 is amended by adding Section 412.016 to read as follows: 1-8 Sec. 412.016. COUNTY WATER AND SEWER SYSTEM. (a) Except as 1-9 provided by this section, a county may acquire, own, or operate a 1-10 water or sewer utility system to serve an unincorporated area of 1-11 the county in the same manner and under the same regulations as a 1-12 municipality under Chapter 402. 1-13 (b) A county may issue bonds payable solely from the revenue 1-14 generated by the water or sewer utility system, and such revenue 1-15 bonds and notes of the county shall not be deemed an indebtedness, 1-16 a liability, a general, special, or moral obligation, or a pledge 1-17 or loan of the faith or credit or taxing power of the state, the 1-18 county, or any other political subdivision or governmental unit, 1-19 nor shall such revenue bonds and notes constitute an indebtedness 1-20 within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory debt 1-21 limitation or restriction or an agreement, obligation, or 1-22 indebtedness of the county or the state within the meaning of any 1-23 constitutional or statutory provision. Nothing in this subsection 2-1 shall be construed to mean that a county is authorized to issue 2-2 general obligation bonds payable from ad valorem taxes for the 2-3 purpose of acquiring, owning, or operating a water or sewer utility 2-4 system to serve an unincorporated area of the county, a county 2-5 being specifically prohibited from issuing general obligation bonds 2-6 payable from ad valorem taxes for such purposes. 2-7 (c) A county may acquire any interest in property necessary 2-8 to operate a system authorized by this section through any means, 2-9 including eminent domain. A county shall not exercise the power of 2-10 eminent domain inside the corporate limits of a municipality. 2-11 (d) A county must comply with all requirements of a public 2-12 utility under Chapter 13, Water Code. 2-13 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 2-14 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-15 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-16 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-17 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-18 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 2-19 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 2-20 Amend S.B. 834 as follows: 2-21 (1) On page 1, lines 11 and 12 strike "]Lin the same manner 2-22 and under the same regulations as a municipality under Chapter 402 ; 2-23 (2) On page 1, line 9 insert the following between "county" 2-24 and "may": 2-25 "with a population of 225,000 or more, which is located 3-1 adjacent to a county with a population of 2.8 million or more,". 3-2 Lewis of Tarrant