By Lewis of Orange H.B. No. 1602 76R5330 MI-F A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the exclusion of land or other property from a district 1-3 with outstanding bond debt. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code, is amended 1-6 by adding Section 49.315 to read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 49.315. EXCLUSION OF LAND WITH OUTSTANDING BOND DEBT. 1-8 (a) A landowner or other property owner in a district with 1-9 outstanding bonds, warrants, or other certificates of indebtedness 1-10 secured in part by the land or other property may petition the 1-11 district to exclude the owner's land or other property. A petition 1-12 must: 1-13 (1) be in writing and filed with the secretary of the 1-14 board; 1-15 (2) describe by metes and bounds or lot and block 1-16 number any land to be excluded; 1-17 (3) describe any property other than land to be 1-18 excluded; and 1-19 (4) state clearly the particular grounds under 1-20 Subsection (b) on which exclusion is sought. 1-21 (b) Exclusion of land or other property under this section 1-22 may be made only on the grounds that: 1-23 (1) the district has never provided utility service to 1-24 the land or other property; 2-1 (2) the district has discontinued utility service to 2-2 the land or other property; 2-3 (3) the cost of providing service to the land or other 2-4 property makes any service offered by the district so prohibitively 2-5 expensive that it effectively constitutes denial of service; or 2-6 (4) for a commercial development or a residential 2-7 development with lot sizes of less than two acres, the cost of 2-8 obtaining service from the district makes the development 2-9 economically infeasible but not necessarily prohibitively 2-10 expensive. 2-11 (c) The board shall consider all engineering data and other 2-12 evidence presented and determine if the facts support an 2-13 affirmative finding on the grounds alleged for exclusion. If the 2-14 board finds in the affirmative, the board shall enter an order 2-15 excluding the land or other property and redefining the boundaries 2-16 of the district to reflect the exclusion. Not later than the 30th 2-17 day after the date of the board's order under this section, the 2-18 board shall: 2-19 (1) submit a copy of the exclusion order and a 2-20 detailed description of the land or other property excluded to the 2-21 executive director of the commission; and 2-22 (2) file a copy of the exclusion order in the deed 2-23 records of the county or counties in which the district is 2-24 situated. 2-25 (d) The exclusion of land or other property under this 2-26 section does not impair the rights of the holders of any 2-27 outstanding bonds, warrants, or other certificates of indebtedness 3-1 of the district. 3-2 (e) Excluded land or other property pledged as security for 3-3 any outstanding debt of the district remains pledged for its pro 3-4 rata share of that debt until final payment is made. The district 3-5 shall continue to levy and collect taxes on the excluded property 3-6 at the same rate levied on property remaining in the district until 3-7 the amount of taxes collected from the excluded property equals the 3-8 pro rata share of the district's debt outstanding at the time the 3-9 property was excluded attributable to the excluded property. The 3-10 taxes collected on the excluded property shall be applied only to 3-11 the payment of the excluded property's pro rata share of that debt. 3-12 (f) The owner of any part of the excluded land or other 3-13 property at any time may pay in full the owner's share of the pro 3-14 rata share of the district's debt outstanding at the time the 3-15 property is excluded. 3-16 (g) After any land or other property is excluded under this 3-17 section, the district may issue any unissued additional debt 3-18 approved by the voters of the district before exclusion without 3-19 holding a new election. Additional debt issued after property is 3-20 excluded from the district may not be payable from and does not 3-21 create a lien against the taxable value of the excluded property. 3-22 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 3-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 3-27 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 4-1 passage, and it is so enacted.