By Madla S.B. No. 655
76R4155 MXM-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation of a defense base development authority;
1-3 validating certain acts of a defense base development corporation;
1-4 granting the right to issue bonds.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 12, Local Government Code, is
1-7 amended by adding Chapter 378 to read as follows:
1-8 CHAPTER 378. DEFENSE BASE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES
1-9 Sec. 378.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-10 (1) "Authority" means a defense base development
1-11 authority established under this chapter.
1-12 (2) "Base property" means land inside the boundaries
1-13 of the defense base for which the authority is established and
1-14 improvements and personal property on that land.
1-15 (3) "Board" means the board of directors of the
1-16 authority.
1-17 (4) "Bond" means an interest-bearing obligation issued
1-18 by an authority under this chapter, including a bond, certificate,
1-19 note, or other evidence of indebtedness.
1-20 (5) "Defense base" means a military installation or
1-21 facility closed or realigned under the Defense Base Closure and
1-22 Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. Section 2687 note) and its
1-23 subsequent amendments.
1-24 Sec. 378.002. ESTABLISHMENT; SUCCESSOR. (a) A municipality
2-1 by resolution may establish an authority. The resolution must
2-2 include a legal description of the base property. On adoption of
2-3 the resolution, the authority is established as a special district
2-4 and political subdivision of this state, with a boundary
2-5 coterminous with the base property described in the resolution.
2-6 (b) When establishing an authority, the municipality may
2-7 designate the authority in the municipality's resolution to be the
2-8 successor in interest to a nonprofit corporation organized under
2-9 the Development Corporation Act of 1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's
2-10 Texas Civil Statutes). On adoption of the resolution, the
2-11 corporation is dissolved and the authority succeeds to all rights
2-12 and liabilities of that corporation.
2-13 Sec. 378.003. PURPOSE AND NATURE OF AUTHORITY. (a) An
2-14 authority is created to:
2-15 (1) accept title to or operate under a lease from the
2-16 United States all or a part of the base property; and
2-17 (2) engage in the economic development of the base
2-18 property and areas around the base property.
2-19 (b) An authority exercises public and essential governmental
2-20 functions.
2-21 Sec. 378.004. POWERS AND DUTIES OF AUTHORITY. (a) An
2-22 authority may exercise power necessary or convenient to carry out a
2-23 purpose of this chapter, including the power to:
2-24 (1) adopt an official seal, or alter it;
2-25 (2) adopt rules;
2-26 (3) enter into a contract or incur a liability;
2-27 (4) acquire and dispose of money;
3-1 (5) select a depository;
3-2 (6) establish a system of accounts for the authority;
3-3 (7) invest funds in accordance with Chapter 2256,
3-4 Government Code;
3-5 (8) set the fiscal year for the authority;
3-6 (9) adopt an annual operating budget for major
3-7 expenditures before the beginning of the fiscal year;
3-8 (10) borrow money or issue a bond in an amount that
3-9 does not exceed the maximum amount set by the governing body of the
3-10 municipality;
3-11 (11) loan money;
3-12 (12) acquire, convey, grant a mortgage, or otherwise
3-13 dispose of a property right, including a right regarding base
3-14 property;
3-15 (13) lease property located on the base property to a
3-16 person to effect the purposes of this chapter;
3-17 (14) request and accept a donation, grant, guaranty,
3-18 or loan from a person, except for the municipality;
3-19 (15) operate and maintain an office;
3-20 (16) charge for a facility or service; and
3-21 (17) exercise a power granted to a municipality by
3-22 Chapter 380.
3-23 (b) An authority shall establish and maintain an office and
3-24 agent registered with the secretary of state.
3-25 (c) An authority shall endeavor to raise revenue sufficient
3-26 to pay its debts.
3-27 Sec. 378.005. SUITS. (a) An authority may sue and be sued.
4-1 (b) In a suit against an authority, process may be served on
4-2 the president, vice-president, or registered agent.
4-3 (c) An authority may not be required to give a bond on an
4-4 appeal or writ of error taken in a civil case that the authority is
4-5 prosecuting or defending.
4-6 Sec. 378.006. UTILITIES. (a) An authority may accept an
4-7 electric, gas, potable water, or sanitary sewage utility conveyed
4-8 by the United States, but may not operate it.
4-9 (b) An authority shall convey a utility received under
4-10 Subsection (a) to the municipality that established the authority.
4-11 The municipality shall pay the authority fair market value for the
4-12 utility.
4-13 (c) If state or federal law prohibits the operation or
4-14 ownership of the utility by the municipality, the municipality
4-15 shall convey the utility to an entity that may operate it. The
4-16 municipality may charge fair market value for the conveyance.
4-17 Sec. 378.007. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The board consists
4-18 of 12 members and is responsible for the management, operation, and
4-19 control of the authority.
4-20 (b) The governing body of the municipality that established
4-21 the authority shall appoint each board member to a term not
4-22 exceeding two years. A vacancy on the board is filled in the same
4-23 manner as the original appointment.
4-24 (c) The municipality may remove a board member by adopting a
4-25 resolution.
4-26 (d) The members of the board shall elect from its membership
4-27 a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. The board
5-1 by rule may provide for the election of other officers.
5-2 (e) A board member serves without compensation but may be
5-3 reimbursed for a reasonable and necessary expense incurred in the
5-4 performance of an official duty.
5-5 (f) The board shall adopt rules for its proceedings and may
5-6 employ and compensate persons to carry out the powers and duties of
5-7 the authority.
5-8 Sec. 378.008. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The board
5-9 shall:
5-10 (1) monitor the proposed closing of the defense base;
5-11 (2) manage and operate the defense base transition and
5-12 development on behalf of the municipality that established the
5-13 authority;
5-14 (3) review options related to the most appropriate use
5-15 of the defense base;
5-16 (4) conduct a study on issues related to the closure,
5-17 conversion, redevelopment, and future use of the defense base;
5-18 (5) formulate, adopt, and implement a plan to convert
5-19 and redevelop the defense base; and
5-20 (6) submit the plan to an appropriate agency or
5-21 agencies of the federal government.
5-22 (b) For the base property and areas adjacent to the base
5-23 property the board shall:
5-24 (1) promote economic development;
5-25 (2) attempt to reduce unemployment;
5-26 (3) encourage the development of new industry by
5-27 private businesses; and
6-1 (4) encourage financing of projects designated under
6-2 Section 378.009.
6-3 Sec. 378.009. REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. (a) The board may
6-4 designate as a redevelopment project, a project that relates to:
6-5 (1) the development of base property and the
6-6 surrounding areas; or
6-7 (2) the development of a defense base in the territory
6-8 of the municipality that established the authority and areas
6-9 surrounding that base.
6-10 (b) A project designated under Subsection (a) is for a
6-11 public purpose.
6-12 Sec. 378.010. BONDS. (a) An authority may issue bonds only
6-13 if the municipality that established the authority authorizes the
6-14 issuance by resolution.
6-15 (b) A bond issued under this chapter must:
6-16 (1) be payable solely from authority revenue;
6-17 (2) mature not later than 40 years after its date of
6-18 issuance; and
6-19 (3) state on its face that it is not an obligation of
6-20 this state or the municipality.
6-21 Sec. 378.011. TAX EXEMPTIONS. (a) An authority's property,
6-22 income, and operations are exempt from taxes imposed by the state
6-23 or a political subdivision of the state.
6-24 (b) Section 25.07(a), Tax Code, does not apply to a
6-25 leasehold or other possessory interest granted by an authority for
6-26 a project designated under Section 378.009(a).
6-27 Sec. 378.012. DISSOLUTION. The governing body of a
7-1 municipality that established the authority by resolution may
7-2 dissolve the authority after all debts or obligations of the
7-3 authority have been satisfied. Property of the authority that
7-4 remains after dissolution is conveyed to the municipality.
7-5 SECTION 2. (a) For purposes of this section, a "defense
7-6 base development corporation" means a corporation established under
7-7 Section 4B, Development Corporation Act of 1979 (Article 5190.6,
7-8 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), for the purpose of promoting
7-9 projects regarding a military base closure or realignment under the
7-10 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. Section
7-11 2687 note) and its subsequent amendments.
7-12 (b) Each of the following acts of a defense base development
7-13 corporation is validated and confirmed as of the date it occurred:
7-14 (1) each act or proceeding of the corporation taken
7-15 before March 1, 1999;
7-16 (2) the election or appointment and each act of a
7-17 director or other official of the corporation who took office
7-18 before the effective date of this Act;
7-19 (3) each act or proceeding relating to a bond or other
7-20 obligation of the corporation authorized before the effective date
7-21 of this Act; and
7-22 (4) each act or proceeding relating to the entity's
7-23 incorporation under the Development Corporation Act of 1979
7-24 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
7-25 (c) This section does not apply to:
7-26 (1) an act, proceeding, bond, or obligation the
7-27 validity of which is the subject of litigation that is pending on
8-1 the effective date of this Act;
8-2 (2) an election or appointment of a director or
8-3 official the validity of which is the subject of litigation that is
8-4 pending on the effective date of this Act;
8-5 (3) an act or proceeding that was void or that, under
8-6 a statute of this state at the time the action or proceeding
8-7 occurred, was a misdemeanor or felony; or
8-8 (4) an act or proceeding that has been held invalid by
8-9 a final judgment of a court.
8-10 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
8-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-15 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-16 passage, and it is so enacted.