By: Bernsen S.B. No. 1154
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 Amending Chapter 43, Subchapter D, Local Government Code, by adding
1-2 Section 43.0752 relating to the authority of certain districts and
1-3 municipalities to enter into regional development agreements and
1-4 related agreements; containing legislative findings; and declaring
1-5 an emergency.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. That Chapter 43, Subchapter D, Local Government
1-8 Code, is amended by adding Section 43.0752 as follows:
1-9 Sec. 43.0752 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
1-10 (a) It is the intent of the legislature to make certain and expand
1-11 the authority of certain municipalities and conservation and
1-12 reclamation districts located in an extraterritorial jurisdiction
1-13 to negotiate and enter into mutually acceptable agreements in lieu
1-14 of annexation.
1-15 (b) In this section:
1-16 (1) "Municipality" means a home rule municipality having a
1-17 population of [,]1,600,000 or more.
1-18 (2) "District" means a conservation and reclamation district
1-19 created or operating pursuant to Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code and
1-20 situated entirely within a planned community and entirely within
1-21 the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality.
1-22 (3) "Planned community" means a planned community of 10,000
2-1 acres or more that is subject, in whole or in part, to restrictive
2-2 covenants containing ad valorem based assessments on real property
2-3 used or to be used, in whole or in part, to fund governmental or
2-4 quasi-governmental services and facilities within and for the
2-5 planned community.
2-6 (4) "Regional development agreement" means a contract or
2-7 agreement entered into pursuant to or in anticipation of the
2-8 authority granted by this section, and any amendments,
2-9 modifications, supplements, additions, renewals or extensions
2-10 thereto, and any proceedings evidencing the addition of one or more
2-11 districts as parties thereto.
2-12 (c) Notwithstanding any general or special law or any home rule
2-13 charter provision to the contrary, the governing body of a
2-14 municipality and the governing body of one or more districts may
2-15 enter into a regional development agreement to further regional
2-16 cooperation between the district(s) and the municipality. A
2-17 regional development agreement may provide for any one or more of
2-18 the following:
2-19 (1) Deferral of the annexation of all or any portion of the
2-20 lands in the district(s) for full, limited or other purposes for a
2-21 mutually agreeable period of time;
2-22 (2) Provision of facilities and services by the parties or
2-23 others to the lands that may be included from time to time within
2-24 the district(s) included or added as parties thereto, including,
2-25 without limitation, optional, backup, emergency, mutual aid or
2-26 supplementary facilities or services;
3-1 (3) One or more payments to be made by the municipality to
3-2 the district(s) included or added as parties thereto or to others
3-3 for services provided by such district(s) or others;
3-4 (4) One or more payments to be made by the district(s)
3-5 included or added as parties thereto or by others to the
3-6 municipality for services provided by the municipality;
3-7 (5) The procedures or standards for receiving any required
3-8 approvals and consents of the municipality;
3-9 (6) The standards for the issuance of bonds, notes,
3-10 refunding bonds or other indebtedness by the district(s) included
3-11 or added as parties thereto;
3-12 (7) Coordination of local, regional and areawide planning
3-13 efforts;
3-14 (8) Remedies not inconsistent with general law in the event
3-15 of breach thereof;
3-16 (9) Modification, amendment, renewal, extension, rescission
3-17 or termination thereof;
3-18 (10) Joinder or addition of other districts as parties
3-19 thereto;
3-20 (11) Designation of express third party beneficiaries
3-21 thereto and, to the extent not inconsistent with general law, the
3-22 rights and remedies of such designated beneficiaries;
3-23 (12) Such other lawful terms that the parties consider
3-24 appropriate.
3-25 (d) A regional development agreement must be in writing and shall
3-26 not be effective until approved by the governing bodies of the
4-1 municipality and the district(s) included as parties thereto;
4-2 provided, however, that a subsequent joinder or addition of other
4-3 districts as parties may be authorized and evidenced in the manner
4-4 provided therein. Upon approval, a regional development agreement
4-5 is binding on subsequent governing bodies of the district(s)
4-6 included or added as parties thereto and of the municipality
4-7 throughout the term thereof.
4-8 (e) A regional development agreement need not include a
4-9 description of the lands contained within the boundaries of the
4-10 district(s) included or added as parties thereto, but shall be
4-11 recorded in the deed records of the county or counties in which the
4-12 lands contained in the district(s) included or added as parties
4-13 thereto are located.
4-14 (f) Upon recordation, a regional development agreement, and any
4-15 proceedings evidencing the joinder or addition of one or more other
4-16 district(s) as parties thereto, shall also bind each owner and each
4-17 future owner of land which may from time to time be included within
4-18 the boundaries of the district(s) that are included or added as
4-19 parties thereto. Upon compliance with the requirements for
4-20 recordation included in Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code or in
4-21 any similar general or special law, relating to the addition or
4-22 exclusion of lands, the owners and future owners of such added or
4-23 excluded lands shall likewise be bound thereby or released
4-24 therefrom.
4-25 (g) The provisions of Sections 42.023 and Section 42.041(b)
4-26 through (e), Local Government Code, shall not be applicable to any
5-1 land or owner of land within district(s) included or added as
5-2 parties to a regional development agreement during the period of
5-3 deferral of annexation established in a regional development
5-4 agreement, and any proceedings initiated pursuant thereto but not
5-5 completed prior to the effective date of this section shall be
5-6 suspended during such deferral period.
5-7 (h) Nothing herein shall be deemed or construed to permit or
5-8 require a district to provide public services and facilities or to
5-9 make payment of public funds from sources not otherwise authorized
5-10 by law; provided, however, that in consideration of the mutual
5-11 benefits to be received by the implementation of a regional
5-12 development agreement or for other lawful consideration, a district
5-13 may contract with any person for the provision of any service or
5-14 facility or the payment of funds by such person, at no cost or
5-15 expense to the district, directly or indirectly, in support or
5-16 furtherance of a regional development agreement to which the
5-17 district is a party.
5-18 (i) A regional development agreement and any action taken pursuant
5-19 thereto by the parties are not subject to approval or an appeal
5-20 brought under the Water Code.
5-21 (j) This section shall be liberally construed so as to give effect
5-22 to its legislative purposes and to sustain the validity of regional
5-23 development agreements, whether entered into pursuant to or in
5-24 anticipation of the authority granted by this section."
5-25 SECTION 2. An agreement entered into in anticipation of the
5-26 passage or effectiveness of this Act, or any portion of such an
6-1 agreement, shall not be invalid because of its authorization,
6-2 execution or delivery prior to the effective date of this Act.
6-3 SECTION 3. This Act is intended as remedial legislation to
6-4 facilitate and to relieve any uncertainty under existing law as to
6-5 the authority of certain municipalities and districts to enter into
6-6 regional development agreements.
6-7 SECTION 4. The legislature finds that there exists a public
6-8 necessity to make certain the law governing the authority of
6-9 municipalities and certain conservation and reclamation districts
6-10 to enter into mutually acceptable agreements providing for the
6-11 joint funding of services in lieu of annexation.
6-12 SECTION 5. The public benefits and the furtherance of the
6-13 legislative goal of conservation and development of the natural
6-14 resources of the state to be derived from making certain the
6-15 existing law so as to facilitate regional development agreements.
6-16 SECTION 6. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
6-17 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-20 days in each house be suspended and this rule is hereby suspended.