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Amend CSHB 1541 on page 14, between lines 24 and 25, by
inserting the following appropriately numbered section and
renumbering subsequent sections accordingly:
SECTION __. Subchapter H, Chapter 54, Water Code, is amended
by adding Sections 54.748 and 54.749 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.748. EXCLUSION OF LAND FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE
SUFFICIENT SERVICES; BONDS OUTSTANDING. (a) This section applies
only to a district that has a total area of more than 5,000 acres.
(b) The board shall call a hearing on the exclusion of land
from the district on a written petition filed with the secretary of
the board by a landowner whose land has been included in and taxable
by the district for more than 28 years if any bonds issued by the
district payable in whole or in part from taxes of the district are
outstanding and the petition:
(1) includes a signed petition evidencing the consent
of the owners of a majority of the acreage proposed to be excluded,
as reflected by the most recent certified tax roll of the district;
(2) includes a claim that the district has not
provided the land with utility services;
(3) describes the property to be excluded;
(4) provides, at the petitioner's expense, facts
necessary for the board to make the findings required by Subsection
(c); and
(5) is filed before August 31, 2005.
(c) The board may exclude land under this section only on
finding that:
(1) the district has never provided utility services
to the land described by the petition;
(2) the district has imposed a tax on the land for more
than 28 years;
(3) all taxes the district has levied and assessed
against the land and all fees and assessments the district has
imposed against the land or the owner that are due and payable on or
before the date of the petition are fully paid; and
(4) the executive director has reviewed the economic
impact of the proposed exclusion of land and does not oppose the
exclusion.
(d) If evidence presented at the hearing conclusively
demonstrates that the requirements and grounds for exclusion
described by Subsections (b) and (c) have been met, the board may
enter an order excluding the land from the district. If the board
enters an order excluding the land, the board shall redefine in the
order the boundaries of the district to embrace all land not
excluded.
(e) A copy of an order excluding land and redefining the
boundaries of the district shall be filed in the deed records of the
county in which the district is located.
(f) The exclusion of land under this section does not impair
the rights of holders of any outstanding bonds, warrants, or other
certificates of indebtedness of the district.
(g) After any land is excluded under this section, the
district may issue any unissued additional debt approved by the
voters of the district before exclusion of the land under this
section without holding a new election. Additional debt issued
after land is excluded from the district may not be payable from and
does not create a lien against the taxable value of the excluded
land.
(h) For purposes of this section and Section 54.749, "land"
includes any improvements to the land, and when used in the context
of property taxes, "land" has the meaning assigned to "real
property" by Section 1.04, Tax Code.
Sec. 54.749. TAX LIABILITY OF EXCLUDED LAND; BONDS
OUTSTANDING. (a) Land excluded from the district under Section
54.748 that is pledged as security for any outstanding debt of the
district remains pledged for its pro rata share of the debt until
final payment is made. The district shall continue to levy and
collect taxes on the excluded land at the same rate levied on land
remaining in the district until the amount of taxes collected from
the excluded land equals the land's pro rata share of the district's
debt outstanding at the time the land was excluded from the
district.
(b) The district shall apply the taxes collected on the
excluded land only to the payment of the excluded land's pro rata
share of the debt.