78R7123 RCJ-D
By: Harper-Brown H.B. No. 1832
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain powers of the City of Irving with regard to and
validating certain acts of the Dallas County Utility and
Reclamation District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5, Chapter 628, Acts of the 68th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1983, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 5. All powers of the district shall be exercised by a
board of five directors. Each director shall serve for his term of
office as herein provided and thereafter until his successor shall
be appointed and qualified. If any director ceases to possess the
qualifications prescribed herein, his office shall be declared
vacant by the board of directors and his successor shall be
appointed by the City Council of the City of Irving. Each director
shall be at least 18 years of age and possess one of the following
qualifications: own land within the district subject to taxation;
be a qualified voter residing within the district at the time of his
qualification as a director; be an agent, employee, officer, or
director of any individual, corporation, trust, or partnership that
owns or leases real property within the district; or be a resident
of the City of Irving and shall qualify by subscribing the
constitutional oath of office and by giving bond in the amount of
$5,000 for the faithful performance of his duties. At least three
of the five directors shall be qualified as directors under Section
49.052(a), Water Code, without consideration of any exceptions from
that subsection provided by other provisions of Section 49.052,
Water Code. Section 49.052, Water Code, applies to the extent of
this section and for no other purpose. All directors' bonds shall
be approved by the district's board of directors and recorded in the
official bond records of the County Clerk of Dallas County. The
five directors serving on the effective date of this Act shall
continue as directors of the district and shall remain as directors
until their successors are duly appointed and take office on
October 1, 1999. Beginning with the first day of October, 1999, the
City Council of the City of Irving shall appoint three directors for
terms of four years and two directors for terms of two years. On the
first day of October of each odd-numbered year thereafter, the
directors whose terms expire shall be appointed by the City Council
of the City of Irving and shall serve for a term of four years and
until their successors are appointed and take office. All
vacancies on the board of directors shall be filled by appointment
to the unexpired term by the City Council of the City of Irving.
[The City Council of the City of Irving may remove and replace any
director it appoints at any time without cause.] The city by its
appointment [and removal] of directors and any other action taken,
except the action to dissolve the district under state law or any
other specific action taken by the city, which action must be
evidenced in writing, directly relating to any bond, note,
financial obligation, or contractual obligation of the district,
does not assume, agree to pay, or guarantee the payment of any bond,
note, or other financial obligation or undertaking of the district,
whether in the form of securities or in other contractual forms,
including the district's bonds. The directors shall establish in
the district's bylaws what shall constitute a quorum for any
meeting, and a concurrence of a majority of the quorum shall be
necessary in all district matters. The board of directors shall
prescribe the method of execution of all contracts, the signing of
checks, and the handling of any other matters approved by the board
of directors as shown in the official minutes of the district.
Annually in the month of October, the board shall reorganize and
elect new officers as soon as practicable. The board of directors
may designate one or more assistant secretaries and an assistant
treasurer, who may but need not be a member of the board of
directors. The secretary of the board of directors or one of the
assistant secretaries shall be responsible for keeping the minutes
of the meetings of the board of directors and all official records
of the board and may certify to any action taken by the board of
directors. Each member of the board of directors shall receive a
per diem payment of $50 for each regular or special board or
committee meeting and shall be reimbursed for actual expenses
approved by the board of directors. The board of directors shall
hold regular and special meetings at such times and on such dates as
the board shall determine upon giving of notice as required by the
district's bylaws.
SECTION 2. Section 14, Chapter 628, Acts of the 68th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1983, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14. The district shall obtain the approval of the City
of Irving in the form of a city council resolution as a condition
precedent to the annexation of any additional land [and the
approval of the district's annual operation and maintenance
budget].
SECTION 3. Section 15, Chapter 628, Acts of the 68th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1983, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 15. The district may be abolished and dissolved on a
specified effective date by the mutual consent of a three-fourths
majority of the district's board of directors and a three-fourths
majority of the members of the city council of the City of Irving.
In the event of those consents, on the agreed effective date, the
district is abolished and dissolved and the City of Irving:
(1) owns all the property and assets of the district;
(2) assumes all the debts, liabilities, and
obligations of the district; and
(3) performs all the functions of the district,
including the provision of services [The City of Irving shall have
the right to abolish and dissolve the district and to assume all
bonded indebtedness and other district obligations pursuant to and
in accordance with Section 2a, Chapter 128, Acts of the 50th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, as amended (Article 1182c-1,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)].
SECTION 4. (a) The following actions of the Dallas County
Utility and Reclamation District are validated and confirmed as if
the actions had been done as authorized by law:
(1) all acts and governmental proceedings of the
district taken before the effective date of this Act; and
(2) the election or appointment of directors or other
officials of the district who took office before the effective date
of this Act.
(b) This Act does not apply to:
(1) an act or proceeding that was void at the time it
occurred;
(2) an act or proceeding that, under a statute of this
state or the United States, was a misdemeanor or felony at the time
the act or proceeding occurred;
(3) a rule that, at the time it was passed, was
preempted by a statute of this state or the United States; or
(4) a matter that on the effective date of this Act:
(A) is involved in litigation if the litigation
ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final
judgment of a court; or
(B) has been held invalid by a final judgment of a
court.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.