78R14000 RCJ-D
By: McReynolds H.B. No. 3626
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3626:
By: Cook of Colorado C.S.H.B. No. 3626
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the exclusion of property from Waterwood Municipal
Utility District No. 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
Waterwood Municipal District No. 1.
(2) "District" means the Waterwood Municipal Utility
District No. 1.
SECTION 2. EXCLUSION OF LAND WITHIN DISTRICT. (a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the district may
exclude land from its boundaries under this section. The board of
the district 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
(b); and
(5) is filed before August 31, 2005.
(b) The board of the district 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 of the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality has reviewed the economic impact of the
proposed exclusion of land and does not oppose the exclusion.
(c) If evidence presented at the hearing conclusively
demonstrates that the requirements and grounds for exclusion
described by Subsections (a) and (b) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) For purposes of this section, "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.
SECTION 3. TAX LIABILITY OF EXCLUDED LAND; BONDS
OUTSTANDING. (a) Land excluded from the district under Section 2
of this Act 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.
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 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.