By: McReynolds H.B. No. 3626
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the exclusion of land from Waterwood Municipal Utility
District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 54, Water Code, is amended
by adding Sections 54.748 and Section 54.749 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.748. EXCLUSION LAND LOCATED WITHIN WATERWOOD MUNICIPAL
UTILITY. (a) The board of the Waterwood Municipal Utility 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 facts necessary at the petitioner's
expense for the board to make the findings as required under
subsection (b) of this section; and
(5) is filed prior to 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 service to
the land described by the petition;
(2) the district has imposed a tax on the land for more
than 28 years; and
(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;
(4) The executive director of the commission has
reviewed the economic impact of the proposed exclusion of land and
poses no objection.
(c) After considering evidence presented at the hearing
that 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
and 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
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 the 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 and Section 49.3077, "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 54.749. TAX LIABILITY OF EXCLUDED LAND, BONDS
OUTSTANDING. (a) Land excluded from the district under Section
40.3076 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.
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 2. 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.