S.B. No. 1928




AN ACT

relating to the boundaries of the Athens Municipal Water Authority.           
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subsections (a) and (b), Section 2, Chapter 142, 
Acts of the 55th Legislature, Regular Session, 1957, are amended to 
read as follows:
	(a)  The Authority shall be in Henderson County, Texas, and 
shall embrace, subject to annexations of territory as [hereinafter] 
provided by this section, Section 5 of this Act, or Chapter 49, 
Water Code [for], all of the territory which is [was] contained 
within the corporate limits of the City of Athens, Henderson 
County, Texas, on September 1, 2003 [the 2nd day of May, 1957].  [No 
territory annexed to the City of Athens subsequent to the 2nd day of 
May, 1957, shall hereafter be considered a part of said Authority 
solely by virtue of the annexation thereof to the City of Athens.  
No defect or irregularity in the boundaries of said City of Athens 
as they existed on the 2nd day of May, 1957, or in any of the 
proceedings relating to the territory thereof or annexations 
thereto accomplished prior to said date shall ever affect the 
validity of the Authority or any of its rights, powers, privileges 
or functions, it being affirmatively found and determined that all 
of the territory comprising and recognized as being within the City 
of Athens on the 2nd day of May, 1957, and all other territory 
hereafter brought into said Authority pursuant to the provisions 
hereof relating thereto, shall comprise said Authority and that all 
of same will be benefited by the improvements and facilities to be 
constructed, acquired or otherwise furnished under this Act.]
	(b)  Any territory annexed to the City of Athens [subsequent 
to the 2nd day of May, 1957,] may become a part of the Authority by 
resolution of the Authority's Board of Directors officially 
declaring such annexation and designating the territory either by 
reference to the City's annexation ordinance, or otherwise, 
provided that no such annexation shall become final unless the 
Board of Directors of the Authority shall make an order setting the 
date of a hearing, notice of which shall be posted in three (3) 
public places within the territory proposed to be annexed, such 
posting to be made not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the date 
of hearing.  Such notice of hearing shall contain a statement of the 
nature and purpose thereof, and the date and time and place of 
hearing.  Upon the date set for hearing, any person whose land is 
included in or would be affected by the proposed annexation may 
appear and contest such annexation and may offer testimony to show 
that said annexation would or would not be a benefit to such land 
proposed to be included within the district.  If it shall appear on 
hearing by the Board of Directors of the Authority that such 
annexation as proposed is feasible and practicable and that it 
would be a benefit to the land proposed to be annexed, the Board of 
Directors shall so find and enter its order annexing same.  If the 
Board of Directors should find that such proposed annexation is not 
feasible and practicable or would not be a benefit to the land 
proposed to be annexed, the Board shall refuse the proposed 
annexation.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  All actions and proceedings taken before 
the effective date of this Act in annexing territory to the Athens 
Municipal Water Authority are validated and that territory is 
declared to constitute a part of the district.  All acts of the 
board of directors of the district in redefining the boundaries of 
the district and the redefined boundaries are validated.
	(b)  The validation provisions of Subsection (a) of this 
section do not apply to any annexation or redefinition of 
boundaries that on the effective date of this Act:
		(1)  is involved in litigation if the litigation 
ultimately results in the annexation or redefinition being held 
invalid by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
		(2)  has been held invalid by a final judgment of a 
court of competent jurisdiction.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                           

                                                                              




______________________________    ______________________________
President of the Senate             Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1928 passed the Senate on 
May 13, 2003, by a viva-voce vote.




______________________________ 
   Secretary of the Senate             
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1928 passed the House on 
May 28, 2003, by a non-record vote.




______________________________ 
   Chief Clerk of the House            



Approved:


______________________________ 
            Date



______________________________ 
          Governor