By: Staples S.B. No. 1928
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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.