By:  Staples                                                      S.B. No. 1933


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 Utility 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) of this section; 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) of this section 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.