By: Geren H.B. No. 2639
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers and duties of the Tarrant Regional Water
District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 17(a), Chapter 268, Acts of the 55th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1957, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The district may make and enforce reasonable rules,
permits, orders, and ordinances necessary to accomplish the
district's authorized purposes, including:
(1) to secure and maintain safe, sanitary, and
adequate plumbing installations, connections, and appurtenances as
subsidiary parts of sanitary sewer systems;
(2) to preserve the sanitary condition of all land and
water controlled by the district;
(3) to prevent the waste or unauthorized use of water;
(4) to regulate residing, hunting, fishing, boating,
and camping, and all recreational and business privileges on any
body or stream of water, or any body of land, or any easement owned
or controlled by the district; [and]
(5) to regulate privileges on any land, easement, or
property interest adjoining a reservoir or other property of the
district to prevent activities on such adjoining land, easement, or
property interest that could adversely affect the purity of water
in this state; and
(6) to promote state or local economic development and
stimulate business and commercial activity in the district.
SECTION 2. Chapter 268, Acts of the 55th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1957, is amended by adding Section 17A to read as
follows:
Sec. 17A. A determination by the board of directors of the
district that a public works project is intended to conserve and
develop the natural resources of this state, to promote recreation
or economic development, or to control, store, preserve, develop,
or distribute the district's storm and flood waters, and the waters
of the district's rivers and streams, is conclusive with regard to
whether the project serves the purposes for which the district was
created or authorized.
SECTION 3. Section 18, Chapter 268, Acts of the 55th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1957, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 18. The district may provide for or participate in the
acquisition, construction, development, operation, or maintenance
of recreational facilities to the full extent authorized by Section
59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, the Water Code, or other
applicable law.
SECTION 4. Chapter 268, Acts of the 55th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1957, is amended by adding Section 18A to read as
follows:
Sec. 18A. (a) The district may provide for or participate
in the acquisition, construction, development, operation, or
maintenance of facilities intended to promote economic development
to the full extent authorized by Section 52-a, Article III, Texas
Constitution.
(b) The district may engage in activities intended to
stimulate business and commercial activity in the district,
including making loans or grants of money for economic development
purposes in accordance with Section 52-a, Article III, Texas
Constitution, and may acquire for economic development purposes the
fee simple title or a lesser property interest in land for the
district's use or for the sale or lease of the land for a
reclamation, economic development, or water control or development
project.
(c) The district may sponsor and participate in an economic
development program intended to strengthen the economic base and
further the economic development of this state.
(d) A determination by the board of directors of the
district that an economic development program is intended and
expected to accomplish the program's stated purposes is conclusive
with respect to whether the program serves the purposes of this
section.
(e) An economic development program must be within the
boundaries of the district.
(f) An economic development program may be established only
by formal action of the board of directors of the district.
(g) If the board of directors of the district establishes an
economic development program, the board must:
(1) establish the goals of the program;
(2) impose requirements on persons participating in or
receiving a benefit from the program; and
(3) provide restrictions, procedures, and budget
limits that the board of directors determines are necessary to
ensure that the governmental purposes of this section and the
program are achieved.
(h) An economic development program may involve the
granting or lending of money, services, or property to a person
engaged in an economic development activity.
(i) The district may employ staff and spend its resources,
other than money received from an ad valorem tax or a general
appropriation, to further an economic development program.
(j) The district may apply for and receive money, grants, or
other assistance from any source to implement an economic
development program.
(k) The district and any public or private person may enter
into an agreement concerning an economic development program,
including an agreement under Chapter 791, Government Code.
SECTION 5. Chapter 268, Acts of the 55th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1957, is amended by adding Section 18B to read as
follows:
Sec. 18B. (a) The board of directors of the district may by
resolution create one or more nonprofit corporations to act on
behalf of the district as the district's authority and
instrumentality.
(b) A nonprofit corporation created under Subsection (a) of
this section shall:
(1) establish and maintain the principal office of the
corporation inside the boundaries of the district; and
(2) exercise the corporation's powers relating to real
property or tangible personal property only inside the boundaries
of the district.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Texas
Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's
Texas Civil Statutes) applies to a corporation created under this
section.
(d) Sections 5-20 and 33-36, Development Corporation Act of
1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), apply to a
corporation created under this section.
(e) A corporation created under this section may exercise
any power of the district, but the corporation may exercise the
power of eminent domain and the power to acquire, lease, purchase,
or sell real property only on approval of the board of directors of
the district. When exercising a power under this section, a
corporation and the corporation's board of directors have the same
powers as the district and the district's board of directors,
including the power to issue bonds or other obligations or
otherwise borrow money on behalf of the district to accomplish any
purpose of the corporation.
(f) The board of directors of a corporation created under
this section may exercise the power to issue an obligation granted
to the governing body of an issuer under Chapter 1371, Government
Code.
(g) A corporation created under this section and the
district may:
(1) share officers, directors, employees, equipment,
and facilities; and
(2) provide goods and services to each other at cost
without the requirement of competitive bidding.
(h) The board of directors of the district shall appoint the
directors of a corporation created under this section. The
directors of the corporation serve at the will of the district's
board of directors.
(i) A member of the district's board of directors may serve
as a member of the corporation's board of directors.
(j) The budget of a corporation created under this section
must be approved by the board of directors of the district.
(k) The activities of the district's corporation are
subject to the continuing review and supervision of the district's
board of directors.
(l) The issuance of bonds or other obligations under this
Act by a corporation created under this section must be approved by
the board of directors of the district.
(m) The district's board of directors may sell, lease, loan,
or otherwise transfer some, all, or substantially all of the real
property of the district to a corporation created under this
section. The property transfer must be made under terms approved by
the board of directors of the district.
(n) Under Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution, a
corporation that has been created in accordance with this section
may guarantee or otherwise provide credit support for any public
security or other obligation or contract of the corporation if the
board of directors of the district determines that the guarantee or
other credit agreement:
(1) is beneficial to a public purpose of the district;
and
(2) is for the public purpose of:
(A) the development and diversification of the
economy of this state;
(B) the elimination of unemployment or
underemployment in this state; or
(C) the development or expansion of commerce in
this state.
(o) A determination by the board of directors of the
district under Subsection (n) of this section is conclusive.
(p) A guarantee or other credit agreement authorized by
Subsection (n) of this section may provide for the guarantee of or
other credit support for public securities or other obligations or
contracts of the corporation, all or a portion of which may be
authorized, executed, and delivered in the future.
(q) Chapter 1202, Government Code, applies to a guarantee or
other credit agreement under this section as if the guarantee or
other credit agreement were a public security.
SECTION 6. Section 21, Chapter 268, Acts of the 55th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1957, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 21. (a) Subchapter I, Chapter 49, Water Code, applies
to the district, except when the district is purchasing goods or
services described by Section 252.022, Local Government Code.
(b) The district may use the competitive proposal method
when the board of directors of the district determines that doing so
is in the best interest of the district.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.