By: Jackson S.B. No. 1800
(In the Senate - Filed March 22, 2005; March 30, 2005, read
first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
Relations; May 2, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
May 2, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1800 By: Deuell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Galveston County Municipal Utility
District No. 60; providing authority to impose taxes and issue
bonds; granting the power of eminent domain.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle F, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8137 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8137. GALVESTON COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
NO. 60
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8137.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
district.
(2) "City" means the City of Texas City, Texas.
(3) "Director" means a member of the board.
(4) "District" means the Galveston County Municipal
Utility District No. 60.
Sec. 8137.002. NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a
municipal utility district in Galveston County created under and
essential to accomplish the purposes of Sections 52 and 52-a,
Article III, Section 1-g, Article VIII, and Section 59, Article
XVI, Texas Constitution.
Sec. 8137.003. CONFIRMATION ELECTION REQUIRED. The board
shall hold an election to confirm the creation of the district as
provided by Section 49.102, Water Code.
Sec. 8137.004. FINDINGS OF BENEFIT AND PUBLIC PURPOSE. (a)
All land and other property included in the district will benefit
from the improvements and services to be provided by the district
under powers conferred by Sections 52 and 52-a, Article III,
Section 1-g, Article VIII, and Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution.
(b) The district is created for the same purposes as:
(1) a municipal utility district as provided by
Section 54.012, Water Code;
(2) a road utility district created under Section 52,
Article III, Texas Constitution, and operating under Chapter 441,
Transportation Code, including the purpose of constructing,
acquiring, improving, maintaining, and operating roads and road
facilities;
(3) a navigation district created under Section 59,
Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and operating under Chapters 60
and 62, Water Code; and
(4) the purchase, construction, acquisition,
ownership, improvement, maintenance and operation of the public
works and public improvements authorized for a tax increment
reinvestment zone operating under Chapter 311, Tax Code, and a
municipal management district operating under Chapter 375, Local
Government Code.
Sec. 8137.005. INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. (a) The
district is initially composed of the territory described by
Section 2 of the Act creating this chapter.
(b) The boundaries and field notes contained in Section 2 of
the Act creating this chapter form a closure. A mistake made in the
field notes or in copying the field notes in the legislative process
does not affect the district's:
(1) organization, existence, or validity;
(2) right to issue any type of bond for the purposes
for which the district is created or to pay the principal of and
interest on a bond;
(3) right to impose or collect an assessment or tax; or
(4) legality or operation.
Sec. 8137.006. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. This chapter shall
be liberally construed in conformity with the findings and purposes
set forth in this chapter.
[Sections 8137.007-8137.050 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sec. 8137.051. DIRECTORS; TERMS. (a) The district is
governed by a board of five directors.
(b) Except as provided by Section 8137.053, directors serve
staggered four-year terms.
Sec. 8137.052. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS. On the uniform
election date in May of each even-numbered year, the appropriate
number of directors shall be elected.
Sec. 8137.053. INITIAL DIRECTORS. (a) The initial board
consists of:
(1) Oscar De La Rosa;
(2) Patrick Bourgoyne;
(3) Greg Young;
(4) James Radford; and
(5) Nikki Dickens.
(b) The terms of the first three directors named in
Subsection (a) expire on the uniform election date in May of 2006,
and the terms of the last two directors named in Subsection (a)
expire on the uniform election date in May of 2008.
(c) This section expires September 1, 2009.
[Sections 8137.054-8137.100 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 8137.101. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. The district has
the powers and duties necessary to accomplish the purposes for
which the district is created.
Sec. 8137.102. MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT POWERS AND
DUTIES. The district has the powers and duties provided by the
general law of this state, including Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code,
applicable to municipal utility districts created under Section 59,
Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
Sec. 8137.103. NAVIGATION POWERS. The district may
purchase, construct, acquire, own, operate, maintain, improve, or
extend, inside and outside the district, canals, waterways,
bulkheads, docks, and any other improvements or facilities
necessary or convenient to accomplish the navigation purposes of
the district authorized by Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution.
Sec. 8137.104. TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE. (a) All
or any part of the area of the district is eligible to be included in
a tax increment reinvestment zone created under Chapter 311, Tax
Code.
(b) The district may enter into a contract with the board of
directors of a reinvestment zone and the governing body of the city
that provides for the district to manage or assist in managing the
reinvestment zone or to implement or assist in implementing the
reinvestment zone's project plan and reinvestment zone financing
plan. The contract may require the district to issue bonds or other
obligations and pledge the contract revenues to the payment of the
bonds or other obligations.
Sec. 8137.105. EMINENT DOMAIN. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), the district may exercise the power of eminent
domain as provided by Section 49.222, Water Code.
(b) The district must obtain the written consent of the city
before exercising the power of eminent domain.
[Sections 8137.106-8137.150 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER D. ADDITIONAL ROAD POWERS
Sec. 8137.151. ROAD PROJECTS. (a) As authorized by
Section 52, Article III, Texas Constitution, the district may
construct, acquire, improve, maintain, or operate, inside and
outside the district, roads and road facilities as defined by
Chapter 441, Transportation Code.
(b) The roads and road facilities authorized by Subsection
(a) may include drainage, landscaping, pedestrian improvements,
lights, signs, or signals that are incidental to the roads and their
construction, maintenance, or operation.
(c) The roads and road facilities authorized by this section
must meet all applicable construction standards, zoning and
subdivision requirements, and regulatory ordinances of the city.
(d) On completion of a road or road facility authorized by
this section, the district, with the consent of the city, may convey
the road or road facility to the city if the conveyance is free of
all indebtedness of the district. If the city becomes the owner of
a road or road facility, the city is responsible for all future
maintenance and upkeep and the district has no further
responsibility for the road or road facility or its maintenance or
upkeep, unless otherwise agreed to by the district and the city.
Sec. 8137.152. JOINT ROAD PROJECTS. (a) A district may
contract with a state agency, political subdivision, or corporation
created under Chapter 431, Transportation Code, for a joint road
project.
(b) The contract may:
(1) provide for joint payment of project costs; and
(2) require the state agency, political subdivision,
or corporation to design, construct, or improve a project as
provided by the contract.
(c) A contract may be a contract under Section 49.108, Water
Code.
Sec. 8137.153. REIMBURSEMENT FOR ROAD PROJECT. (a) The
district may:
(1) reimburse a private person for money spent to
construct a road or road facility that is dedicated or otherwise
transferred to public use; or
(2) purchase a road or road facility constructed by a
private person.
(b) The amount paid for the reimbursement or for the
purchase of a road or road facility under Subsection (a) may:
(1) include all construction costs, including
engineering, legal, financing, and other expenses incident to the
construction; or
(2) be at a price not to exceed the replacement cost of
the road or road facility as determined by the board.
(c) The reimbursement or purchase of a road or road facility
may be paid for with proceeds from the sale of the district's bonds
or from any other money available to the district.
(d) The district may enter into an agreement to use the
proceeds of a subsequent bond sale to reimburse a private person
under this section. The agreement may provide the terms and
conditions under which the road or road facility is to be dedicated
or transferred for the benefit of the public.
[Sections 8137.154-8137.200 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER E. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8137.201. ELECTIONS REGARDING TAXES OR BONDS.
(a) The district may issue, without an election, bonds and other
obligations secured by revenue or contract payments from any lawful
source other than ad valorem taxation.
(b) The district must hold an election in the manner
provided by Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code, to obtain voter approval
before the district may impose a maintenance tax or issue bonds
payable from ad valorem taxes.
(c) The board may include more than one purpose in a single
proposition at an election.
(d) The district may issue bonds or other obligations to
finance road projects under Section 52(b)(3), Article III, Texas
Constitution, secured wholly or partly by ad valorem taxation,
impose ad valorem taxes to pay the principal of and interest on the
obligations, and provide a sinking fund for the redemption of the
obligations only if the issuance is approved by a two-thirds
majority of the voters of the district voting at an election called
and held for that purpose. The total amount of bonds issued under
this subsection may not exceed one-fourth of the assessed market
value of real property of the district as determined by the chief
appraiser of the appraisal district that appraises property for the
district.
Sec. 8137.202. AD VALOREM TAX. (a) If authorized at an
election held under Section 8137.201, the district may impose an
annual ad valorem tax on taxable property in the district for the
provision of services or for the maintenance and operation of the
district, including the construction, acquisition, maintenance,
and operation of improvements.
(b) The board shall determine the tax rate. The rate may not
exceed the rate approved at the election.
[Sections 8137.203-8137.250 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER F. BONDS AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS
Sec. 8137.251. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE BONDS AND OTHER
OBLIGATIONS. (a) The district may issue bonds or other
obligations payable wholly or partly from ad valorem taxes, impact
fees, revenue, grants, or other district money, or any combination
of those sources, to pay for any authorized district purpose.
(b) In exercising the district's borrowing power, the
district may issue a bond or other obligation in the form of a bond,
note, certificate of participation, or other instrument evidencing
a proportionate interest in payments to be made by the district, or
other type of obligation.
Sec. 8137.252. TAXES FOR BONDS AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS. At
the time bonds or other obligations payable wholly or partly from ad
valorem taxes are issued:
(1) the board shall impose a continuing direct annual
ad valorem tax, without limit as to rate or amount, for each year
that all or part of the bonds are outstanding; and
(2) the district annually shall impose an ad valorem
tax on all taxable property in the district in an amount sufficient
to:
(A) pay the interest on the bonds or other
obligations as the interest becomes due;
(B) create a sinking fund for the payment of the
principal of the bonds or other obligations when due or the
redemption price at any earlier required redemption date; and
(C) pay the expenses of imposing the taxes.
Sec. 8137.253. BONDS FOR CONTRACT COSTS. If the district
enters into a contract under Section 8137.152, the district may
issue bonds to pay all or part of the costs of the joint road project
and any other payments required under the contract.
Sec. 8137.254. BONDS PAYABLE FROM REVENUE FROM CERTAIN
CONTRACTS. The district may issue bonds payable wholly or partly
from the revenue of a contract authorized by Section 8137.104(b) to
pay for the implementation of the reinvestment zone's project plan
or reinvestment zone financing plan.
Sec. 8137.255. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS COMMISSION ON
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OVER ISSUANCE OF DISTRICT BONDS.
(a) Sections 49.181 and 49.182, Water Code, apply to all water,
wastewater, drainage, and recreational facility projects of the
district and bonds issued for those purposes.
(b) Section 49.181, Water Code, applies to all road and road
facility projects and navigation projects and bonds issued for
those purposes, but the review of the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality of the projects is limited to the financial
feasibility of the projects and bonds, and does not include the
review or approval of the design and construction of the projects or
the engineering feasibility of the projects. The commission shall
adjust the requirements of written applications for investigation
of feasibility in accordance with this subsection.
(c) Section 49.182, Water Code, does not apply to road and
road facility projects, navigation projects, or bonds issued for
those purposes.
(d) To the extent that the district issues bonds secured
solely by revenues provided under a contract described in Section
8137.104(b), Sections 49.181, 49.182, and 49.4645, Water Code, do
not apply to the issuance of the bonds and do not restrict the types
of facilities or improvements that may be financed with the bonds.
(e) Projects and bonds of the district are not subject to
the review and approval of the Texas Transportation Commission or
the rules adopted by the Texas Transportation Commission.
Sec. 8137.256. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER BOND LAW. Chapter
1471, Government Code, does not apply to the district.
SECTION 2. The Galveston County Municipal Utility District
No. 60 initially includes all the territory contained in the
following area:
TRACT 1
Description of 201.0931 acres of land being part of
Subdivisions 0, P, Q, H, F, and G, of the KOHFELDTS RESUBDIVISION
according to the map or plat thereof recorded in Volume 10, Page 35
of the Deed Records of Galveston County, Texas. Said 201.0931 acres
being part of the tracts of land conveyed by deed dated March 22,
2004 from Kohfeldt family Limited Partnership, to Texas Gulf Coast
Holdings I LP., as recorded in Galveston County Clerk's File No. GAC
2004020691, of the Deed Records of Galveston County, Texas, Said
201.0931 acres being situated in the Thomas W. Johnson Survey and
the James Smith Survey, Galveston County, Texas, and being more
particularly described by metes and bounds as follows; (Bearings
based plat calls of said Kohfeldts Resubdivision)
COMMENCING at a point for corner at the intersection of the
north line of F.M. 1764 with the northeasterly line of the G.H. & H.
R.R. railroad right-of-way adjacent to State Highway 3;
THENCE North 87° 48' 00" East, along the north line of said
F.M. 1764, for a distance of 1,474.34 feet to a to a point for the
beginning of a curve to the right;
THENCE along said curve to the right having a radius of
2,906.79 feet, a central angle of 22° 11' 55", a chord bearing and
distance of S 83° 06' 06" E, 1,119.17 feet, an arc length of 1,126.20
feet to a to a point for tangent;
THENCE North 89° 53' 00" East, continuing along the north line
of said F.M. 1764, for a distance of 338.57 feet to a to a point for
corner;
THENCE North, for a distance of 865.06 feet to the most
westerly southwest corner of and PLACE of BEGINNING of the herein
described tract;
THENCE North, for a distance of 1,155.00 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE East, for a distance of 1,320.00 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE North, for a distance of 1,155.00 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE East, for a distance of 2,451.45 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE South, for a distance of 1,155.00 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE East, for a distance of 377.15 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE South, for a distance of 1,155.00 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE West, for a distance of 1,508.60 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE South, for a distance of 859.68 feet to a point for
corner in the north line of said F.M. 1764;
THENCE South 89° 53' 00" West, along the north line of said
F.M. 1764, for a distance of 1,320.00 feet to a to a to a point for
corner;
THENCE North, for a distance of 862.37 feet to a to a point
for corner;
THENCE West, for a distance of 1,320.00 feet to the PLACE OF
BEGINNING of herein described tract of land and containing within
these calls 8,759,616 square feet or 201.0931 acres of land.
TRACT 2
Description of 20.5734 acres of land being part of
Subdivision "0" of the KOHFELDTS RESUBDIVISION according to the map
or plat thereof recorded in Volume 10, Page 35 of the Deed Records
of Galveston County, Texas. Said 20.5734201.0931 acres being part
of the tracts of land conveyed by deed dated March 22, 2004 from
Kohfeldt family Limited Partnership, to Texas Gulf Coast Holdings I
LP., as recorded in Galveston County Clerk's File No. GAC
2004020691, of the Deed Records of Galveston County, Texas, Said
20.5734 acres being situated in the Thomas W. Johnson Survey,
Galveston County, Texas, and being more particularly described by
metes and bounds as follows; (Bearings based plat calls of said
Kohfeldts Resubdivision)
COMMENCING at a point for corner at the intersection of the
north line of F.M. 1764 with the northeasterly line of the G.H. & H.
R.R. railroad right-of-way adjacent to State Highway 3;
THENCE North 87° 48' 00" East, along the north line of said
F.M. 1764, for a distance of 1,474.34 feet to a to a point for the
beginning of a curve to the right;
THENCE along said curve to the right having a radius of
2,906.79 feet, a central angle of 22° 11' 55", a chord bearing and
distance of S 83° 06' 06" E, 1,119.17 feet, an arc length of 1,126.20
feet to a to a point for tangent;
THENCE North 89° 53' 00" East, continuing along the north line
of said F.M. 1764, for a distance of 338.57 feet to a to a point for
corner;
THENCE North, for a distance of 865.06 feet to the northeast
corner and PLACE of BEGINNING of the herein described tract;
THENCE South, for a distance of 865.06 feet to a point for
corner in the north line of said F.M. 1764;
THENCE South 89° 53' 00" West, continuing along the north line
of said F.M. 1764, for a distance of 338.57 feet to a to a point for
the beginning of a curve to the right;
THENCE along said curve to the right having a radius of
2,816.93 feet, a central angle of 06° 33' 25", a chord bearing and
distance of N 86° 54' 43" W, 412.52 feet, an arc length of 322.38
feet to a to a point for corner;
THENCE North, for a distance of 353.39 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE West, for a distance of 660.00 feet to a point for
corner;
THENCE North, for a distance of 495.00 feet to a point for the
northwest corner of the herein described tract;
THENCE East, for a distance of 1,320.00 feet to a point for
the northeast corner of the herein described tract;
THENCE South, for a distance of 856.06 feet to a point for
corner to the PLACE OF BEGINNING of herein described tract of land
and containing within these calls 896,176 square feet or 20.5734
acres of land.
SECTION 3. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 4. 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, 2005.
* * * * *