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S.B. No. 1808
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Galveston County Municipal Utility
District No. 54; 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 8147 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8147. GALVESTON COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 54
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8147.001. 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. 54.
Sec. 8147.002. NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a
municipal utility district in Galveston County created under and
essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI,
Texas Constitution.
Sec. 8147.003. 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. 8147.004. 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 Section 52, Article III, and
Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
(b) The district is created to accomplish:
(1) the same purposes as a municipal utility district
as provided by Section 54.012, Water Code; and
(2) to the extent authorized by Section 52, Article
III, Texas Constitution, the construction, acquisition,
improvement, maintenance, or operation of macadamized, graveled,
or paved roads or turnpikes, or improvements in aid of those roads
or turnpikes, inside the district.
Sec. 8147.005. 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.
[Sections 8147.006-8147.050 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sec. 8147.051. DIRECTORS; TERMS. (a) The district is
governed by a board of five directors.
(b) Except as provided by Section 8147.053, directors serve
staggered four-year terms.
Sec. 8147.052. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS. On the uniform
election date in May of each even-numbered year, the appropriate
number of directors shall be elected.
Sec. 8147.053. INITIAL DIRECTORS. (a) The initial board
consists of:
(1) Shirley McLennan;
(2) Greg Ordeneaux;
(3) Amy Zapletal;
(4) Terri Schoener; and
(5) Scott Bean.
(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 8147.054-8147.100 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 8147.101. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. The district has
the powers and duties necessary to accomplish the purposes for
which the district is created.
Sec. 8147.102. 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. 8147.103. ROAD PROJECTS. (a) The district may
construct, acquire, improve, maintain, or operate macadamized,
graveled, or paved roads or turnpikes, or improvements in aid of
those roads or turnpikes, inside the district.
(b) A road project must meet all applicable construction
standards, zoning and subdivision requirements, and regulatory
ordinances of the municipality or county in whose jurisdiction the
district is located.
(c) The district may not undertake a road project unless
each municipality or county in whose jurisdiction the district is
located consents by ordinance or resolution.
Sec. 8147.104. COMPLIANCE WITH MUNICIPAL CONSENT
ORDINANCES OR RESOLUTIONS. Subject to the limitations of Section
54.016, Water Code, the district shall comply with all applicable
requirements of any ordinance or resolution adopted by the city
council that consents to the creation of the district or to the
inclusion of lands within the district.
Sec. 8147.105. LIMITATION ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN. The
district may exercise the power of eminent domain outside the
district only to acquire an easement necessary for underground
water, sewage, or drainage facilities that serve the district.
[Sections 8147.106-8147.150 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 8147.151. ELECTIONS REGARDING TAXES OR BONDS.
(a) Except as provided by Section 8147.201(c), 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.
Sec. 8147.152. AD VALOREM TAX. (a) If authorized at an
election held under Section 8147.151, 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 8147.153-8147.200 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER E. BONDS AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS
Sec. 8147.201. 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.
(c) The district may not issue bonds to finance projects
authorized by Section 8147.103 unless the issuance is approved by a
vote of a two-thirds majority of the voters of the district voting
at an election called for that purpose.
(d) Bonds or other obligations issued or incurred to finance
projects authorized by Section 8147.103 may not exceed one-fourth
of the assessed value of the real property in the district.
(e) Sections 49.181 and 49.182, Water Code, do not apply to
a project undertaken by the district under Section 8147.103 or to
bonds issued by the district to finance the project.
Sec. 8147.202. 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.
SECTION 2. The Galveston County Municipal Utility District
No. 54 initially includes all the territory contained in the
following area:
BEING 212.06 acres of land situated in the Alexander Farmer League,
Abstract No. 11, Galveston County, Texas, being out of a called
2,052.761 acre tract of land recorded under Galveston County
Clerk's File Number 2000027987 and a portion of Holland Road
recorded under Volume 1199, Page 407 of the Galveston County Deed
Records, said 212.06 acre tract being more particularly described
by metes and bounds as follows with the basis of bearings being the
Texas State Plane Coordinate System, South Central Zone:
BEGINNING at a 5/8-inch iron rod with cap stamped "Hovis Surveying"
found for the most northerly corner of said called 2,052.761 acre
tract, being in the east line of Interurban Gardens, a subdivision
recorded in Volume 223, Page 207 of the Galveston County Map Records
and in the south right-of-way line of Interstate Highway 45 (Width
Varies), from which a found disturbed 5/8-inch iron rod bears S 40°
53' E, 1.22 feet and a found 5/8-inch iron rod bears S 02° 01' E, 6.82
feet;
THENCE with the southwesterly right-of-way line of Interstate
Highway 45 (Width Varies) as follows:
S 42° 38' 35" E, a distance of 1,594.72 feet to a point for corner and
point of curve;
In a southerly direction, 558.46 feet, with the arc of a curve to
the right, having a radius of 533.69 feet, a central angle of 59° 57'
19" and chord which bears S 12° 26' 02" E, 533.33 feet to a broken
TxDOT monument found for corner;
S 17° 32' 12" W, a distance of 51.06 feet to a TxDOT monument found
for corner and point of curve, from which a found 5/8-inch iron rod
bears S 73° 23' W, 2.05 feet;
In a southerly direction, 185.89 feet, with the arc of a curve to
the left, having a radius of 423.06 feet, a central angle of 25° 10'
32" and chord which bears S 04° 30' 42" W, 184.40 feet to a TxDOT
monument found for corner, from which a found 5/8-inch iron rod
bears S 89° 02' W, 0.98 feet;
S 07° 34' 27" E, a distance of 35.11 feet to a broken TxDOT monument
found for corner;
S 46° 19' 11" W, a distance of 49.82 feet to a broken TxDOT monument
found for corner from which a found 5/8-inch iron rod bears N 66° 13'
W, 0.70 feet;
S 01° 26' 48" E, a distance of 80.39 feet to a to a TxDOT monument
found for corner;
S 59° 51' 01" E, a distance of 99.95 feet to a TxDOT monument found
for corner;
S 29° 02' 56" E, a distance of 38.17 feet to a TxDOT monument found
for corner and point of curve from which a found 5/8-inch iron rod
bears S 09°48' E, 5.28 feet;
In a southeasterly direction, 480.47 feet, with the arc of a curve
to the left, having a radius of 423.06 feet, a central angle of 65°
04' 17" and chord which bears S 60° 14' 11" E, 455.06 feet to a TxDOT
monument found for a corner, from which a 5/8-inch iron rod bears N
16° 14' W, 3.45 feet;
N 87° 26' 16" E, a distance of 291.31 feet to a broken TxDOT monument
found for corner and point of curve;
In a southeasterly direction, 464.90 feet, with the arc of a curve
to the right, having a radius of 533.69 feet, a central angle of 49°
54' 39" and chord which bears S 67° 36' 31" E, 450.34 feet to a
disturbed TxDOT monument found at the end of curve from which a
found 5/8-inch iron rod bears N 08° 38' E, 2.55 feet;
S 42° 40' 24" E, a distance of 4811.23 feet to a TxDOT monument, and a
5/8-inch iron rod with cap stamped "Hovis Surveying" found for
corner;
N 47° 19' 36" E, a distance of 40.00 feet to a 5/8-inch iron rod with
cap stamped "Hovis Surveying" found for corner from which a found
broken TxDOT monument which bears N 53° 47' W, 0.78 feet, and from
which a found broken TxDOT monument bears N 44° 02' W, 5.46 feet;
S 42° 40' 24" E, a distance of 70.00 feet to a 5/8-inch iron rod with
cap stamped "Hovis Surveying" found for corner;
S 47° 19' 36" W, a distance of 40.00 feet to a 5/8-inch iron rod with
cap stamped "Hovis Surveying" found for corner from which a found
TxDOT monument bears N 41° 18' W, 7.38 feet;
S 42° 40' 24" E, a distance of 1,605.85 feet to a point for a corner;
THENCE over and across the said called 2,052.761 acre tract as
follows:
S 47° 19' 36" W, a distance of 1000.00 feet to a point for a
corner;
N 42° 40' 24" W, a distance of 1,804.37 feet to a point in the
southeasterly line of a varied width Galveston County Water Company
Canal as recorded in Volume 821, Page 490 of the Galveston County
Deed Records;
THENCE along the southeasterly line of the said varied width
Galveston County Water Company Canal as follows:
N 66° 22' 36" E, a distance of 459.14 feet to a point for a corner;
S 33° 12' 24" E, a distance of 8.80 feet to a point for a corner;
N 56° 47' 36" E, a distance of 549.94 feet to a point for a corner;
THENCE N 42° 40' 24" W over and across the said varied width
Galveston County Water Company Canal and the said called 2,052.761
acre tract, a distance of 1,710.86 feet to a point for a corner;
THENCE over and across the said called 2,052.761 acre tract as
follows:
S 47° 19' 36" W, a distance of 975.00 feet to a point for a corner;
N 42° 40' 24" W, a distance of 2,700.00 feet to a point for a corner;
S 88° 01' 49" W, a distance of 1836.03 feet to a point in the east
line of the said Interurban Gardens Subdivision;
THENCE N 01° 58' 11" W, along the east lines of the said Interurban
Gardens Subdivision and Holland Road Estates, Section Two as
recorded under Volume 18, Page 442, of the Galveston County Map
Records, a distance of 3,670.00 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING and
containing 212.06 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1808 passed the Senate on
May 10, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that the
Senate concurred in House amendment on May 24, 2005, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1808 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 20, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 139,
Nays 0, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor