80R9287 MXM-F

By: Riddle H.B. No. 3248

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the transfer or exclusion of territory in emergency services districts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 775.056, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:

(d) The board secretary of the district to which territory is proposed to be transferred shall give notice of the hearing. The notice must contain the time and place for the hearing and describe the territory proposed to be transferred. The secretary shall:

(1) post copies of the notice for at least 15 days before the date of the hearing in three public places in the district, one of which must be in the territory proposed to be transferred; and

(2) not later than the 16th day before the date on which the hearing is held, publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the transferred territory is located.

(e) After the hearing, if the board of each affected district finds that the transfer of the territory would be feasible and would benefit the district, each board shall approve the transfer by a resolution entered in its minutes.

SECTION 2. Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subchapter H to read as follows: SUBCHAPTER H. CHANGE IN BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICT WITH PLANNED COMMUNITY

Sec. 775.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "planned community" means a planned community of 15,000 or more acres of land originally established under the Urban Growth and New Community Development Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. Section 4501 et seq.) that is:

(1) located in a county with a population of 2.8 million or more or in a county adjacent to such a county; and

(2) subject to restrictive covenants containing ad valorem or annual variable budget-based assessments on real property for use in part to finance services of the same general type provided by the district.

Sec. 775.202. AGREEMENT ON BOUNDARIES WITH PROPERTY OWNERS IN A PLANNED COMMUNITY. (a) After a hearing, a district may exclude territory by making changes in the district's boundaries in accordance with an agreement among the district and the owners of two-thirds or more in acreage and two-thirds or more in taxable value, according to the most recent certified county property tax rolls, of a defined area of territory of a planned community.

(b) The agreement must be in writing and describe:

(1) the affected territory by metes and bounds, including the changes in the boundaries to be made;

(2) the amount of any compensation to be paid to the district under Section 775.205;

(3) the effective date for the changes in boundaries; and

(4) any other applicable terms.

Sec. 775.203. NOTICE OF HEARING. (a) The board secretary shall give notice of the hearing.

(b) The notice must contain the time and place for the hearing and a description of the territory proposed to be excluded.

(c) The secretary shall:

(1) post copies of the notice for at least 15 days before the date of the hearing in three public places in the district, one of which must be in the territory proposed to be excluded; and

(2) not later than the 16th day before the date on which the hearing is held, publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the excluded territory is located.

Sec. 775.204. ADOPTION OF AGREEMENT AND APPROVAL OF EXCLUSION. After the hearing, if the board finds that the exclusion of the territory would be feasible and would benefit the district, the board shall by a resolution entered in its minutes:

(1) adopt the agreement; and

(2) approve the exclusion.

Sec. 775.205. EFFECT OF ADOPTION OF AGREEMENT AND APPROVAL OF EXCLUSION. (a) After adoption and approval under Section 775.204, the district's tax on the property in the excluded territory continues until all agreed compensation has been paid in full.

(b) The district shall apply the compensation received under this section toward the payment of the obligations described by Subsection (c).

(c) The agreement must provide for the excluded territory to compensate the district in an amount equal to the excluded territory's pro rata share of the district's outstanding and unpaid bonds, warrants, or other direct and indirect obligations, including loans and lease-purchase agreements and written funding assistance agreements with not-for-profit fire departments, ambulance agencies or associations in the district for the financing and payment for fire-fighting, emergency medical service and emergency rescue equipment, fire and ambulance stations or similar long-term capital assets, based on the unpaid principal balances owed for the capital assets and the appraised value of the excluded territory and the actual taxable values of the district as a whole at the time the changes in boundaries are made, regardless of whether the funding assistance agreements are subject to termination by either party before payment in full of the unpaid principal balances.

Sec. 775.206. NO EFFECT ON OUTSTANDING OBLIGATIONS. A change in boundaries under this subchapter does not diminish or impair the rights of the holders of any outstanding and unpaid bonds, warrants, or other district obligations.

SECTION 3. Section 272.001(b), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The notice and bidding requirements of Subsection (a) do not apply to the types of land and real property interests described by this subsection and owned by a political subdivision. The land and those interests described by this subsection may not be conveyed, sold, or exchanged for less than the fair market value of the land or interest unless the conveyance, sale, or exchange is with one or more abutting property owners who own the underlying fee simple. The fair market value is determined by an appraisal obtained by the political subdivision that owns the land or interest or, in the case of land or an interest owned by a home-rule municipality, the fair market value may be determined by the price obtained by the municipality at a public auction for which notice to the general public is published in the manner described by Subsection (a). The notice of the auction must include, instead of the content required by Subsection (a), a description of the land, including its location, the date, time, and location of the auction, and the procedures to be followed at the auction. The appraisal or public auction price is conclusive of the fair market value of the land or interest, regardless of any contrary provision of a home-rule charter. This subsection applies to:

(1) narrow strips of land, or land that because of its shape, lack of access to public roads, or small area cannot be used independently under its current zoning or under applicable subdivision or other development control ordinances;

(2) streets or alleys, owned in fee or used by easement;

(3) land or a real property interest originally acquired for streets, rights-of-way, or easements that the political subdivision chooses to exchange for other land to be used for streets, rights-of-way, easements, or other public purposes, including transactions partly for cash;

(4) land that the political subdivision wants to have developed by contract with an independent foundation;

(5) a real property interest conveyed to:

(A) a governmental entity that has the power of eminent domain; or

(B) an emergency services district operating under Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code;

(6) a municipality's land that is located in a reinvestment zone designated as provided by law and that the municipality desires to have developed under a project plan adopted by the municipality for the zone; or

(7) a property interest owned by a defense base development authority established under Chapter 379B [378, Local Government Code, as added by Chapter 1221, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999].

SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a change in boundaries agreed to on or after the effective date of this Act. A change in boundaries agreed to before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law existing at the time of the agreement, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 5. 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, 2007.