H.B. No. 4057

AN ACT

relating to the powers and duties of the Denton County Levee Improvement District No. 1 of Denton and Dallas Counties, Texas; providing authority to issue bonds.

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

SECTION 1. Section 1, Chapter 473, Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1. In this Act:

(1) "District" [, "district"] means the Denton County Levee Improvement District No. 1 of Denton and Dallas Counties, Texas.

(2) "Board" means the district's board of directors.

SECTION 2. Section 3, Chapter 473, Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3. (a) The district is a levee improvement district created under and essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.

(b) The district is a political subdivision of the State of Texas and a body corporate and politic.

SECTION 3. Section 6, Chapter 473, Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 6. Chapters 49 and [The provisions of Chapter] 57, Water Code, [as amended, shall] apply to the district except to the extent this Act constitutes a modification of the provisions of the general law.

SECTION 4. Chapter 473, Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, is amended by adding Sections 6A through 6F to read as follows:

Sec. 6A. (a) The board may undertake an improvement project or service that confers a special benefit on all or a definable part of the district.

(b) The board may impose and collect special assessments on property in the district, based on the benefit conferred by the project or service under this section, to pay all or part of the cost of the project or service.

(c) As needed for the restoration, preservation, or enhancement of the scenic and aesthetic beauty of an area in the district, the district may provide an improvement project or service under this section that may include the acquisition, construction, or financing of:

(1) a drainage facility;

(2) a hike and bike trail;

(3) a pedestrian way along or across a street, at grade or above or below the surface;

(4) landscaping; and

(5) other development.

(d) Sections 375.111 through 375.124, Local Government Code, apply to the financing of an improvement project or service under this section.

Sec. 6B. (a) The board may not finance a service or improvement project with assessments under this Act unless a written petition requesting that service or improvement has been filed with the board.

(b) A petition filed under Subsection (a) of this section must be signed by:

(1) the owners of a majority of the assessed value of real property in the district subject to assessment according to the most recent certified appraisal rolls for Denton and Dallas Counties; or

(2) the owners of a majority of the surface area of real property in the district subject to assessment as determined by the board.

Sec. 6C. (a) The board by resolution may impose and collect an assessment for any purpose authorized by this chapter.

(b) An assessment, a reassessment, or an assessment resulting from an addition to or correction of the assessment roll by the district, penalties and interest on an assessment or reassessment, an expense of collection, and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the district:

(1) are a first and prior lien against the property assessed;

(2) are superior to any other lien or claim other than a lien or claim for county, school district, or municipal ad valorem taxes; and

(3) are the personal liability of and a charge against the owners of the property even if the owners are not named in the assessment proceedings.

(c) The lien is effective from the date of the board's resolution imposing the assessment until the date the assessment is paid. The board may enforce the lien in the same manner that the board may enforce an ad valorem tax lien against real property.

Sec. 6D. The district may not impose an impact fee or assessment on single-family residential property.

Sec. 6E. (a) The district may issue bonds or other obligations payable wholly or partly from ad valorem taxes, assessments, 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 power to borrow, 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 must obtain approval by the City of Lewisville before issuing bonds under this section.

Sec. 6F. The district may not impose an impact fee or assessment on the property, including the equipment, rights-of-way, facilities, or improvements, of:

(1) an electric utility or a power generation company as defined by Section 31.002, Utilities Code;

(2) a gas utility as defined by Section 101.003 or 121.001, Utilities Code;

(3) a telecommunications provider as defined by Section 51.002, Utilities Code; or

(4) a person who provides to the public cable television or advanced telecommunications services.

SECTION 5. Sections 7 and 8, Chapter 473, Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, are repealed.

SECTION 6. (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 7. 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.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 4057 was passed by the House on May 11, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 4057 was passed by the Senate on May 23, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________

Date

_____________________

Governor