83R4648 AED-F

By: Miller of Comal H.B. No. 3924

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of the Comal Trinity Groundwater Conservation District; providing authority to impose a tax and issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments and fees.

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

SECTION 1. Subtitle H, Title 6, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8875 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 8875. COMAL TRINITY GROUNDWATER

CONSERVATION DISTRICT

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 8875.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the district.

(2) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

(3) "Director" means a member of the board.

(4) "District" means the Comal Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.

(5) "Retail public utility" means a retail public utility as defined by Section 13.002, Water Code, that is providing service in the district on the effective date of this Act.

Sec. 8875.002. NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a groundwater conservation district in Comal County created under and essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.

Sec. 8875.003. CONFIRMATION ELECTION REQUIRED. If the creation of the district is not confirmed at a confirmation election held before September 1, 2018:

(1) the district is dissolved on September 1, 2019, except that:

(A) any debts incurred shall be paid;

(B) any assets that remain after the payment of debts shall be transferred to Comal County; and

(C) the organization of the district shall be maintained until all debts are paid and remaining assets are transferred; and

(2) this chapter expires on September 1, 2020.

Sec. 8875.004. INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. The initial boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of Comal County, Texas.

Sec. 8875.005. CONFLICTS OF LAW. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this chapter prevails over any provision of general law, including a provision of Chapter 36, Water Code, that is in conflict or is inconsistent with this chapter.

(b) The following provisions prevail over a provision of this chapter that is in conflict or is inconsistent with the provision:

(1) Sections 36.1071-36.108, Water Code;

(2) Sections 36.159-36.161, Water Code; and

(3) Subchapter I, Chapter 36, Water Code.

SUBCHAPTER A-1. TEMPORARY PROVISIONS

Sec. 8875.021. APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY DIRECTORS. (a) The Comal County Commissioners Court shall appoint five temporary directors to serve terms not to exceed four years as follows:

(1) one temporary director shall be appointed from each of the four commissioner precincts in the county to represent the precinct in which the temporary director resides; and

(2) one temporary director who resides in the district shall be appointed to represent the district at large.

(b) If there is a vacancy on the temporary board of directors of the district, the remaining temporary directors shall select a qualified person to fill the vacancy. If, at any time, there are fewer than three qualified temporary directors, the commission shall appoint the necessary number of persons to fill all vacancies on the board.

(c) Temporary directors or their successors serve until the earlier of:

(1) the time the initial directors are elected as provided by Section 8875.023 and have qualified; or

(2) the date this chapter expires under Section 8875.003.

Sec. 8875.022. ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING OF TEMPORARY DIRECTORS. As soon as practicable after all the temporary directors have qualified under Section 36.055, Water Code, a majority of the temporary directors shall convene the organizational meeting of the district at a location within the district agreeable to a majority of the directors. At the meeting, the temporary directors shall elect a chair, vice chair, and secretary from among the temporary directors.

Sec. 8875.023. CONFIRMATION AND INITIAL DIRECTORS' ELECTION. (a) The temporary directors shall order an election to be held in the district to confirm the creation of the district and to elect the initial directors.

(b) At the confirmation and initial directors' election, the temporary board shall have placed on the ballot the names of the candidates for each of the five positions on the board and provide blank spaces for the names of other candidates. To be eligible to be a candidate for a position as a director, a person must reside in the district.

(c) Section 41.001(a), Election Code, does not apply to an election held under this section.

(d) Except as provided by this section, a confirmation and initial directors' election must be conducted as provided by the Election Code and Sections 36.017(b)-(h), Water Code.

(e) If a majority of the votes cast at the election are in favor of confirming the district's creation, the temporary directors shall declare the district created. If a majority of the votes cast are not in favor of confirming the district's creation, the district's creation is not confirmed. The temporary directors shall file a copy of the election results with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

(f) If the district's creation is not confirmed at an election held under this section, the temporary directors may order one or more subsequent elections to be held to confirm the creation of the district not earlier than the first anniversary of the preceding confirmation election. If the district's creation is not confirmed at an election held under this section before September 1, 2018, the district is dissolved in accordance with Section 8875.003.

Sec. 8875.024. INITIAL DIRECTORS. (a) If the creation of the district is confirmed at an election held under Section 8875.023, the temporary directors, at the time the vote is canvassed, shall:

(1) declare for each board position the person who receives the most votes for that position to be elected as the initial director for that position; and

(2) include the results of the initial directors' election in the district's election report to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

(b) The initial directors elected to positions 2 and 3 serve terms expiring December 1 of the first even-numbered year after the date of the confirmation election, and the initial directors elected to positions 1, 4, and the at-large position serve terms expiring December 1 of the second even-numbered year after the date of the confirmation election.

Sec. 8875.025. INITIAL ELECTION OF PERMANENT DIRECTORS. On the uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, in November of the first even-numbered year after the year in which the creation of the district is confirmed at an election held under Section 8875.023, an election shall be held in the district for the election of two directors to replace the initial directors who shall serve until that election.

Sec. 8875.026. EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter expires September 1, 2021.

SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sec. 8875.051. DIRECTORS; TERMS. (a) The district is governed by a board of five directors.

(b) Directors serve staggered four-year terms.

Sec. 8875.052. METHOD OF ELECTING DIRECTORS: COMMISSIONERS PRECINCTS. (a) The directors of the district shall be elected according to the commissioners precinct method as provided by this section.

(b) One director shall be elected by the voters of the entire district, and one director shall be elected from each county commissioners precinct by the voters of that precinct.

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), to be eligible to be a candidate for or to serve as director at large, a person must be a registered voter of the district. To be a candidate for or to serve as director from a county commissioners precinct, a person must be a registered voter of that precinct.

(d) A person shall indicate on the application for a place on the ballot:

(1) the precinct that the person seeks to represent; or

(2) that the person seeks to represent the district at large.

(e) When the boundaries of the county commissioners precincts are redrawn after each federal decennial census to reflect population changes, a director in office on the effective date of the change, or a director elected or appointed before the effective date of the change whose term of office begins on or after the effective date of the change, shall serve in the precinct to which elected or appointed even though the change in boundaries places the person's residence outside the precinct for which the person was elected or appointed.

(f) After the first election held after the boundaries of the county commissioners precincts are redrawn, the directors elected shall draw lots to determine which three directors shall serve a four-year term and which two directors shall serve a two-year term.

(g) A director may not serve more than two consecutive terms and may not serve for a total of more than 12 years.

Sec. 8875.053. ELECTION DATE. The district shall hold an election to elect the appropriate number of directors on the uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, in November of each even-numbered year.

Sec. 8875.054. VACANCIES. A vacancy on the board shall be filled by appointment of the board until the next regularly scheduled directors' election. The person appointed to fill the vacancy shall serve only for the remainder of the unexpired term.

SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES

Sec. 8875.101. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT POWERS AND DUTIES. The district has the rights, powers, privileges, functions, and duties provided by the general law of this state, including Chapter 36, Water Code, applicable to groundwater conservation districts created under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.

Sec. 8875.102. CONTRACTS. The district may contract with a state agency or political subdivision, including a county, a river authority, or another district, to carry out any function of the district.

Sec. 8875.103. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. (a) The district may participate in the development and implementation of best management practices for water resource management in the district and may engage in and promote the acceptance of best management practices through education efforts sponsored by the district.

(b) Development and implementation of best management practices must address water quantity and quality practices such as brush management, prescribed grazing, recharge structures, water and silt detention and retention structures, plugging of abandoned wells, rainwater harvesting, and other treatment measures for the conservation of water resources.

Sec. 8875.104. LIMITATIONS ON DISTRICT POWERS. The district may not:

(1) require the owner of a well used solely for domestic or livestock purposes to install a meter or measuring device on the well;

(2) sell, transport, or export groundwater outside of the district; or

(3) enter into a contract or engage in an action to supply water to any person in the service area of a municipality or retail public utility located in the district, except with the consent of the municipality or retail public utility.

SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 8875.151. FEES. (a) The district may impose reasonable fees on an annual basis on each nonexempt well and on each well exempt from permitting under Section 36.117(b)(1), Water Code. The district shall adopt any rules necessary for the assessment and collection of fees under this subsection.

(b) The district may use money collected from fees:

(1) in any manner necessary for the management and operation of the district;

(2) to pay all or part of the principal of and interest on district bonds or notes; and

(3) for any purpose consistent with the district's approved water management plan.

Sec. 8875.152. PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION FOR WATER CONSERVATION INITIATIVES. (a) The district by rule shall provide for granting exemptions from ad valorem taxes on property on which a water conservation initiative has been implemented, as provided by Section 11.32, Tax Code. The rules must provide that a retail public utility is eligible to receive an exemption from ad valorem taxes on property on the same grounds as any other district customer.

(b) To encourage retail public utilities to obtain water supplies from sources other than groundwater, rules adopted under Subsection (a) must include an exemption from ad valorem taxes on property used and useful by a retail public utility based on:

(1) the percentage of potable water supplied in the district by the retail public utility from sources other than groundwater compared to the total water supplied by the retail public utility for the preceding year; and

(2) the percentage of wastewater effluent produced by the retail public utility that is used as reclaimed water in the district compared to the total wastewater effluent produced by the retail public utility for the preceding year.

(c) For the purposes of Subsection (a), the district may consider the effects of floods and equipment breakage on the retail public utility's ability to supply water from sources other than groundwater.

(d) The total amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxes may not exceed one-half of the tax imposed by the district.

Sec. 8875.153. LIMITATION ON TAXES. The district may not impose an ad valorem tax for administrative, operation, or maintenance expenses that exceeds the lesser of:

(1) the rate approved by the majority of the voters voting in the election authorizing the tax; or

(2) three-eighths of a cent per $100 of assessed valuation.

SECTION 2. (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 3. 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, 2013.