By: Creighton S.B. No. 2020
 
  (Keough)
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the powers, operations, and boundaries of The Woodlands
  Township; authorizing a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 5(b), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The legislature finds that the creation of the district
  is essential to further the public purposes of the economic
  development and diversification of the state, the elimination of
  unemployment and underemployment, and the stimulation and
  development of transportation and commerce; that it is in the
  public interest; and that it will promote the health, safety, and
  general welfare of residents, employers, employees, and consumers
  in the district and of the general public.  The safe and efficient
  movement of people by motor vehicle, rail, trolley, bus, bicycle,
  pedestrian means, waterborne vessel, or other means of
  transportation is a public purpose of the district.  The present and
  prospective traffic congestion in the district and the safety of
  pedestrians and the limited availability of funds require the
  promotion and development of public transportation and pedestrian
  facilities and systems by new and alternative means, and the
  district will serve the public purpose of securing expanded and
  improved transportation and pedestrian facilities and systems.  The
  district will provide needed funding for the Town Center area to
  preserve, maintain, and enhance the economic health and vitality of
  the area as a community and business and commerce center. The
  district will further promote the health, safety, welfare,
  education, convenience, and enjoyment of the public by improving,
  landscaping, and developing certain areas within and adjacent to
  the district and providing public services and facilities within
  and adjacent to the district which are necessary for the
  restoration, preservation, enhancement, and enjoyment of scenic
  and aesthetic beauty. Each and all of the improvement projects
  authorized by this Act are hereby found and declared to be essential
  to carrying out a public purpose. The district will not act as the
  agent or instrumentality of any private interests, even though many
  private interests will be benefited by the district as will the
  general public.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 7(t) and (v), Chapter 289, Acts of the
  73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, are amended to read as
  follows:
         (t)  In order to promote business retention, sustain
  employment, and prevent substandard and blighted housing
  conditions, the district may:
               (1)  merge or consolidate with a qualified association
  to carry out a function described by this subsection;
               (1-a) except as otherwise provided by this subsection
  and in the same manner as a qualified association, assume, accept an
  assignment of, succeed to, or contract to undertake, exercise, or
  perform:
                     (A)  all or part of the rights, powers,
  privileges, duties, responsibilities, assets, liabilities, and
  obligations of a qualified association under community covenants;
                     (B)  any contracts, agreements, leases,
  commitments, loans, pledges, instruments of indebtedness, or other
  undertakings with any person, regardless of whether the person is a
  qualified association, in the exercise of the rights, powers,
  privileges, duties, or responsibilities described by Paragraph
  (A);
                     (C)  the administration, enforcement, amendment,
  supplementation, repeal, revocation, or rescission of a community
  covenant as provided by the covenant; or
                     (D)  the functions, duties, and responsibilities
  of the board of directors of a qualified association, without the
  necessity of electing or appointing members of the board of
  directors of the qualified association;
               (2)  administer and perform procedures established in a
  community covenant or a related agreement for the selection or
  appointment of members or officers to committees, village
  association governing bodies, or similar positions;
               (3)  arrange or contract with one or more
  municipalities, political subdivisions, or nonprofit organizations
  for the provision of services and facilities to all or part of the
  territory in or adjacent to the district that are substantially
  equivalent to the services or facilities provided by the district
  or a qualified association in the district, provided that the
  district may not transfer, assign, or abrogate responsibility for
  the administration or enforcement of any land use restrictions or
  negative covenants included in a community covenant that apply to
  land in or adjacent to the district;
               (4)  own, acquire, construct, improve, repair,
  rehabilitate, operate, maintain, lease, purchase, sell, dispose
  of, encumber, abandon, or remove:
                     (A)  any buildings, improvements, or facilities;
  or
                     (B)  any real, personal, or mixed property; and
               (5)  assess, charge, collect, pledge, encumber, and
  apply any fees, rents, charges, or proceeds received for the use,
  enjoyment, or disposition of a building, improvement, facility, or
  property or for a service or facility.
         (v)  In this section:
               (1)  "Qualified association" means a nonprofit
  property owners' association created and operated by or in a
  planned community, as that term is defined by Section 43.0754,
  Local Government Code.
               (2)  "Community covenant" means recorded land use
  restrictions and covenants applicable to land in a planned
  community, as that term is defined by Section 43.0754, Local
  Government Code.
         SECTION 3.  Section 7, Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding
  Subsections (ee) and (ff) to read as follows:
         (ee)  The district is an "endorsing municipality" for the
  purposes of Chapter 1507 (S.B. 456), Acts of the 76th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 1999 (Article 5190.14, Vernon's Texas Civil
  Statutes).
         (ff)  The district is entitled to receive a certified
  appraisal roll, an estimate of the taxable value of property in the
  district, and assistance in determining values of property in the
  district in the manner provided by Section 26.01, Tax Code, for a
  municipality.
         SECTION 4.  Section 7-a(c), Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  A description of [map or plat showing] the boundaries of
  the district, as adjusted from time to time, shall be recorded in
  the real property records of each county in which all or part of the
  district is situated not later than the seventh day after the date
  of each such boundary adjustment.  The boundaries of the district
  may be described by metes and bounds, plat, or reference to a
  previously recorded instrument.
         SECTION 5.  Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd Legislature,
  Regular Session, 1993, is amended by adding Section 7I to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 7I.  TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, FACILITIES, PROGRAMS,
  AND SERVICES.  (a)  The district may engage in or contract with
  another person to perform activities that accomplish the
  transportation and traffic movement purposes of the district,
  including the acquisition, analysis, construction, design,
  financing, investigation, implementation, improvement,
  maintenance, operation, ownership, planning, provision,
  relocation, repair, replacement, or study of improvement projects,
  facilities, programs, and services in the district and in areas
  adjacent to the district for:
               (1)  mass transportation;
               (2)  parking;
               (3)  pedestrian movement;
               (4)  rail systems;
               (5)  traffic movement;
               (6)  transit terminals;
               (7)  waterborne transit; or
               (8)  other modes of transportation and mobility
  enhancements that reduce congestion or promote or aid in the
  circulation of traffic and movement of people in the district and in
  areas adjacent to the district.
         (b)  The district may apply for and receive state and federal
  transportation funding, including grants or other assistance.  The
  district has the rights associated with the funding and may carry
  out functions and perform obligations associated with the funding,
  as the designated recipient or otherwise.
         (c)  The district may contract for an improvement to a
  boundary highway and consent to the imposition of an assessment by a
  municipality in the manner provided by Sections 313.022 and
  313.046, Transportation Code, for a municipality.
         (d)  The district may adopt and enforce by ordinary civil
  remedies rules regarding access to and use of the district's
  transportation projects, facilities, programs, and services.
         (e)  The district may charge a fare, fee, rate, toll, or
  other charge for the use of a district transportation project,
  facility, program, or service.
         SECTION 6.  The legislature finds that the powers,
  authority, and functions of the district authorized by this Act are
  essential and beneficial to the district and to the state as a whole
  as a program for promoting, facilitating, and accomplishing the
  public purposes of Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution,
  by:
               (1)  promoting, sustaining, and advancing employment
  and economic diversification and development in the state;
               (2)  sustaining and stimulating business in the state;
               (3)  conserving and sustaining property values and
  living conditions in the state;
               (4)  promoting traffic circulation and public safety in
  the state;
               (5)  promoting the development of parks, recreational
  facilities, and cultural education in the state; and
               (6)  serving other purposes beneficial to the state.
         SECTION 7.  (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 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,
  lieutenant governor, and 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 8.  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, 2015.