BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4637

By: Bonnen, Greg

Urban Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that an area located within Galveston County would benefit from the creation of a municipal management district. C.S.H.B. 4637 seeks to provide for the creation of such a district.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4637 amends the Special District Local Laws Code to create the City of Kemah Municipal Management District No. 1, subject to municipal consent, to provide certain improvement projects and services for public use and benefit. The bill provides for, among other provisions, improvement projects and services in a definable area, ownership of improvement projects, the prohibition of retail water and sewer services, adding or removing territory, and the dissolution of the district. The bill sets out the district's powers and duties, which include, subject to certain requirements, the authority to impose assessments, issue obligations, and impose taxes for water, wastewater, and drainage purposes. The bill prohibits the district from exercising the power of eminent domain if the bill does not receive a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to each house.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4637 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes provisions relating to the issuance of bonds payable from revenue derived from assessments on real property in the district.