87R17176 ANG-F
 
  By: Canales H.B. No. 4620
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to procedures for the dissolution of the Hidalgo County
  Water Improvement District No. 3.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
               (1)  "City" means a municipality described by Section 2
  of this Act.
               (2)  "City commission" means the governing body of the
  city.
               (3)  "District" means the Hidalgo County Water
  Improvement District No. 3.
         SECTION 2.  DISTRICT AND MUNICIPALITY TO WHICH ACT IS
  APPLICABLE. This Act applies only to:
               (1)  the district; and
               (2)  a municipality that:
                     (A)  has a population greater than 100,000; and
                     (B)  contained on April 1, 2021, within its
  corporate boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction more than
  half of the district's territory.
         SECTION 3.  TRANSFER OF ASSETS AND DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT.
  (a)  On the date the city commission passes an ordinance accepting
  the assets, debts, and contractual rights and obligations of the
  district:
               (1)  all assets, debts, and contractual rights and
  obligations of the district are property of the city; and
               (2)  the district is dissolved.
         (b)  The ordinance must contain provisions that:
               (1)  eliminate the required payment of any flat tax or
  assessments paid to the district by landowners in the district;
               (2)  ensure that all water rights are held in trust by
  the city for the uses previously adjudicated;
               (3)  ensure that all individual water users are
  entitled to continue to use or have access to the same amount of
  water they were entitled to before the dissolution of the district;
               (4)  require the city to perform all the functions of
  the district, including the provision of services; and
               (5)  ensure delivery of water to landowners at or below
  the lowest comparable delivery charge imposed by any other
  irrigation district in Hidalgo County.
         (c)  On the date of the dissolution of the district, and
  notwithstanding Section 51.790, Water Code, ownership of any
  certificate of adjudication held by the district, including any
  attachments or amendments to the certificate, transfers to the
  city.
         (d)  The city shall notify the Texas Commission on
  Environmental Quality of the dissolution of the district and the
  transfer of any certificate of adjudication held by the district to
  the city.
         (e)  On receipt of notice under Subsection (d) of this
  section, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall note
  in its records that a certificate of adjudication transferred under
  Subsection (c) of this section is owned by the city. The Texas
  Commission on Environmental Quality shall, as a ministerial act,
  transfer the certificate to the city without further application,
  notice, or hearing. A person, party, or entity does not have any
  right of protest, objection, or administrative review of the
  transfer prescribed by this Act.
         (f)  The transfer of the district's water rights and any
  certificate of adjudication to the city does not affect or impair
  the priority, extent, validity, or purpose of the water rights or
  certificate.
         SECTION 4.  TRANSFER OF ASSETS. On or before the effective
  date of the dissolution of the district, the district shall:
               (1)  provide the district's management and operational
  records to the city;
               (2)  transfer to the city the ownership of any water
  rights and certificates of adjudication;
               (3)  transfer the assets, debts, and contractual rights
  and obligations of the district to the city; and
               (4)  provide notice and make recordings of the
  transfers under this section as required by the Water Code and other
  law.
         SECTION 5.  CITY CONSENT. (a) Without the consent of a
  majority of the members of a city commission that provides notice
  under Section 3 of this Act, the district may not:
               (1)  sell, transfer, or encumber any district asset;
               (2)  issue debt or acquire additional obligations; or
               (3)  default on or fail to honor financial, legal, or
  other obligations of the district.
         (b)  Unless a majority of the members of a city commission
  that provides notice under Section 3 of this Act agree otherwise,
  the district shall:
               (1)  maintain assets of the district in an appropriate
  condition reflective of good stewardship and proper repair; and
               (2)  preserve district records, including information
  maintained by the district in electronic format.
         (c)  Any action undertaken by the district that does not
  comply with Subsection (a) of this section is void.
         (d)  This section expires on the date that a city has
  provided notice under Section 3 of this Act.
         SECTION 6.  EXPIRATION. This Act expires January 1, 2026.
         SECTION 7.  EFFECTIVE DATE. 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, 2021.