89R12034 JBD-F

By: Olcott H.B. No. 5700

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the board of directors, operations, and territory of the Palo Pinto County Municipal Water District No. 1.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 416, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, is amended by adding Section 2A to read as follows:

Sec. 2A. The Board of Directors shall order an election to be held on the uniform election date in May 2026 in Palo Pinto County on the question of the annexation to the District of all territory in Palo Pinto County, except territory included in the East Keechi Creek Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 or the Jack County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 on the date of the election. The board shall hold the election in the manner provided by Sections 6(e) through (i) of this Act.

SECTION 2. Section 3, Chapter 416, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(a) The District is governed by a board of five directors elected from the district at large. [All powers of the District shall be exercised by a Board of Directors, each member shall serve for a term of two years except for the first directors appointed initially pursuant to this Act. Immediately following the effective date of this Act the governing body of the City of Mineral Wells shall appoint five members, two of whom shall serve for a term ending on December 31 next following their appointment and three shall serve until the 31st day of December of the year next following their appointment.]

(b) Directors serve staggered two-year terms. On the uniform election date in May of each year, the Board of Directors shall hold an election to elect two or three directors. [In December following the effective date of this Act and in December of each year thereafter the governing body of the City of Mineral Wells (hereinafter sometimes called the "city") shall appoint a director or directors to succeed the director or directors whose term or terms are about to expire. Any vacancy shall be filled for an unexpired term by the governing body of such city.]

(b-1) If a vacancy occurs in the office of a director with more than one year remaining in the office's term starting from the date the vacancy occurs, the board shall hold an election to elect a director to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term on the next uniform election date that allows sufficient time to comply with the requirements of other law. If a vacancy occurs in the office of a director with one year or less remaining in the office's term starting from the date the vacancy occurs, the board is not required to hold an election to fill the vacancy before the next regularly scheduled election for other directors' offices. If the number of directors is reduced to fewer than a majority, the vacancies may be filled by appointment by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. An appointed director shall serve for the unexpired term of the director he or she is replacing.

(c) Each director shall serve for his or her term of office as herein provided, and thereafter until his or her successor shall be appointed or elected and qualified. To be eligible to be a candidate for an elected position or to serve as an elected or appointed director, a person must own taxable property in the district and may not be an employee of or a member of the governing body of the City of Mineral Wells. [No person shall be appointed a director unless he resides in and owns taxable property in the District. No member of a governing body of the city, and no employee of the city shall be appointed as director.] Such directors shall subscribe the Constitutional oath of office, and each shall give bond for the faithful performance of his or her duties in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), the cost of which shall be paid by the District. A majority shall constitute a quorum. [If any director moves from the District or otherwise ceases to be a director, the governing body of the city shall appoint a director to succeed him, for the unexpired term.]

SECTION 3. Chapter 416, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, is amended by adding Sections 18A and 18B to read as follows:

Sec. 18A. (a) The District may not supply water at wholesale to the City of Mineral Wells unless the water is purchased by the city on a per-gallon rate.

(b) The District shall amend the District's contracts as necessary to comply with Subsection (a) of this section.

Sec. 18B. (a) Not later than January 1, 2026, the District shall transfer to the City of Mineral Wells all of the property described by Subsection (d) of this section.

(b) It is the intent of the legislature that the City of Mineral Wells use the property transferred for a purpose that benefits the public interest of the District.

(c) All contracts, leases, and other obligations of the District governing the property transferred as authorized by this section in effect on the effective date of the transfer are transferred to the City of Mineral Wells.

(d) The District shall transfer to the City of Mineral Wells all real and personal property owned by the District associated with:

(1) the Hilltop Water Treatment Plant located at 6962 US-281, Mineral Wells, Texas, 76067; and

(2) the Brazos Pump Station located at 159 Water Plant Road, Santo, Texas, 76472.

SECTION 4. Section 3(d), Chapter 416, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, is repealed.

SECTION 5. At the next uniform election date in May after the effective date of this Act, the Palo Pinto County Municipal Water District No. 1 shall hold an election to elect members to the board of directors of the district as required by Section 3, Chapter 416, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, as amended by this Act. The terms of the appointed members of the board of directors of the district serving immediately before the election expire on the date the newly elected members of the board qualify to serve. The newly elected members of the board of directors of the district shall draw lots to determine which two directors serve one-year initial terms and which three directors serve two-year initial terms.

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, 2025.