Relating to the authority of a county overlying the Edwards Aquifer to approve the creation of and issuance of bonds by a municipal utility district.
relating to the authority of a county overlying the Edwards Aquifer
to approve the creation of and issuance of bonds by a municipal
utility district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 54.001, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subdivision (10) to read as follows:
(10) “Edwards Aquifer” has the meaning assigned by
Section 26.046.
SECTION 2. Section 54.0161(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to a proposed district:
(1) all of which is to be located outside the corporate
limits of a municipality; and
(2) no part of which is to be located in a county that
contains a portion of the Edwards Aquifer.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 54.0166 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.0166. NOTICE AND CONSENT OF COUNTY FOR DISTRICT
OVERLYING EDWARDS AQUIFER. (a) This section applies only to a
proposed district:
(1) all of which is to be located outside the corporate
limits of a municipality; and
(2) any part of which is to be located in a county that
contains a portion of the Edwards Aquifer.
(b) Promptly after a petition is filed with the commission
to create a district to which this section applies, the commission
shall notify the commissioners court of any county in which the
proposed district is to be located.
(c) The commissioners court of a county in which the
proposed district is to be located may review the petition for
creation and other evidence and information relating to the
proposed district that the commissioners consider necessary.
Petitioners for the creation of a district shall submit to the
county commissioners court any relevant information requested by
the commissioners court.
(d) A proposed district may not be created and include land
in a county to which this section applies unless the commissioners
court of the county adopts a measure by majority vote stating that
the county does not object to the inclusion of the land in the
district. The commission by rule may adopt a deadline for the
commissioners court of a county to object to the creation of a
district for the purposes of this section. The commission may not
approve a petition to create a district to which this section
applies if the commissioners court of the county objects under this
subsection.
(e) The commissioners court of a county may request from the
commission any information necessary for the purposes of this
section.
SECTION 4. Section 54.5161, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), before [Before]
the commission gives final approval on any bond issue for the
purpose of financing a project of a district located wholly or
partly outside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a city, the
commission shall notify the county commissioners of the county in
which the district is located that an application has been filed and
give the county an opportunity within 30 days after notification to
examine all information on file and submit a written opinion from
the commissioners court stating any findings, conclusions, or other
information that the commissioners court considers important to the
commission’s final determination.
(c) Before the commission gives final approval on any bond
issue for the purpose of financing a project of a district to which
Section 54.0166 applies, in addition to the requirements of
Subsections (a) and (b), the commission shall provide the
commissioners court of the county an opportunity to reject the bond
issue through a measure adopted by a majority vote of the
commissioners court. The commissioners court of a county may
request from the commission any information necessary for the
purposes of this section. The commission may not give final
approval to a bond issue rejected by the commissioners court of a
county under this subsection.
SECTION 5. (a) Section 54.0166, Water Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a petition for the creation of a municipal
utility district filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality on or after the effective date of this Act. A petition for
the creation of a municipal utility district filed with the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the petition
was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
(b) Section 54.0166, Water Code, as added by this Act, does
not affect the validity of a municipal utility district created by
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before the effective
date of this Act.
(c) Section 54.5161, Water Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to an application submitted to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality under that section on or after the effective
date of this Act. An application submitted to the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality under Section 54.5161, Water Code, before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
that date, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
