Subject search results
5 Document(s) [ Subject: Public%20improvement%20districts ]
| Committee: | Senate Intergovernmental Relations | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Subjects: | Affordable housing | Bond issues | Disaster relief | Emergency management | Extraterritorial jurisdiction | Federal aid | Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. | Housing | Land use regulations | Legislative process | Municipal annexation | Natural disasters | Public improvement districts | Solid waste disposal | Special taxing districts | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.85 L786 | |
| Session: | 85th R.S. (2017) | |
| Online version: | View report [126 pages] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Examine and report on ways to improve the coordination of rebuilding housing and infrastructure following a natural disaster, including evaluating additional cost effective options for FEMA to utilize in providing direct housing assistance immediately following a disaster, creation of comprehensive lists of housing opportunities or web portals to disseminate information to survivors, ways to automatically waive local government regulations to facilitate rebuilding, and additional local resources available for rebuilding efforts. | |
| 2. | Monitor the distribution of federal disaster relief funds related to housing and infrastructure, including community development block grant (CDBG) funds, to ensure the timely dissemination of monies by state entities to local governments for reconstruction efforts. Develop recommendations for any statutory changes necessary to improve the efficiency of disaster recovery efforts, maximize housing and infrastructure funds, and ensure cooperation between private and government partners. | |
| 3. | Review and recommend options to expedite debris removal, including cutting unnecessary regulation and streamlining the process. | |
| 4. | Identify and report on existing disaster training opportunities available for local officials and make recommendations for training programs that equip them to efficiently interact with state and federal agencies during times of disaster. | |
| 5. | ETJ Limitations and Notice: Review the existing regulatory authority granted to home-rule municipalities within the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), including practices used by cities to expand ETJ boundaries, and whether proper notification is provided to property owners added to a city's ETJ following an annexation proceeding. Determine the limitations that need to be placed on a city's authority within the ETJ to better protect the private property rights of individuals and landowners, and ways to notify individuals of the impact of being within a city's ETJ. Develop a statewide rule and minimum requirements for such notifications. | |
| 6. | Housing Affordability: Examine issues that impact housing affordability, including the effect of local government taxes, fees, and mandates. Evaluate the cost of purchasing a single-family residence in different parts of the state, factoring in the impact of local rules and regulations, to identify matters of policy with the greatest influence, and identify ways to increase transparency and awareness prior to the adoption of costly local ordinances or orders. | |
| 7. | Special Purpose Districts Bond Reform: Study the state agency review of tax exempt bonds issued by special purpose districts and public improvement districts used to finance water and sewer infrastructure in new residential and commercial developments. Examine the disparities that exist between the feasibility review of water and sewer bonds backed by property based assessments and those backed by ad valorem taxes, and make recommendations that ensure the continued stability of the Texas tax exempt bond market by requiring all districts to undergo appropriate reviews prior to issuance. | |
| 8. | Municipal Management District Uniformity: In conjunction with the appropriate legislative departments, determine whether the development of a template or standardized language for the creation of municipal management districts would provide a more effective means for legislators to ensure new special purpose districts conform to accepted standards and contain appropriate taxpayer oversight. | |
| Committee: | House Special Purpose Districts | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Subjects: | Bond issues | Emergency management | Hurricane Harvey | Private activity bonds | Public improvement districts | Special taxing districts | Water districts | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.85 Sp31 | |
| Session: | 85th R.S. (2017) | |
| Online version: | View report [75 pages] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Evaluate the impact of Hurricane Harvey on residential communities within special purpose districts and districts' capacity to respond. Review the role and adequacy of the districts in emergency preparedness and response. Make recommendations for strengthening districts' emergency operations. | |
| 2. | Review the statutes and procedures related to state approval and oversight of water district bonds that finance utility, infrastructure, and other projects. Identify opportunities for improving the state's oversight of bond issuance and make recommendations for statutory changes. | |
| 3. | Investigate the feasibility of dissolving special purpose districts and determine if there are criteria that would make dissolution acceptable. Make recommendations for codifying the dissolution requirements and procedures. | |
| 4. | Identify best practices in the creation of municipal management districts. Study the feasibility of and make recommendations for creating standard language for the creation of municipal management districts through special law. | |
| 5. | Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 85th Legislature. | |
| Committee: | Senate Intergovernmental Relations | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Subjects: | Affordable housing | Ballots | Bond elections | Emergency management | Extraterritorial jurisdiction | Housing and Community Affairs, Texas Department of | Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of | Initiative and referendum | Local government debt | Municipal annexation | Municipal government | Municipalities | Public improvement districts | Public notices | Racial discrimination | Supreme Court arguments and decisions, U.S. | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.84 L786 | |
| Session: | 84th R.S. (2015) | |
| Online version: | View report [31 pages] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Annexation: Identify areas of concern in regards to statutory extraterritorial jurisdiction expansion and the processes used by municipalities for annexation, specifically reviewing whether existing statute strikes the appropriate balance between safeguarding private property rights and encouraging orderly growth and economic development. Make recommendations for legislative action, if necessary. | |
| 2. | Local Ordinance Integrity: Examine the processes used by home rule municipalities to adopt ordinances, rules, and regulations, including those initiated by petition and voter referendum. Determine if additional statutory safeguards are necessary to ensure that ballot language accurately describes proposed initiatives. Identify ways to improve transparency and make recommendations, if needed, to ensure that local propositions and the means by which they are put forth to voters, conform with existing state law. | |
| 3. | Disaster Preparedness Planning and Coordination: Review natural disaster preparedness planning and coordination in the wake of a growing range of threats. Evaluate whether existing processes maximize regional cooperation to rebuild housing and infrastructure, and allow for the timely dissemination of funds to units of local governments for reconstruction following a federal declaration. Develop recommendations, if necessary, to improve the efficiency of disaster recovery efforts, incorporating best practices identified from other states, as well as lessons-learned from past reconstruction efforts in Texas. | |
| 4. | Municipal Management Districts: Study the means by which the Texas Legislature reviews the creation of municipal management districts (MMDs) by special law to determine if different processes should be used to evaluate new MMDs created within populated or developed areas from those created over undeveloped areas. Identify ways to better assess how the services and improvements of a proposed Page 5 of 5 MMD within populated or developed areas will supplement and enhance those provided by other local governments, as well as if the territory of the proposed MMD encompasses or overlaps area that is already within other assessment or taxing entities. Make recommendations, if necessary, to improve the notice provided to individuals and businesses within populated or developed areas proposed for inclusion in an MMD. | |
| 5. | Supreme Court ICP Ruling: Review existing statute and rules that govern the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. vs. TDHCA, et al. and recommend if any modifications are necessary to conform to the decision. | |
| 6. | Debt Transparency in the Voting Booth: Examine ways to improve government accountability in elections regarding the issuance of public debt. Include a review of the information that is currently provided to individuals in the voting booth and provide statutory recommendations, if necessary, to improve transparency. | |
| Committee: | House Special Purpose Districts | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Subjects: | Eminent domain | Municipal utility districts | Open government | Public improvement districts | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.84 Sp31 | |
| Session: | 84th R.S. (2015) | |
| Online version: | View report [43 pages] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Study best practices in the creation, management, and expansion of Municipal Management Districts (MMD) and/or Improvement Districts in the state. Consider the economic impact of the taxation or assessment of local property owners through bonds issued by MMDs. The committee should specifically examine the mechanisms by which MMDs expand or limit their powers, MMD consistency in the use of eminent domain powers, transparency in MMD reporting requirements, and the mechanisms for voter approval of the creation and dissolution of MMDs. Develop and recommend standards for future district creation. | |
| 2. | Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of all special purpose districts under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to special district laws to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding special purpose districts that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether special purpose districts are operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline the purpose of multiple districts created within the same area, while maintaining the mission of special purpose districts. | |
| Committee: | Senate Intergovernmental Relations | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Library Catalog Title: | Interim report to the 82nd Texas Legislature / Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations. | |
| Subjects: | Comptroller of Public Accounts campaigns and elections | County government | Emergency services districts | Extraterritorial jurisdiction | Homeowners' associations | Hospitals | Housing and Community Affairs, Texas Department of | Land use regulations | Local government consolidation | Municipal annexation | Municipal government | Municipal utility districts | Open government | Physician shortages | Physicians | Property rights | Public improvement districts | Real property | Zoning | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.81 L786 | |
| Session: | 81st R.S. (2009) | |
| Online version: | View report [437 pages File size: 17,266 kb] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Study current law governing homeowners associations with respect to ensuring that homeowners are given adequate protections against unfair foreclosures and are given proper channels for redress in case of foreclosure. | |
| 2. | Monitor the proliferation of municipal utility districts (MUDs) outside the corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of municipalities and whether increased oversight of these districts by other political subdivisions is needed. Review the process for the creation of municipal utility districts (MUDs) through the template developed during the 81 st Legislative Session, including any changes needed to increase the efficiency and oversight over the creation of proposed districts. Review the process for creating special districts, including whether the creation of a template, similar to the one created for municipal utility districts (MUDs), is feasible and would enable the legislature to more effectively evaluate other proposed special districts during future Sessions. | |
| 3. | Review the process and costs for local governments to make government information available online. Consider ways to encourage local governments to provide more transparency, including the Comptroller's experience with transparency and her offer to assist local governments, and consider penalties for entities that fail to comply with the online requirement. | |
| 4. | Assess ways to facilitate property ownership registration to better enable individuals to participate in federal programs and make recommendations to improve processing times to provide improved access to funds. | |
| 5. | Study the reasons for and the impacts of hospitals directly hiring physicians. Examine practices in other states. Make recommendations, if needed, to permit hospitals to directly hire physicians. | |
| 6. | Review state and local policies related to development and growth in rural and unincorporated regions of the state with regard to annexation and zoning authority. Focus on impacts to private property rights. Determine the appropriateness of existing extraterritorial jurisdiction authority. Make recommendations regarding possible changes to this authority. | |
| 7. | Review the types of support state government can provide to assist local government consolidations with county governments. Evaluate budget implications for city and county government consolidations. Research the appropriateness and cost savings of eliminating duplicity between city and county governments in different regions of the state. | |
| 8. | Review the statutory authority granted to municipal management districts (MMDs) and to emergency service districts (ESDs), the authority of municipalities and counties to create public improvement districts (PIDs). Determine whether the authority granted for each entity is adequate to accomplish the goals of local governments. Assess whether the consolidation of ESDs under one statute would improve uniformity and provision of fire and emergency services through these districts. | |
| 9. | Monitor the implementation oflegislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, 81st Legislature, Regular and Called Sessions, and make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, and/or complete implementation.
|
|
Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.