HBA-KDB H.B. 2817 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2817 By: Lewis, Ron Natural Resources 3/27/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Constitution provides for the establishment of water districts, while the Water Code governs such districts. The governance of such districts may be more efficient if fire plans for districts are addressed, drainage or flood control projects and services are defined, water supply corporations are authorized to provide the same out-of-district service as other districts, the sale or exchange of property by districts is addressed, septic systems are prohibited, prevailing wage rates are established, and districts are authorized to add and exclude land. House Bill 2817 provides for more efficient governance of water districts by implementing these changes and provides for penalties. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2817 amends the Water Code to authorize a general law district (district) to submit to the voters of the district the proposition of whether the district should implement a plan for a fire department to be funded by the issuance of bonds and other obligations (Sec. 49.102). The bill authorizes a district that is authorized by law to engage in drainage or flood control activities to include among the district's land, works, improvements, facilities, plants, equipment, and appliances the following areas and projects associated with drainage or flood control projects of the district: _stormwater retention or detention lands and projects; _sedimentation basins or other stormwater quality control facilities or structures; _floodplain and wetlands mitigation lands and projects; _habitat reconstruction or restoration lands and projects; and _any temporary, permanent, or constant-or-variable-level impoundments of water related to drainage or flood control projects (Sec. 49.211). The bill authorizes a water supply corporation (corporation), in addition to a district, to provide services or facilities outside the district or corporation. The bill authorizes the corporation, on approval by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) of a service area amendment to serve an area, use the water sold by the political subdivision under a contract to provide service to the service area of the corporation provided the service does not affect a term of the contract relating to the amount of water to be supplied. A term of the contract that purports to authorize a political subdivision to cancel a contract if the water sold to the corporation is used outside the area agreed to by the political subdivision is not effective to the extent that the water is used by the corporation within an area lawfully served by the corporation (Sec. 49.215). The bill authorizes a district or corporation to issue bonds, notes, or other obligations to acquire property (Sec. 49.218). The bill authorizes the proceeds derived from the sale of real property, in addition to personal property to be used for any lawful purpose if the district does not have any outstanding bonds (Sec. 49.226). The bill authorizes a district that operates a wastewater collection system to serve land within its boundaries by rule to prohibit the installation of private on-site wastewater holding or treatment facilities on land within the district that is not served by the district's wastewater collection system. The bill prohibits a district from requiring a property owner who has already installed an on-site wastewater holding or treatment facility to connect to the district's wastewater collection system. The bill requires a district that prohibits such an installation to agree to pay the owner of a particular tract the costs of connecting the tract to the district's wastewater collection system if the distance along a public right-of-way or utility easement from the nearest point of the district's wastewater collection system to the boundary line of the tract requiring wastewater collection services is 300 feet or more, subject to commission rules regarding reimbursement of those costs (Sec. 49.234). The bill provides that the payment, performance, and bid bonding requirements for a construction work contract do not apply to contracts for the purchase of equipment, materials, and machinery not otherwise incorporated into a construction project (Sec. 49.271). The bill authorizes the governing board of a district (board), if changes in plans or specifications are necessary after the performance of the contract is begun or if it is necessary to decrease or increase the quantity of the work to be performed or of the materials, equipment, or supplies to be furnished, to approve change orders making the changes. The bill prohibits the original contract price from being increased by more than 10 percent of the aggregate of those change orders. The board is not required to advertise or seek competitive bids for the repair of district facilities if the scope or extent of the repair work cannot be readily ascertained or if the nature of the repair work does not readily lend itself to competitive bidding (Sec. 49.273). The bill authorizes a district located wholly or partially within one or more municipalities or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of one or more municipalities, in addition to the alternative procedures set forth in provisions relating to determination of prevailing wage rates, to establish its prevailing wage rate for public works by adopting the prevailing wage rate of one of the municipalities or the county in which the district is located, and authorizes a district not located wholly or partially within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of any municipality to establish the district's prevailing wage rate by adopting the wage rate of the county in which the district is located (Sec. 49.279). The bill authorizes a district to add or exclude land after a district is created by order of TNRCC or another governmental entity or by special Act of the legislature and before a confirmation election is held. The bill requires such an election, if land is added or excluded to the district, to confirm the district as modified (Sec. 49.315). Provisions relating to unclaimed property do not apply to any personal property held by a district that has not been dissolved by order of TNRCC (Sec. 49.327). The bill authorizes a district, if approved by a majority of the members of the board, to enter into a contract with any person for the joint construction, ownership, or operation of any property, works, improvements, facilities, plants, equipment, or appliances used to accomplish any purpose or function of the district and to purchase an interest in any project used for any purpose or function of the district, as well as to enter into a contract with any person for the performance of any purpose or function of the district. A joint contract entered into by a district and amendments to that contract must be in writing and signed by each party or by an authorized representative of each party. A district has the right to conduct contract elections without the approval of the executive director of TNRCC if all land that would be subject to the contract election was in the boundaries of a district that was a party to an agreement with a municipality before September 1, 1997, calling for the issuance of district bonds for road or bridge improvements and the contract is approved by the municipality that is a party to the agreement (Sec. 51.149). The bill provides that it is a Class C misdemeanor if a person violates a regulation adopted by a district (Sec. 51.131). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.