HBA-LJP H.B. 3636 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3636 By: Geren Natural Resources 6/14/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Texas faces a difficult challenge to develop water policies that serve both state and regional interests. The Texas Constitution authorizes the creation of groundwater conservation districts to plan, develop, and regulate the use of water. The Tarrant County Regional Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 was created to operate the water supply reservoirs that serve the Fort Worth region. House Bill 3636 modifies the name of the Tarrant County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 to the Tarrant Regional Water District, and sets forth provisions relating to the authority of the district and court proceedings involving the district. 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 3636 amends law to modify the name of the Tarrant County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 to the Tarrant Regional Water District (district). The bill provides for the authorization of the board of directors of the district (board) to publicly or privately sell the district's bonds, notes, or other obligations in accordance with applicable regulations. The bill authorizes the district to make and enforce reasonable rules, permits, orders, and ordinances necessary to accomplish the districts authorized purposes. The bill provides that a person who violates a rule, permit, order, or ordinance of the district commits a Class C misdemeanor, unless specifically provided for by other law. The bill sets forth provisions relating to the notification by a peace officer who arrests or issues a citation to a person who violates a rule, permit, order, or ordinance, the required hearing with a justice of a peace of a person who commits an offense, and civil penalties. The bill sets forth provisions for the authorization of a district and a person who is adversely affected by a rule, permit, order, or ordinance of the district to file suit. The bill authorizes the district to cooperate and contract with any person, this state, any other state, the United States, any district or political subdivision, and Indian tribes for a supply of water imported from out of state, the financing, construction, acquisition, extension, or operation and maintenance of works needed in connection with the importation of water, the purchase of storage space, or any other consistent purpose. The bill provides that these contracts are exempt from provisions relating to awarded contracts and that provisions relating to the construction, equipment, materials, and machinery contracts apply to the district, except when the district is purchasing goods or services under competitive bidding or proposal provisions. The bill authorizes the selling, abandoning, releasing, exchanging, or transferring of narrow strips of land, or land that because of its shape, lack of access to public roads, or small area, cannot be logically used by anyone other than the abutting property owners to such owners under terms and conditions advantageous to the district and provides that certain provisions do not apply to the conveyance of the real property. In a case where a person challenges in court the validity of all or any portion of this Act and does not prevail, the bill requires the court to order the person to pay the reasonable attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and other costs incurred by all opposing parties defending this Act. The bill validates all actions and proceedings that annex territory and redefine boundaries before the effective date of this Act and provides that the validation does not apply to the annexations and redefinition of boundaries that are involved in litigation that holds or will hold the action invalid by a final judgement of a court of competent jurisdiction. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.