S.B. No. 1290

	AN ACT
	relating to the creation of the Calhoun County Groundwater
	Conservation District; providing authority to issue bonds.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subtitle H, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
	Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8860 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 8860.  CALHOUN COUNTY GROUNDWATER
	CONSERVATION DISTRICT
	SUBCHAPTER A.  GENERAL PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8860.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
	(1)  "Board" means the board of directors of the
	district.
	(2)  "Director" means a board member.
	(3)  "District" means the Calhoun County Groundwater
	Conservation District.
	Sec. 8860.002.  NATURE OF DISTRICT.  The district is a
	groundwater conservation district in Calhoun County created under
	and essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article
	XVI, Texas Constitution.
	Sec. 8860.003.  CONFIRMATION ELECTION REQUIRED.  If the
	creation of the district is not confirmed at a confirmation
	election held under Section 8860.022 before December 31, 2016:
	(1)  the district is dissolved on December 31, 2016,
	except that the district shall:
	(A)  pay any debts incurred;
	(B)  transfer to Calhoun County any assets that
	remain after the payment of debts; and
	(C)  maintain the organization of the district
	until all debts are paid and remaining assets are transferred; and
	(2)  this chapter expires September 1, 2018.
	Sec. 8860.004.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. (a)  The
	organization of the district is feasible and practicable.
	(b)  All land in and residents of the district will benefit
	from the creation of the district.
	(c)  The creation of the district is a public necessity and
	will provide a public benefit.
	Sec. 8860.005.  INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. The initial
	boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of
	Calhoun County.
	[Sections 8860.006-8860.020 reserved for expansion]
	SUBCHAPTER A-1.  TEMPORARY PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8860.021.  APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY DIRECTORS.
	(a)  Not later than September 11, 2011, the Calhoun County
	Commissioners Court shall appoint five temporary directors as
	follows:
	(1)  one temporary director from each of the four
	commissioners precincts in the county to represent the precincts in
	which the temporary directors reside; and
	(2)  one temporary director who resides in the district
	to represent the district at large.
	(b)  If a temporary director fails to qualify for office or a
	vacancy occurs on the temporary board, the remaining temporary
	directors shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy. If
	at any time there are fewer than three qualified temporary
	directors, the Calhoun County Commissioners Court shall appoint the
	necessary number of persons to fill all vacancies on the board.
	(c)  The temporary directors shall select from among
	themselves a president, a vice president, and a secretary.
	(d)  Temporary directors serve until the earlier of:
	(1)  the date the creation of the district is confirmed
	at an election held under Section 8860.022; or
	(2)  September 1, 2015.
	(e)  If the creation of the district has not been confirmed
	under Section 8860.022 and the terms of the temporary directors
	have expired, successor temporary directors shall be appointed in
	the manner provided by Subsection (a) to serve terms that expire on
	the earliest of:
	(1)  the date the district's creation is confirmed at an
	election held under Section 8860.022;
	(2)  the date the requirements of Section 8860.003(1)
	are fulfilled; or
	(3)  September 1, 2018.
	Sec. 8860.022.  CONFIRMATION ELECTION. (a)  Not later than
	October 1, 2011, the temporary directors shall meet and shall order
	an election to be held in the district not later than September 1,
	2012, to confirm the creation of the district.
	(b)  The ballot for the election shall be printed to provide
	for voting for or against the proposition: "The creation of the
	Calhoun County Groundwater Conservation District and the
	imposition of a fee to pay the maintenance and operating costs of
	the district."
	(c)  The temporary board may include other propositions on
	the ballot that the board considers necessary.
	(d)  Section 41.001(a), Election Code, does not apply to an
	election held under this section.
	(e)  If a majority of the votes cast at the election are in
	favor of confirming the district's creation, the temporary
	directors shall declare the district created. If a majority of the
	votes cast are not in favor of confirming the district's creation,
	the district's creation is not confirmed. The temporary directors
	shall file a copy of the election results with the Texas Commission
	on Environmental Quality.
	(f)  If the district's creation is not confirmed at an
	election held under this section, the temporary directors may order
	one or more subsequent elections to be held to confirm the creation
	of the district not earlier than the first anniversary of the
	preceding confirmation election. If the district's creation is not
	confirmed at an election held under this section on or before
	December 31, 2016, the district is dissolved in accordance with
	Section 8860.003.
	Sec. 8860.023.  INITIAL DIRECTORS. (a)  If the creation of
	the district is confirmed at an election held under Section
	8860.022, the temporary directors become the initial directors and
	serve for the terms provided by Subsection (b).
	(b)  The initial directors representing commissioners
	precincts 1 and 3 serve a term expiring on December 31 following the
	expiration of two years after the date of the confirmation
	election, and the initial directors representing commissioners
	precincts 2 and 4 and the at-large director serve a term expiring on
	December 31 following the expiration of four years after the date of
	the confirmation election.
	Sec. 8860.024.  EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER.  This subchapter
	expires September 1, 2018.
	[Sections 8860.025-8860.050 reserved for expansion]
	SUBCHAPTER B.  BOARD OF DIRECTORS
	Sec. 8860.051.  GOVERNING BODY; TERMS.  (a)  The district is
	governed by a board of five elected directors.
	(b)  Directors serve staggered four-year terms, with two or
	three directors' terms expiring December 31 of each even-numbered
	year.
	Sec. 8860.052.  METHOD OF ELECTING DIRECTORS:  COMMISSIONERS
	PRECINCTS. (a)  The directors of the district are elected
	according to the commissioners precinct method as provided by this
	section.
	(b)  One director is elected by the voters of the entire
	district, and one director is elected from each county
	commissioners precinct by the voters of that precinct.
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), to be eligible to
	be a candidate for or to serve as director at large, a person must be
	a registered voter in the district. To be a candidate for or to
	serve as director from a county commissioners precinct, a person
	must be a registered voter of that precinct.
	(d)  A person shall indicate on the application for a place
	on the ballot:
	(1)  the precinct that the person seeks to represent;
	or
	(2)  that the person seeks to represent the district at
	large.
	(e)  When the boundaries of the county commissioners
	precincts are redrawn after each federal decennial census to
	reflect population changes, a director in office on the effective
	date of the change, or a director elected or appointed before the
	effective date of the change whose term of office begins on or after
	the effective date of the change, shall serve in the precinct to
	which elected or appointed even though the change in boundaries
	places the director's residence outside the precinct for which the
	director was elected or appointed.
	Sec. 8860.053.  ELECTION DATE. The district shall hold an
	election to elect the appropriate number of directors on the
	uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code,
	in November of each even-numbered year.
	Sec. 8860.054.  VACANCIES. If a vacancy occurs on the board,
	the remaining directors shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy
	until the next regularly scheduled election of directors.  If the
	position is not scheduled to be filled at the election, the person
	elected serves only for the remainder of the unexpired term.
	Sec. 8860.055.  COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a)  A director is
	not entitled to receive compensation for performing the duties of a
	director.
	(b)  The board may authorize a director to receive
	reimbursement for the director's reasonable expenses incurred
	while engaging in activities on behalf of the district.
	[Sections 8860.056-8860.100 reserved for expansion]
	SUBCHAPTER C.  POWERS AND DUTIES
	Sec. 8860.101.  GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT POWERS
	AND DUTIES. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the
	district has the powers and duties provided by the general law of
	this state, including Chapter 36, Water Code, applicable to
	groundwater conservation districts created under Section 59,
	Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
	Sec. 8860.102.  CERTAIN PERMIT DENIALS PROHIBITED.  The
	district may not deny the owner of a tract of land, or the owner's
	lessee, who does not have a well equipped to produce more than
	25,000 gallons each day on the tract, either a permit to drill a
	well on the tract or the privilege to produce groundwater from the
	tract, subject to district rules.
	Sec. 8860.103.  MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. In addition to the
	authority granted by Chapter 36, Water Code, the district may
	assist in the mediation between landowners regarding the loss of
	existing groundwater supply of exempt domestic and livestock users
	due to the groundwater pumping of others.
	Sec. 8860.104.  NO EMINENT DOMAIN POWER.  The district may
	not exercise the power of eminent domain.
	[Sections 8860.105-8860.150 reserved for expansion]
	SUBCHAPTER D.  GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8860.151.  FEES.  (a)  The board by rule may impose a
	reasonable fee on each well for which a permit is issued by the
	district and that is not exempt from regulation by the district.
	The fee may be based on:
	(1)  the size of column pipe used by the well; or
	(2)  the actual, authorized, or anticipated amount of
	water to be withdrawn from the well.
	(b)  In addition to a fee imposed under Subsection (a), the
	district may impose a reasonable fee or surcharge for an export fee
	using one of the following methods:
	(1)  a fee negotiated between the district and the
	transporter; or
	(2)  a combined production and export fee.
	(c)  Fees authorized by this section may be assessed annually
	and may be used to fund the cost of district operations.
	Sec. 8860.152.  TAXES PROHIBITED. The district may not
	impose a tax and does not have the authority granted by Sections
	36.020 and 36.201-36.204, Water Code, relating to taxes.
	SECTION 2.  (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 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,
	lieutenant governor, and 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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1290 passed the Senate on
	April 28, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1290 passed the House on
	May 25, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 147, Nays 0, one
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor