The text as introduced · 1,460 words
By: Metcalf
H.B. No. 4370
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the projects that may be undertaken by a public
improvement district, municipal utility district, fresh water
supply district, water control and improvement district or
municipal management district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 372.003, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-2) to
read as follows:
(b) A public improvement project may include:
(1) landscaping;
(2) erection of fountains, distinctive lighting, and
signs;
(3) acquiring, constructing, improving, widening,
narrowing, closing, or rerouting of sidewalks or of streets, any
other roadways, or their rights-of-way;
(4) construction or improvement of pedestrian malls;
(5) acquisition and installation of pieces of art;
(6) acquisition, construction, or improvement of
libraries;
(7) acquisition, construction, or improvement of
off-street parking facilities;
(8) acquisition, construction, improvement, or
rerouting of mass transportation facilities;
(9) acquisition, construction, or improvement of
water, geothermal water conveyance, wastewater, or drainage
facilities or improvements;
(10) the establishment or improvement of parks;
(11) projects similar to those listed in Subdivisions
(1)-(10);
(12) acquisition, by purchase or otherwise, of real
property, including a right-of-way or easement, in connection with
an authorized improvement;
(13) special supplemental services for improvement
and promotion of the district, including services relating to
advertising, promotion, health and sanitation, water and
wastewater, public safety, security, business recruitment,
development, recreation, and cultural enhancement;
(14) payment of expenses incurred in the
establishment, administration, and operation of the district; and
(15) the development, rehabilitation, or expansion of
affordable housing.
(b-2) Payment of expenses under Subsection (b)(9) may also
include expenses related to the operation and maintenance of a
geothermal water conveyance facility or improvement.
SECTION 2. Section 372.023(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Costs of improvements may be paid or reimbursed by any
combination of the methods described by this section if the
improvements are dedicated, conveyed, leased, or otherwise
provided to or for the benefit of:
(1) a municipality or county;
(2) a political subdivision or other entity exercising
the powers granted under this subchapter as authorized by other
law; [ or ]
(3) an entity that:
(A) is approved by the governing body of an
entity described by Subdivision (1) or (2); and
(B) is authorized by order, ordinance,
resolution, or other official action to act for an entity described
by Subdivision (1) or (2) ; or
(4) an entity subject to the regulatory jurisdiction
of the Public Utility Commission of Texas .
SECTION 3. Section 375.112(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 375.112. SPECIFIC POWERS RELATING TO ASSESSMENTS. (a)
An improvement project or services provided by the district may
include the construction, acquisition, improvement, relocation,
operation, maintenance, or provision of:
(1) landscaping; lighting, banners, and signs;
streets and sidewalks; pedestrian skywalks, crosswalks, and
tunnels; seawalls; marinas; drainage and navigation improvements;
pedestrian malls; solid waste, water, sewer, and power facilities,
including electrical, gas, steam, cogeneration, chilled water
facilities and geothermal water conveyance facilities or
improvements ; parks, plazas, lakes, rivers, bayous, ponds, and
recreation and scenic areas; historic areas; fountains; works of
art; off-street parking facilities, bus terminals, heliports, and
mass transit systems; theatres, studios, exhibition halls,
production facilities and ancillary facilities in support of the
foregoing; and the cost of any demolition in connection with
providing any of the improvement projects;
(2) other improvements similar to those described in
Subdivision (1);
(3) the acquisition of real property or any interest
in real property in connection with an improvement, project, or
services authorized by this chapter, Chapter 54, Water Code, or
Chapter 365 or 441, Transportation Code;
(4) special supplemental services for advertising,
economic development, promoting the area in the district, health
and sanitation, public safety, maintenance, security, business
recruitment, development, elimination or relief of traffic
congestion, recreation, and cultural enhancement; and
(5) expenses incurred in the establishment,
administration, maintenance, and operation of the district or any
of its improvements, projects, or services.
SECTION 4. Section 375.093(c), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) If a district, in exercising any of the powers conferred
by this chapter, requires the relocation, adjustment, raising,
lowering, rerouting, or changing the grade of or altering the
construction of any street, alley, highway, overpass, underpass, or
road, any railroad track, bridge, or other facilities or property,
any electric lines, conduits, or other facilities or property, any
geothermal water conveyance facilities or property , any telephone
or telegraph lines, conduits, or other facilities or property, any
gas transmission or distribution pipes, pipelines, mains, or other
facilities or property, any water, sanitary sewer or storm sewer
pipes, pipelines, mains, or other facilities, or property, any
cable television lines, cables, conduits, or other facilities or
property, or any other pipelines and any facilities or properties
relating to those pipelines, those relocations, adjustments,
raising, lowering, rerouting, or changing of grade, or altering of
construction must be accomplished at the sole cost and expense of
the district, and damages that are suffered by the owners of the
property or facilities shall be borne by the district.
SECTION 5. Section 54.012, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 54.012. PURPOSES OF A DISTRICT. A district shall be
created for the following purposes:
(1) the control, storage, preservation, and
distribution of its storm water and floodwater, the water of its
rivers and streams for irrigation, power, and all other useful
purposes;
(2) the reclamation and irrigation of its arid,
semiarid, and other land needing irrigation;
(3) the reclamation and drainage of its overflowed
land and other land needing drainage;
(4) the conservation and development of its forests,
water, and hydroelectric power;
(5) the navigation of its inland and coastal water;
(6) the control, abatement, and change of any shortage
or harmful excess of water;
(7) the protection, preservation, and restoration of
the purity and sanitary condition of water within the state; and
(8) the preservation of all natural resources of the
state, including the use of geothermal water conveyance systems for
the conservation of natural resources.
SECTION 6. Section 54.501, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 54.501. ISSUANCE OF BONDS. The district may issue its
bonds for any purpose authorized by this chapter, Chapter 49, or
other applicable laws, including the purpose of purchasing,
constructing, acquiring, owning, operating, repairing, improving,
or extending any district works, improvements, facilities, plants,
equipment, and appliances needed to accomplish the purposes set
forth in Section 54.012 for which a district shall be created,
including works, improvements, facilities, plants, equipment, and
appliances needed to provide a waterworks system, sanitary sewer
system, storm sewer system, geothermal water conveyance system and
solid waste disposal system.
SECTION 7. Section 53.123, Water Code, is added to read as
follows:
Sec. 53.123. CONSTRUCTING GEOTHERMAL WATER CONVEYANCE
SYSTEMS. (a) A district may purchase, construct, acquire, own,
operate, repair, improve, and extend geothermal water conveyance
systems to areas within the district and finance such systems with
the proceeds of bonds issued pursuant to Subchapter F of this
section and secured by ad valorem taxes or other revenues or a
combination thereof.
(b) Before a district may exercise the power given by this
section, it must hold an election in the same manner as provided in
this chapter for other elections of the district.
SECTION 8. Section 51.121, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 51.121. PURPOSES OF DISTRICT. (a) A water control and
improvement district organized under the provisions of Article III,
Section 52, of the Texas Constitution, may provide for:
(1) the improvement of rivers, creeks, and streams to
prevent overflows, to permit navigation or irrigation, or to aid in
these purposes; or
(2) the construction and maintenance of pools, lakes,
reservoirs, dams, canals, and waterways for irrigation, drainage,
or navigation, or to aid these purposes.
(b) A water control and improvement district organized
under the provisions of Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas
Constitution, may provide for:
(1) the control, storage, preservation, and
distribution of its water and floodwater and the water of its rivers
and streams for irrigation, power, and all other useful purposes;
(2) the reclamation and irrigation of its arid,
semiarid, and other land which needs irrigation;
(3) the reclamation, drainage, conservation, and
development of its forests, water, and hydroelectric power;
(4) the navigation of its coastal and inland water;
(5) the control, abatement, and change of any shortage
or harmful excess of water;
(6) the protection, preservation, and restoration of
the purity and sanitary condition of water within the state; and
(7) the preservation and conservation of all natural
resources of the state, including the use of geothermal water
conveyance systems for the conservation of natural resources
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 
