Sec. 35.013. ADDING PRIORITY GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AREA TO EXISTING DISTRICT. (a) If the commission in its order under Section 35.008 recommends that the priority groundwater management area or a portion of the priority groundwater management area be added to an existing district, the commission shall give notice to the board of the existing district recommended in its order and to any other existing districts adjacent to the priority groundwater management area.

(b) The commission shall submit a copy of the order to the board of the district to which it is recommending the priority groundwater management area be added. Not later than the 120th day after the date of receiving the copy, the board shall vote on the addition of the priority groundwater management area to the district and shall advise the commission of the outcome.

(b-1) If the district described by Subsection (b) has not approved an ad valorem tax on the date of the commission's order issued under Section 35.008 and the board of the district votes to accept the addition of the priority groundwater management area to the district, the board shall enter an order adding the territory in the district.

(c) If the district described by Subsection (b) has approved an ad valorem tax on the date of the commission's order issued under Section 35.008 and the board votes to accept the addition of the priority groundwater management area to the district, the board:

(1) shall enter an order adding the territory in the district;

(2) may request the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, the commission, and the Texas Water Development Board, with the cooperation and assistance of the Department of Agriculture and other state agencies, to administer an educational program to inform the residents of the status of the area's water resources, the addition of territory to the district, and options for financing management of the groundwater resources of the district;

(3) shall call an election to be held not later than the 270th day after the date of the board's vote under Subsection (b) within the priority groundwater management area, or portion of the priority groundwater management area, as delineated by the commission to determine if the added area will assume a proportional share of the debts or taxes of the district; and

(4) shall designate election precincts and polling places for the elections in the order calling an election under this subsection.

(d) The board shall give notice of the election and the proposition to be voted on. The board shall publish notice of the election at least one time in one or more newspapers with general circulation within the boundaries of the priority groundwater management area. The notice must be published before the 30th day preceding the date set for the election.

(e) The ballots for the election shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the proposition: "The assumption by the ______ (briefly describe the territory added under Subsection (c)(1)) of a proportional share of the debts or taxes of the ______ District instead of the assessment of fees in the described area to fund the groundwater management activities of the district."

(f) Immediately after the election, the presiding judge of each polling place shall deliver the returns of the election to the board, and the board shall canvass the returns for the election within the priority groundwater management area and declare the results. If a majority of the voters in the priority groundwater management area voting on the proposition vote in favor of the proposition, the board shall declare that the priority groundwater management area assumes a proportional share of the debts or taxes of the district. If a majority of the voters in the priority groundwater management area voting on the proposition do not vote in favor of the proposition, the board shall adopt rules to implement Subsection (g-1). The board shall file a copy of the election results with the commission.

(g) The board of the district to which the priority groundwater management area is added shall provide reasonable representation on that board compatible with the district's existing scheme of representation. Not later than the 30th day after the date on which the board declares that the priority groundwater management area is added to the district, the board of the existing district shall appoint a person or persons to represent the area until the next regularly scheduled election or appointment of directors.

(g-1) If the voters do not approve the assumption of a proportional share of the debts or taxes of a district under Subsection (e), the board shall assess production fees in the added territory based on the amount of water authorized by permit to be withdrawn from a well or the amount actually withdrawn. A district may use revenue generated for any purpose authorized by Section 36.206 or 36.207. Initial production fees may not exceed production fees as set in Section 36.205(c), but may be increased by the board on a majority vote after the first anniversary of the commission order. Production fees may be raised incrementally by 40 percent and 10 percent every following year until the maximum production fees equal:

(1) $2 per acre-foot, payable annually, for water used for an agricultural purpose; or

(2) 30 cents per 1,000 gallons, payable annually, for water used for any non-agricultural purpose.

(h) Not later than the first anniversary of the date on which the proposition is defeated, or the board of the existing district votes not to accept the addition of the area to the district, the commission shall, except as provided under Subsection (i):

(1) create under Section 36.0151 one or more districts covering the priority groundwater management area; or

(2) recommend the area be added to another existing district as provided by this section.

(i) For an area that is not feasible for the creation of one or more districts as determined in the commission's findings under Section 35.008, the commission shall include in its report under Section 35.018 recommendations for the future management of the priority groundwater management area.

(j) Another election to add the priority groundwater management area to an existing district may not be called before the first anniversary of the date on which the election on the proposition was held.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 933, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1010, Sec. 4.15, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 456, Sec. 12, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 979, Sec. 14, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 966, Sec. 2.27, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 886 (S.B. 313), Sec. 4, eff. June 17, 2011.