Title WA, Water Code

Sec. 54.014. PETITION. When it is proposed to create a district, a petition requesting creation shall be filed with the commission. The petition shall be signed by a majority in value of the holders of title of the land within the proposed district, as indicated by the tax rolls …

Sec. 54.015. CONTENTS OF PETITION. The petition shall: (1) describe the boundaries of the proposed district by metes and bounds or by lot and block number, if there is a recorded map or plat and survey of the area; (2) state the general nature of the work proposed to be done, the…

Sec. 54.016. CONSENT OF CITY. (a) No land within the corporate limits of a city or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a city, shall be included in a district unless the city grants its written consent, by resolution or ordinance, to the inclusion of the land within the d…

Sec. 54.0161. REVIEW OF CREATION BY COUNTY. (a) This section applies only to a proposed district all of which is to be located outside the corporate limits of a municipality. (a-1) Promptly after a petition is filed with the commission to create a district to which this section a…

Sec. 54.0162. OPTION OF SELECTION BY DISTRICT COMPOSED OF NONCONTIGUOUS AREAS LOCATED IN THE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF TWO MUNICIPALITIES. (a) A municipal utility district composed of noncontiguous areas that on January 1, 1995, are contained in the extraterritorial jurisd…

Sec. 54.0163. OPTION OF SELECTION OF EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION FOR CERTAIN DISTRICTS. (a) The board of a district that is located in the extraterritorial jurisdictions of more than one municipality by resolution may select the municipality that may exercise authority within t…

Sec. 54.0165. ADDITION TO DISTRICT OF LAND IN EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF MUNICIPALITY. (a) A district may not add land that is located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality unless the governing body of the municipality gives its written consent by ordinance…

Sec. 54.018. NOTICE AND HEARING ON DISTRICT CREATION. If a petition is filed under Section 54.014, the commission shall give notice of an application as required by Section 49.011 and may conduct a hearing on the application if the commission determines that a hearing is necessar…

Sec. 54.020. HEARING. (a) If the commission determines that a hearing is necessary under Section 49.011, the commission shall conduct a hearing and accept evidence on the sufficiency of the petition and whether the project is feasible and practicable and is necessary and would be…

Sec. 54.021. GRANTING OR REFUSING PETITION. (a) If the commission finds that the petition conforms to the requirements of Section 54.015 and that the project is feasible and practicable and is necessary and would be a benefit to the land to be included in the district, the commis…

Sec. 54.022. TEMPORARY DIRECTORS. (a) If the commission grants the petition, it shall appoint five temporary directors to serve until permanent directors are elected. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a majority of temporary directors appointed under Subsection (a) must b…

Sec. 54.023. APPEAL FROM THE ORDER OF THE COMMISSION. Any person who signed the petition, any city, or any person who appeared in person or by attorney or agent and offered testimony for or against the creation of the district, may appeal from the order of the commission granting…

Sec. 54.024. SUPERVISION BY COMMISSION. The rights, powers, privileges, authority, and functions conferred on a district by granting of a petition for creation shall be subject to the continuing right of supervision of the state to be exercised by and through the commission. Adde…

Sec. 54.025. QUALIFICATION OF TEMPORARY DIRECTORS. After a district has been organized, each temporary director shall execute a bond in accordance with the provisions of Section 49.055 and shall take the oath of office, and the board shall meet and organize. Added by Acts 1971, 6…

Sec. 54.030. CONVERSION OF CERTAIN DISTRICTS INTO DISTRICTS OPERATING UNDER THIS CHAPTER. (a) Any water improvement district, water control and improvement district, fresh water supply district, levee improvement district, irrigation district, or any other conservation and reclam…

Sec. 54.032. CONVERSION OF DISTRICT: NOTICE. (a) The governing body of a district described by Section 54.030(b) shall give notice of the conversion hearing by publishing notice in a newspaper with general circulation in the district. (b) The notice shall be published once a week…

Sec. 54.033. CONVERSION OF DISTRICT; FINDINGS. (a) After receiving a request for the approval of a conversion under Section 54.030(d), if the commission finds that conversion of the district into one operating under this chapter would serve the best interest of the district and w…

Sec. 54.034. EFFECT OF CONVERSION. A district which is converted into a district operating under this chapter shall: (1) be constituted a municipal utility district operating under and governed by this chapter; (2) be a conservation and reclamation district under the provisions o…

Sec. 54.035. RESERVATION OF CERTAIN POWERS FOR CONVERTED DISTRICTS. (a) Any district after converting into a municipal utility district may continue to exercise all necessary specific powers under any specific conditions provided by the chapter of this code under which the distri…

Sec. 54.036. DIRECTORS TO CONTINUE SERVING. The existing board of a district converted to a municipal utility district under the provisions of this chapter shall continue to serve as the board of the converted district. Added by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 781, ch. 84, Sec. 1. Amend…

Sec. 54.037. REGIONAL PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AGENCIES. (a) This section applies only to regional plan implementation agencies, referred to in this section as agency, created as provided below. An agency may only be created in connection with regional planning efforts, and only then …

Sec. 54.101. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. A district shall be governed by a board of five directors. Added by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 781, ch. 84, Sec. 1.

Sec. 54.102. QUALIFICATIONS FOR DIRECTORS. To be qualified to serve as a director, a person shall be at least 18 years old, a resident citizen of the State of Texas, and either own land subject to taxation in the district or be a qualified voter within the district. Added by Acts…

Sec. 54.201. POWERS. (a) A district shall have the functions, powers, authority, rights, and duties which will permit accomplishment of the purposes for which it was created. (b) A district is authorized to purchase, construct, acquire, own, operate, maintain, repair, improve, or…

Sec. 54.203. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. A district is authorized to purchase, construct, acquire, own, operate, maintain, repair, improve, extend, or establish a municipal solid waste collection and disposal system, including recycling, inside and outside the district and make proper…

Sec. 54.205. ADOPTING RULES AND REGULATIONS. A district may adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations to: (1) secure and maintain safe, sanitary, and adequate plumbing installations, connections, and appurtenances as subsidiary parts of its sanitary sewer system; (2) pre…

Sec. 54.2051. SERVICE CONNECTIONS TO CERTAIN DWELLING UNITS. (a) If the tenant of an individually metered dwelling unit applies to a district for utility service for that unit, the district may not require that the service be connected in the name of the landlord or owner of the …

Sec. 54.2052. PLUMBING CODE. Notwithstanding any other law, a district is not required to adopt a plumbing code. A district may adopt and enforce one or more plumbing codes meeting the standards and requirements of the rules and laws of this state and may amend any code adopted t…

Sec. 54.206. EFFECT OF RULES. After the required publication, rules adopted by the district under Section 54.205 of this code shall be recognized by the courts as if they were penal ordinances of a city. Added by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 787, ch. 84, Sec. 1.

Sec. 54.207. PUBLICATION OF RULES. (a) The board shall publish once a week for two consecutive weeks a substantive statement of the rules and the penalty for their violation in one or more newspapers with general circulation in the area in which the district is located. (b) The s…

Sec. 54.208. EFFECTIVE DATE OF RULES. The penalty for violation of a rule is not effective and enforceable until five days after the publication of the notice. Five days after the publication, the published rule shall be in effect and ignorance of it is not a defense to a prosecu…

Sec. 54.209. LIMITATION ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN. A district may not exercise the power of eminent domain outside the district boundaries to acquire: (1) a site for a water treatment plant, water storage facility, wastewater treatment plant, or wastewater disposal plant; (2) a si…

Sec. 54.234. ACQUIRING ROAD POWERS. (a) Any district or any petitioner seeking the creation of a district may petition the commission to acquire the power under the authority of Article III, Section 52, Texas Constitution, to design, acquire, construct, finance, issue bonds for, …

Sec. 54.235. AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT. Any district created by general law or special act of the legislature in existence for at least 10 years which lies within a county that borders on the Gulf of Mexico and that has a population of 190,000 and which has the powers of this chapter…

Sec. 54.2351. CONTRACTS WITH OTHER DISTRICTS, WATER SUPPLY CORPORATIONS, OR OTHER RETAIL PUBLIC UTILITIES. (a) In this section, "authorized water district" means a district created under Section 52(b)(1) or (2), Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution. (b) A d…

Sec. 54.236. STREET OR SECURITY LIGHTING. (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, a district may purchase, install, operate, and maintain street lighting or security lighting within public utility easements or public rights-of-way or property owned by the district. (b) A d…

Sec. 54.237. ENFORCEMENT OF REAL PROPERTY RESTRICTIONS. (a) As used in this section, "restriction" means a limitation on the use of real property that is established or incorporated in properly recorded covenants, property restrictions, plats, plans, deeds, or other instruments a…

Sec. 54.238. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Developer" means a person who owns a tract of land within a district and who has divided or proposes to divide the tract into two or more parts to lay out a subdivision of the tract, including an addition to a municipality, or to…

Sec. 54.239. APPEAL TO THE COMMISSION OF DECISION OF BOARD REGARDING FACILITIES. A person aggrieved by a decision of a board involving the cost, purchase, or use of facilities may appeal the decision to the commission by filing a petition with the commission seeking appropriate r…

Sec. 54.240. NOTICE. The commission shall give notice of the petition to persons who the commission determines may be affected by the petition, including: (1) the board; (2) the owners of land within the district; and (3) the ratepayers of the district who are served by the facil…

Sec. 54.241. ACTION ON THE PETITION. (a) After notice and hearing, the commission shall render a written decision granting or denying the petition, in whole or in part. (b) In rendering its decision, the commission shall consider: (1) the suitability of and necessity for the faci…

Sec. 54.242. STREET REPAIR OR MAINTENANCE. A district created by general law or special act of the legislature in existence for at least 10 years may repair or maintain a street within the district as provided by Section 54.522. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 520, Sec. 1, eff…

Sec. 54.243. DISPOSITION OF IMPACT FEES. A district that charges a fee that is an impact fee as described in Section 395.001(4), Local Government Code, shall use the fees collected and any interest accrued on the fees collected only for: (1) payment of principal and interest on b…

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 work…

Sec. 54.502. FORM OF BONDS. (a) A district may issue its bonds in various series or issues. (b) Bonds shall mature serially or otherwise not more than 40 years from their date and shall bear interest at any rate permitted by the Constitution and laws of the state, all as shall be…

Sec. 54.503. MANNER OF REPAYMENT OF BONDS. The board may provide for the payment of principal of and interest and redemption price on the bonds in any one of the following manners: (1) from the levy and collection of ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the district; (…