HB 4370

H.B. No. 4370
  AN ACT
  relating to the projects undertaken by a public improvement
  district, municipal management district, water control and
  improvement district, fresh water supply district, or municipal
  utility 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 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 375.093(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
  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, geothermal water
  conveyance, 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 4.  Section 375.112(a), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (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, and 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 5.  Section 51.121(b), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (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 through the use of geothermal
  water conveyance systems for the conservation of natural resources.
         SECTION 6.  Section 51.125, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 51.125.  CONSTRUCTION OF IMPROVEMENTS.  A district may
  construct all works and improvements necessary:
               (1)  for the prevention of floods;
               (2)  for the irrigation of land in the district;
               (3)  for the drainage of land in the district,
  including drainage ditches or other facilities for drainage;
               (4)  for the construction of levees to protect the land
  in the district from overflow;
               (5)  to alter land elevations where correction is
  needed; [and]
               (6)  to supply water for municipal uses, domestic uses,
  power and commercial purposes, and all other beneficial uses or
  controls; and
               (7)  for the construction of geothermal water
  conveyance systems necessary for the conservation of natural
  resources.
         SECTION 7.  Subchapter D, Chapter 53, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 53.123 to read as follows:
         Sec. 53.123.  GEOTHERMAL WATER CONVEYANCE SYSTEMS.  A
  district may purchase, construct, acquire, own, operate, repair,
  improve, and extend geothermal water conveyance systems in the
  district.
         SECTION 8.  Section 53.182, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  For the purposes of Section 53.123, a district may issue
  bonds payable from ad valorem taxes, revenues, or a combination
  thereof.
         SECTION 9.  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 through the use of geothermal water conveyance
  systems for the preservation of natural resources.
         SECTION 10.  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 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
  ______________________________
  ______________________________
     President of the Senate
  Speaker of the House     
         I certify that H.B. No. 4370 was passed by the House on May
  14, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 0, 2 present, not
  voting.
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
         I certify that H.B. No. 4370 was passed by the Senate on May
  21, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
            _____________________
                   Governor