| (C) provide notice of availability of the petition and supporting
information as established by the petitioners under subsection (c)(8) of this
section and at any other location deemed appropriate by the executive director;
and
(D) provide a general map of the proposed district if the area
is not a recognizable political subdivision boundary.
(2) The executive director shall notify the chief clerk that
the submittal is complete and shall forward the draft public notice and a
mailing list of water stakeholders to the chief clerk. The water stakeholders
shall include the governing body of each county, regional water planning group,
adjacent GCD, municipality, river authority, water district, or other entity
that supplies public drinking water, including each holder of a certificate
of convenience and necessity issued by the commission and each irrigation
district located either in whole or in part in the proposed district.
(3) The chief clerk shall mail the notice to the water stakeholders
indicating that the petition for the creation of a GCD has been received.
(4) The chief clerk shall mail the notice to the petitioners
with instructions for publishing the notice.
(5) The petitioners shall publish notice once a week for two
consecutive weeks in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the
area of the proposed district. The last publication shall be no later than
30 days before the public meeting. The petitioners must provide proof of publication
by publishers affidavit to the chief clerk no later than one week prior to
the public meeting.
(6) The petitioners shall post the notice on the bulletin board
used for posting legal notices in each county in which all or part of the
proposed district is located no later than ten days before the public meeting.
The petitioners must provide proof of the posting to the chief clerk no later
than one week prior to the public meeting.
(7) The commission or the executive director shall conduct
the public meeting on the petition in a central location within the area of
the proposed district. The public meeting shall be held no later than 60 days
after the date the chief clerk mailed notice to the petitioners.
(f) Executive director actions. Following the public meeting,
the executive director shall file recommendations regarding certification
of the petition and the appointment of temporary directors with the chief
clerk. The executive director shall summarize the public meeting comments
and make a recommendation to the commission on whether the petition is administratively
complete and should be certified.
(g) Commission actions. Not later than 90 days after the date
of the public meeting, the commission shall certify the petition as administratively
complete. A petition is administratively complete if it complies with the
requirements of TWC, §36.013(b) and (c), and subsection (a) of this section.
(1) If the commission certifies the petition as administratively
complete, the commission shall issue an order stating that the petition is
administratively complete, creating the district, and appointing the temporary
directors named in the petition.
(2) The commission shall appoint temporary directors according
to §§293.31 - 293.35 of this title (relating to Appointment of Directors;
Qualifications of Directors; Commission Appointment of Directors to Fill Vacancies;
Form of Affidavit for Appointment as Director; and Reinstatement of a Board
Member).
(A) If a temporary director appointed by the commission fails
to qualify, or if a vacancy occurs in the office of temporary director, the
commission shall appoint an individual to fill the vacancy.
(B) Temporary directors appointed under this paragraph serve
until the initial directors are elected and have qualified for office or until
the voters fail to approve creation of the district.
(3) The commission may not certify a petition if the commission
finds that:
(A) the proposed district cannot be adequately funded to finance
required or authorized groundwater management planning, regulatory, and district-operation
functions under TWC, Chapter 36 based on the financial information provided
by the petitioners; or
(B) the boundaries of the proposed district do not provide
for the effective management of the groundwater resources.
(4) The commission may alter the boundaries if such boundaries
would facilitate district creation and confirmation and may also alter boundaries
to provide for more effective management of groundwater resources. The commission
may give preference to boundaries that are coterminous with those of a GMA
and may also consider boundaries along existing political subdivision boundaries.
(5) If the commission does not certify the petition, the executive
director shall provide to the petitioners in writing the reasons for not certifying
the petition. The petitioners may resubmit the petition, without paying an
additional fee, if the petition is resubmitted within 90 days after the date
the executive director provides the notice. The resubmitted petition will
be treated as a new GCD creation submittal.
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