An Act validating McLennan and Hill counties Tehuacana Creek WAter Control and IMprovement District Number One; validating the boundaries of said District; validating all actions, orders, or other proceedings in connection with its creation, orgaization and operation; validating all actions, orderes or other proceedings relating to the calling, conducting and declaring the results of the confirmation election, elections for Directors, maintenance tax, and bond elections, and in calling, conducting and determining the results of any exculsion hering; validating all bonds heretofore voted and providing same shall be incontestable upon approval of the Attorney General and registration by the State Comptroller; validating proceedings relating to adoption of plan of taxation; validating all actions in authorizing the levy, assessment and collection of taxes and in adopting tax rolls; providing for a maintenance tax election and that such taxes shall be on a ad valorem basis; providing the district may change its plan of taxation and providing that taxes on a benefit basis shall be levied and collected as provided by the Section 131, of Chapter 25, Acts of the 39th Legislature, Regul;ar Session, 1925; providing that bonds of the District shall be authorized investments and eligible to secure deposits of public funds in certain instances; declaring all including land and property shall be benefited; declaring the District essential; enacting provisions incident and related to the subject; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

        Section 1: All proceedings and actions heretofore had and taken in the creation, organizatgion and operation of McLennan and Hill Counties Tehuacana Creek Water Control and Improvement District Number One, of McLennan and Hill Counties, Texas, created or sought to be created under the provisions of Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution and the General Laws of the State enactied pursuant thereto, are hereby in all things and in all respects ratified, confirmed, approved and validated as of the respective dates of such porceedings and actions. Said District shall continue to exist as a conservation and reclamation district pursuant to Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution and shall be recognized to exercise all of the powers and be a governmental agency and body politic and corporate essential to the accomplishment of the purposes of said constitution provisions and created to exercise such rights, powers, privileges and functions as may be contemplated or implied by the aforesaid constitutional provision, also those now or hereafter conferred by the General Laws of the state relating to Water Control and Improvement Districts whereinnot in conflict with this Act.

        Section 2: The boundaries of said District heretofore and herein establised are those set forth and defined in that certain order of the Board of Directors of said District passed on the 6th day of November, 1956, folowing the confirmation of the District at the election held on October 30, 1956, as said order is recorded in Volume 1 page 67 et ewq., of the Deed Records of McLennan County, Texas, and in Volume 405 page 621 et ewq., of the Deed Records of Hill County, Texas, and it is hereby found and determined that all lands and other property included within the boundaries of said District are and will be benefited by the District and its improvements.

        Section 3: Without in anywise limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following matters are hereby in all respects ratified, confirmed, approved and validated:

        (a) All actions, orders, or other proceedings of the State Board of Water Engineers in creating the District and all actions, orders or other proceedings in calling, conducting and declaring the results of the election for the confirmation of such District as well as the elections for Directors therefor:

        (b) All actions, orders or other proceedings of the Board of Directors of the District or any of its officers or any person acting for it, in calling, conducting and determining the results of any hearing in the matter of the exculsion of lands, or other property from the District;

        (c) All actions, orders and proceedings in the calling, conducting and declaring the results of the election held within said District on the 10th day of August, 1960, whereat a majority of the resident quilified property taxpaying voters of such District voted in favor of the proposition sumbitted to authorize the levy and collection of a tax for the purpose of operating and maintaining the improvements of the District and to give proper service for the purpose of its organization and on the proposition to authorize issuance of bonds by siad District and the action of the Board of Directors in canvassing the retur4ns and declaring the result of said election;

        (d) All acdtions of the Board of Directors of said District in ordering a hearing on a plan of taxation, conducting said hering and adopting a plan of taxation;

        (e) All orders, resolutions, or other proceedings of the Board of Directors in authorizing the issuance of the aforementioned bonds and the levying of taxes for the support thereof, it being hereby provided that when the Attorney General has approved such bonds, or if such bonds are validated by a District Court under the provisions of the General Laws related to Water Control and IMprovement Districts, and they have been registered by the Comptroller of Public Accounts and sold and delivered they shall be legal, valid and enforceable obligations of the District and shall be incontestable; and

        (f) All actions of the Board of Directors of the District in authorizing the levying, assessment and collection of taxes for the said District and in adopting its tax rolls.

        Section 4: All taxes herafter levied for the purpose of operating and maintaining the improvements of the District and to give proper service for the purposes of its organization (as authorized at the election held on August 10, 1960) shall be on the ad valorem basis, and in no event shall the rate of such tax exceed the maximum voted at the aforesaid election unless authorized by a majority vote of the resident qualified property taxpaying voters of the District at an election called for such purpose. Any such election shall be called, conducted and held and the returns made and canvassed as provided in Sections 26 through 30, inclusive, of Chapter 25, Acts of the 39th Legislature, Regular Session 1925 (codified as ARticle 7880-26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, V.A.T.C.S.).

        Section 5: Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting a change in the plan of taxation of the District as permitted by Article 7880-77a, V.A.T.C.S. It is specifically provided, however, that all taxes on the benefit basis shall be levied and collected as provided in Section 131 of Chapter 25,Acts of the 39th Legislature, Regular Session, 1926 (codified as Article 7880-131, V.A.T.C.S.).

        Section 6: All bonds of the District shall be and are hereby declared to be legal and authorized inveestments for banks, savings banks, trust companies, building and loan associations, insurance companies, fiduciaries, trustees, guardians, and for the sinking funds of cities, towns, villages, counties, school districts or other political corporations or subdivisions of the State of Texas. Such bonds shall be eligible to secure the deposit of any and all public funds of cities, towns, villages, counties, school districts or other political corporations or subdivisions of the State of Texas; and such bonds shall be alwful and sufficient security for said deposits to the extent of their par value.       

        Section 7: The Legislature hereby declares that said District is established under the provisions of Section 59 of Article XVI of the Texas Constitution; that the enactment hereof is in fulfillment of a duty imposed by said consiitutional provision to pass such laws as may be appropriated in the preservation and conservation of the natural resources of the State; that said District is essential to the accomplishment of these purposes; that this Act operates upon a subject in which the State al large is interested; that all land and property located within the limits of the District is and will be benefited byby the purposes for which the District is created. All terms and provisions of this Act are to be liberally construed to effectuate the purpose and objective herein set forth.

        Section 8: The public importance of this Act and the purposes herein conte plated and the fact that material benefits and improvements will result to the territory embraced within the District, under the operation hereof; and the further fact that the proposed program of the District cannot proceed until such time as certain formal questions are resolved as to procedures being followed, creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the Constitutional Rule requireing bills to be read on three several days in each House to suspended, and siad Rule is hereby suspended; and this Act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and it is swo enacted.