A district may grant franchises and charge fees, but the commission must approve the franchise at three separate meetings, publish notice, and the grantee must file written acceptance within 30 days after final approval.
Sec. 63.178. FRANCHISES. (a) A district may grant franchises on property owned or controlled by the district to any person for purposes consistent with this chapter and may charge fees for the franchises. (b) A franchise may be granted for a period of not more than 50 years. (c) Before the franchise is granted, the commission must approve the franchise by a majority vote at three separate meetings held at least one week apart and must publish notice. The third meeting at which the commission votes to grant a franchise may not take place before the date the notice required by this subsection is published for the third time. (c-1) For the purposes of Subsection (c), notice must be published at the expense of the applicant, once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the district. The notice must consist of: (1) the text of the franchise in full; or (2) a descriptive caption stating the purpose of the franchise and the location at which a complete copy of the franchise may be obtained. (d) The franchise shall require the grantee to file a written acceptance within 30 days from the day the franchise is finally approved by the commission. Unless the district and the grantee agree on a later date, the effective date of the franchise is the date the grantee files the written acceptance with the commission. (e) Fees charged for a franchise may be used to pay interest on bonds or other securities issued by the district for construction of its improvements and to retire these bonds or other securities at maturity. (f) This section shall not be construed to prevent a district from granting revocable licenses or permits for the use of limited portions of waterfront or facilities for purposes consistent with this chapter. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 110, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1027 (H.B. 2770), Sec. 21, eff. June 17, 2011. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 427 (S.B. 1395), Sec. 19, eff. June 1, 2017. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1120 (S.B. 1129), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.