HB2421

HB2421 replaces May 31, 2025 with May 31, 2027 in two provisions governing the Save Historic Muny District in Austin. Both concern an agreement with the owner of the historic Lions Municipal Golf Course land to purchase it or preserve it as a public golf course, publicly available parkland, or both. The act does not itself buy the property or prove that a preservation agreement has been reached. Final law, Sections 1–2; district definitions.

First, the district’s authority to make a particular contract with Austin—receiving revenue from fees collected from municipally owned utility customers in the district in exchange for a public-benefit project or service—now requires a qualifying land agreement before May 31, 2027. This is a condition on that contract authority, not a new automatic utility charge or an order that Austin transfer money. Final law, Section 1; project and service authority.

Second, the district board must dissolve the district not later than May 31, 2027, unless a qualifying agreement exists as of that date, subject to the retained limits on dissolution of districts with outstanding bonded debt. The contract provision’s “before” wording and dissolution provision’s “as of” wording are not identical. The law does not erase debt or promise that the district will exist forever. Final law, Section 2; dissolution rule; bonded-debt limits.

Timing matters: the act became effective September 1, 2025, not immediately and not on May 31. Its House vote was 99–43 with one present not voting, below the two-thirds-of-all-members threshold required by its immediate-effect clause. It became law without the governor’s signature. The text contains no express retroactive validation or revival clause; this explanation does not resolve the district’s legal or factual status during the interval after the former deadline and before the new law took effect. Final law, Section 3 and passage certifications; official history.