O-2013-3482 Canvassing Special 2013 Election

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the ordinances of the city for publication in book or pamphlet form. Except as otherwise provided in Article VTI of this Charter, it shall not be necessary to the validity of any ordinance that it shall be read more than one time or considered at more than one session of city council. Every ordinance shall be authenticated by the signature of the mayor and city secretary and shall be systematically recorded in an ordinance book in a manner approved by council. It shall only be necessary to record the caption or title of ordinances in the official minutes of council meetings. 2. Codifications. Council shall have power to cause the ordinances of the city to be corrected, amended, revised, codified and printed in code form as often as council deems advisable. Such printed code, when adopted by council, shall be in full force and effect without the necessity of publishing the same or any part thereof in a newspaper and shall be admitted in evidence in all courts and places without further proof. b. Enacting clause, The enacting clause of all ordinances shall be 'BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE." 7.01. - Enfranchisement. a. Power of council. City council shall have power by ordinance to grant, amend, renew and extend all franchises of all public utilities of every character operating within the city. All ordinances granting, amending, renewing or extending franchises for public utilities shall not be finally passed until thirty (30) days after the first reading; and no such ordinance shall take effect until sixty (60) days after its final passage; and pending such time, the notice and caption of such ordinance, noting the place where the full text may be examined by the public, shall be published once each week for four (4) consecutive weeks in the official newspaper of the city, and the expense of such publication [is] to be borne by the proponent of the franchise. No public utility franchise shall be transferable except with the approval of council expressed by ordinance. b. Extensions. All extensions of public utilities within the city limits shall become a part of the aggregate property of the public utilities, shall be operated as such, and shall be subject to all the obligations and reserved rights contained in this Charter and in any original grant hereafter made. The right to use and maintain any extension shall terminate with the original grant and shall be terminable as provided in section 7.02a. In case of an extension of a public utility operated under a franchise hereafter granted, such right shall be terminable at the same time and under the same conditions as the original grant. c. Other conditions. All franchises heretofore granted are recognized as contracts between the city and the grantee, and the contractual right as contained in any such franchises shall not be impaired by the provisions of this Charter, except that the power of the city to exercise the right of eminent domain in the acquisition of any utility property is in all things reserved, and except the general power of the city heretofore existing and herein provided for to regulate the rates and services of the grantee which shall include the right to require proper and adequate extension of plant and service and the maintenance of the plant and fixtures at the highest reasonable standard of efficiency. Every public utility franchise hereafter granted shall be held subject to all the terms and conditions contained in the various sections of this article whether or not such terms are specifically mentioned in the franchise. When the city chooses to exercise its power of eminent domain to acquire any public utility, the procedure to be used in such acquisition shall be as set forth in V.T,C.A., Property Code §§ 21.011 to 21.065, inclusive. In valuing the property, the measure of damages shall be the fair market value of the physical properties taken together as one system. This power shall be in addition to and cumulative of any other powers of acquisition granted to or reserved by the city in a franchise ordinance. Prior to the purchase of any existing franchised utility system, either according to the terms of the franchise or by eminent domain, city council shall submit the question of purchase to the qualified voters of the city, and such must be approved by a majority of those voting. Nothing in this Charter shall operate to limit in any way, as specifically stated, the discretion of council or the electors of the city in imposing terms and conditions as may be reasonable in connection with any franchise grant.