81R14698 PAM-D
By: Brown of Kaufman H.B. No. 362
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 362:
By: Davis of Harris C.S.H.B. No. 362
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain counties to enact noise
regulations; providing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 240, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. REGULATION OF NOISE AND SOUND LEVELS
Sec. 240.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Major metropolitan county" means a county in
which three or more municipalities, each with a population of more
than 175,000, are predominantly located.
(2) "Nonurban county" means a county that has a
population of less than 100,000 and that had a percentage change in
its population growth, according to the most recent federal
decennial census, of less than 50 percent.
Sec. 240.102. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
applies only to a nonurban county located adjacent to a major
metropolitan county.
Sec. 240.103. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE. (a) The
commissioners court of the county by order may prohibit the
production of sound from a loudspeaker or sound amplifier:
(1) the level of which exceeds 85 decibels at a
distance of 50 feet from the property line of the property on which
the loudspeaker or sound amplifier is operated; and
(2) that disturbs a person of ordinary sensibilities
in the immediate vicinity of the loudspeaker or sound amplifier.
(b) A regulation adopted under this subchapter applies only
to the unincorporated area of the county.
(c) This subchapter does not authorize the commissioners
court to regulate restricted fireworks as defined by Section
352.051.
Sec. 240.104. PERMIT FOR CERTAIN EVENTS; PERMIT FEES. (a)
The commissioners court by order may authorize the holding of
events at which loudspeakers or sound amplifiers that produce
sounds exceeding the levels specified by Section 240.103 will be
used, if the person holding an event obtains a permit from the
county for the event.
(b) A person must apply for the permit in accordance with
regulations adopted by the county.
(c) The regulations adopted under this section may provide
for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit by the county.
(d) A district court has jurisdiction of a suit that arises
from the denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit by the
county.
(e) A county may impose fees on an applicant for a permit
under this section. The fees must be based on the administrative
costs of issuing the permit. A county that imposes a permit fee
shall establish procedures to reduce the fee amount if the
applicant is unable to pay the full permit fee.
Sec. 240.105. MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE PREVAILS OVER COUNTY
ORDER. If an order adopted by a county under this subchapter
conflicts with an ordinance of a municipality, the municipal
ordinance prevails within the municipality's jurisdiction to the
extent of the conflict.
Sec. 240.106. INJUNCTION. A county may sue in the district
court for an injunction to prohibit the violation or threatened
violation of a prohibition or other regulation adopted under this
subchapter.
Sec. 240.107. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person commits an
offense if the person violates a prohibition or other regulation
adopted under this subchapter.
(b) Each hour that a violation of a prohibition or other
regulation adopted under this subchapter continues constitutes a
separate offense.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.