82R6397 PMO-F
By: Murphy H.B. No. 1062
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the exercise of the power of eminent domain by certain
local governmental entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.155(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An independent school district may, by the exercise of
the right of eminent domain, acquire the fee simple title to real
property [for the purpose of securing sites] on which to construct
school buildings or for any other public use [purpose] necessary
for the district.
SECTION 2. Section 251.001(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) When the governing body of a municipality considers it
necessary, the municipality may exercise the right of eminent
domain for a public use [purpose] to acquire public or private
property, whether located inside or outside the municipality, for
any of the following uses [purposes]:
(1) the providing, enlarging, or improving of a
municipally owned city hall; police station; jail or other law
enforcement detention facility; fire station; library; school or
other educational facility; academy; auditorium; hospital;
sanatorium; market house; slaughterhouse; warehouse; elevator;
railroad terminal; airport; ferry; ferry landing; pier; wharf;
dock or other shipping facility; loading or unloading facility;
alley, street, or other roadway; park, playground, or other
recreational facility; square; water works system, including
reservoirs, other water supply sources, watersheds, and water
storage, drainage, treatment, distribution, transmission, and
emptying facilities; sewage system including sewage collection,
drainage, treatment, disposal, and emptying facilities; electric
or gas power system; cemetery; and crematory;
(2) the determining of riparian rights relative to the
municipal water works;
(3) the straightening or improving of the channel of
any stream, branch, or drain;
(4) the straightening, widening, or extending of any
alley, street, or other roadway; and
(5) [for] any other municipal public use [purpose] the
governing body considers advisable.
SECTION 3. Section 261.001(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A county may exercise the right of eminent domain to
condemn and acquire land, an easement in land, or a right-of-way if
the acquisition is necessary for the construction of a jail,
courthouse, hospital, or library, or for another public use
[purpose] authorized by law.
SECTION 4. Section 263.201(c), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The declaration of taking must contain:
(1) a declaration that the land or interest in land
described in the original petition is taken for a public use
[purpose] and for ultimate conveyance to the United States;
(2) a description of the land sufficient for the
identification of the land;
(3) a statement of the estate or interest in the land
being taken;
(4) a statement of the public use to be made of the
land;
(5) a plan showing the land being taken; and
(6) a statement of the amount of damages awarded by the
special commissioners, or by the jury on appeal, for the taking of
the land.
SECTION 5. Section 273.002, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 273.002. CONDEMNATION. Condemnation of property under
this chapter shall be in accordance with state law relating to
eminent domain, which may be Chapter 21, Property Code, or any other
state law governing and relating to the condemnation of land for
public use [purposes] by a municipality.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by Section 11.155,
Education Code, and Sections 251.001, 261.001, 263.201, and
273.002, Local Government Code, as amended by this Act, apply only
to a condemnation proceeding in which the petition is filed on or
after the effective date of this Act and to any property condemned
through the proceeding. A condemnation proceeding in which the
petition is filed before the effective date of this Act and any
property condemned through the proceeding are governed by the law
in effect immediately before that date, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. 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, 2011.