82R383 TJB-D
By: Birdwell S.B. No. 753
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain counties to regulate outdoor
lighting near astronomical observation facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 240, Local
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B. OUTDOOR LIGHTING NEAR ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION
FACILITIES, OBSERVATORIES, AND MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
SECTION 2. Section 240.031, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (5) to read as follows:
(5) "Astronomical observation facility" means a
facility, including a park or recreational area, that is
established and maintained in part to conduct educational and
recreational observations of astronomical phenomena.
SECTION 3. Section 240.032, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (b-2) and amending Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(b-2) This subsection applies only to a county with a
population of more than 40,000 that is authorized to regulate
development for the purpose of encouraging recreation under Chapter
231 and that has at least one astronomical observation facility.
The commissioners court of a county may adopt orders regulating the
installation and use of outdoor lighting within two miles of an
astronomical observation facility.
(c) The orders must be designed to protect against the use
of outdoor lighting in a way that interferes with educational,
recreational, or scientific astronomical research of the
astronomical observation facility or observatory or military and
training activities of the military installation, base, or camp. In
the orders, the commissioners court may:
(1) require that a permit be obtained from the county
before the installation and use of certain types of outdoor
lighting in a regulated area;
(2) establish a fee in an amount to cover the costs of
administrating the order for the issuance of the permit;
(3) prohibit the use of a type of outdoor lighting that
is incompatible with the effective use of the astronomical
observation facility, observatory, or military installation, base,
or camp;
(4) establish requirements for the shielding of
outdoor lighting; and
(5) regulate the times during which certain types of
outdoor lighting may be used.
SECTION 4. Section 240.033, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The commissioners court of a county authorized under
Section 240.032(b-2) to adopt orders regulating the installation
and use of outdoor lighting near an astronomical observation
facility may adopt orders establishing standards relating to
proposed subdivisions located within two miles of an astronomical
observation facility in order to minimize the interference with
astronomical observation facility activities caused by outdoor
lighting. The commissioners court may not approve a plat of a
proposed subdivision that does not meet the standards.
SECTION 5. 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.