Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1858 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	83R19797 JTS-F
2	2	By: Workman, Crownover H.B. No. 1858
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1858:
4	4	By: Oliveira C.S.H.B. No. 1858
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a property owner's right to remove a tree or vegetation
10	10	that the owner believes poses a fire risk.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 240.909(b), Local Government Code, is
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	(b) Except as provided by Section 250.007, the [The]
15	15	commissioners court of a county subject to this section may
16	16	prohibit or restrict the clear-cutting of live oak trees in the
17	17	unincorporated area of the county.
18	18	SECTION 2. The heading to Chapter 250, Local Government
19	19	Code, is amended to read as follows:
20	20	CHAPTER 250. MISCELLANEOUS LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGULATORY AUTHORITY
21	21	[OF MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES]
22	22	SECTION 3. Chapter 250, Local Government Code, is amended
23	23	by adding Section 250.007 to read as follows:
24	24	Sec. 250.007. REMOVAL OF TREE OR VEGETATION THAT POSES FIRE
25	25	RISK. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), a
26	26	municipality, county, or other political subdivision may not enact
27	27	or enforce any ordinance, rule, or other regulation that restricts
28	28	the ability of a property owner to remove a tree or vegetation on
29	29	the owner's property that the owner believes poses a risk of fire to
30	30	a structure on the property or on adjacent property, including a
31	31	regulation that requires the owner to file an affidavit or notice
32	32	before removing the tree or vegetation.
33	33	(b) This section does not prevent the enforcement of an
34	34	ordinance, rule, or other regulation:
35	35	(1) on property being developed under a municipal
36	36	permit; or
37	37	(2) that:
38	38	(A) restricts the ability of a property owner to
39	39	remove a tree eight inches or larger in diameter at four and a half
40	40	feet above the natural ground, except that no restrictions may be
41	41	made on the ability to remove a mesquite (genus Prosopis), juniper
42	42	(genus Juniperus), or salt cedar (genus Tamarix) tree, regardless
43	43	of size; or
44	44	(B) is designed to mitigate tree-borne diseases
45	45	as recommended by the Texas A&M Forest Service.
46	46	(c) This section does not apply to a municipality whose
47	47	extraterritorial jurisdiction is immediately adjacent to or
48	48	includes all or part of a federal military installation in active
49	49	use as of September 1, 2013.
50	50	SECTION 4. Chapter 202, Property Code, is amended by adding
51	51	Section 202.013 to read as follows:
52	52	Sec. 202.013. REGULATION OF CERTAIN TREE OR VEGETATION
53	53	REMOVAL. (a) A property owners' association may not include or
54	54	enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that restricts the
55	55	ability of a property owner to remove a tree or vegetation on the
56	56	owner's property that the owner believes poses a risk of fire to a
57	57	structure on the property or on adjacent property, including a
58	58	provision that requires the owner to file an affidavit or notice
59	59	before removing the tree or vegetation.
60	60	(b) This section does not apply to a provision in a
61	61	dedicatory instrument designed to mitigate tree-borne disease as
62	62	recommended by the Texas A&M Forest Service.
63	63	SECTION 5. Section 202.013, Property Code, as added by this
64	64	Act, applies to a dedicatory instrument without regard to whether
65	65	the dedicatory instrument takes effect or is renewed before, on, or
66	66	after the effective date of this Act.
67	67	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
68	68	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
69	69	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
70	70	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
71	71	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.