By: Hall, et al. S.B. No. 14
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a property owner's right to remove a tree or vegetation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 240.909(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding Section 250.009, the [The]
commissioners court of a county subject to this section may
prohibit or restrict the clear-cutting of live oak trees in the
unincorporated area of the county.
SECTION 2. The heading to Chapter 250, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 250. MISCELLANEOUS LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGULATORY AUTHORITY
[OF MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES]
SECTION 3. Chapter 250, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 250.009 to read as follows:
Sec. 250.009. REMOVAL OF TREE OR VEGETATION. (a) Except
as provided by Subsection (b) and Section 240.909, a municipality,
county, or other political subdivision may not enact or enforce any
ordinance, rule, or other regulation that restricts the ability of
a property owner of residential real property to remove a tree or
vegetation on the owner's property, including a regulation that
requires the owner to file an affidavit or notice before removing
the tree or vegetation.
(b) This section does not prevent the adoption or
enforcement by a municipality, county, or other political
subdivision of:
(1) a provision in a dedicatory instrument, as defined
by Section 202.001, Property Code, or restriction, as defined by
Section 212.152 of this code, that restricts the ability of a
property owner to remove a tree or vegetation on the owner's
property, including a standard, bylaw, rule, or regulation
enforcing a provision of a dedicatory instrument or restriction
that requires the owner to obtain approval for the removal or file
an affidavit, application, or notice before the removal;
(2) an ordinance, rule, or other regulation designed
to mitigate tree-borne diseases as recommended by the Texas A&M
Forest Service;
(3) an ordinance, rule, or other regulation related
to:
(A) high grass; or
(B) weed removal for the purpose of fire
prevention; or
(4) an ordinance, rule, or regulation applicable to a
person who owns a tract of land and who has divided or proposes to
divide the tract into 25 or more parts to lay out a subdivision of
the tract for the purpose of developing the land for sale as
residential property.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect December 1, 2017.