Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3155 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		86R8898 CAE-F
2	2		By: Deshotel H.B. No. 3155
3	3
4	4
5	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6		AN ACT
7	7		relating to the applicability of certain laws to open-enrollment
8	8		charter schools.
9	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10		SECTION 1. Section 12.1058, Education Code, is amended by
11	11		amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
12	12		follows:
13	13		(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (b), an
14	14		open-enrollment charter school operated by a tax exempt entity as
15	15		described by Section 12.101(a)(3) is not considered to be a
16	16		political subdivision, local government, or local governmental
17	17		entity unless a [the applicable] statute specifically states that
18	18		the statute applies to an open-enrollment charter school.
19	19		(d) Except as provided by Section 12.103(c), a municipality
20	20		shall consider an open-enrollment charter school a school district
21	21		for purposes of zoning, permitting, code compliance, and
22	22		development.
23	23		SECTION 2. Section 212.902, Local Government Code, is
24	24		amended to read as follows:
25	25		Sec. 212.902. SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER
26	26		SCHOOL LAND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. (a) This section applies to an
27	27		agreement [agreements] between a school district or
28	28		open-enrollment charter school [districts] and a [any]
29	29		municipality which has annexed territory for limited purposes.
30	30		(b) On request by a school district or open-enrollment
31	31		charter school, a municipality shall enter an agreement with the
32	32		board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of
33	33		the open-enrollment charter school to establish review fees, review
34	34		periods, and land development standards ordinances and to provide
35	35		alternative water pollution control methodologies for school
36	36		buildings constructed by the school district or open-enrollment
37	37		charter school. The agreement shall include a provision exempting
38	38		the district or charter school from all land development ordinances
39	39		in cases where the district or charter school is adding temporary
40	40		classroom buildings on an existing school campus.
41	41		(c) If the municipality and the school district or
42	42		open-enrollment charter school do not reach an agreement on or
43	43		before the 120th day after the date on which the municipality
44	44		receives the district's or charter school's request for an
45	45		agreement, proposed agreements by the [school] district or charter
46	46		school and the municipality shall be submitted to an independent
47	47		arbitrator appointed by the presiding district judge whose
48	48		jurisdiction includes the [school] district or charter school. The
49	49		arbitrator shall, after a hearing at which both the [school]
50	50		district or charter school and the municipality make presentations
51	51		on their proposed agreements, prepare an agreement resolving any
52	52		differences between the proposals. The agreement prepared by the
53	53		arbitrator will be final and binding upon both the [school]
54	54		district or charter school and the municipality. The cost of the
55	55		arbitration proceeding shall be borne equally by the [school]
56	56		district or charter school and the municipality.
57	57		(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
58	58		that requests an agreement under this section, at the time the
59	59		district or charter school [it] makes the request, shall send a copy
60	60		of the request to the commissioner of education. At the end of the
61	61		120-day period, the requesting district or charter school shall
62	62		report to the commissioner the status or result of negotiations
63	63		with the municipality. A municipality may send a separate status
64	64		report to the commissioner. The district or charter school shall
65	65		send to the commissioner a copy of each agreement between the
66	66		district or charter school and a municipality under this section.
67	67		(e) In this section:
68	68		(1) [,] "Land [land] development standards" includes
69	69		impervious cover limitations, building setbacks, floor to area
70	70		ratios, building heights and coverage, water quality controls,
71	71		landscaping, development setbacks, compatibility standards,
72	72		traffic analyses including traffic impact analyses, parking
73	73		requirements, signage requirements, and driveway cuts, if
74	74		applicable.
75	75		(2) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
76	76		granted a charter under Subchapter D or E, Chapter 12, Education
77	77		Code.
78	78		(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
79	79		applicability of or waive fees for fire, safety, health, or
80	80		building code ordinances of the municipality prior to or during
81	81		construction of school buildings, nor shall any agreement waive any
82	82		fee or modify any ordinance of a municipality for an
83	83		administration, service, or athletic facility proposed for
84	84		construction by a school district or open-enrollment charter
85	85		school.
86	86		SECTION 3. Chapter 250, Local Government Code, is amended
87	87		by adding Section 250.009 to read as follows:
88	88		Sec. 250.009. REGULATION OF OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER
89	89		SCHOOLS. (a) In this section, "open-enrollment charter school"
90	90		means a school granted a charter under Subchapter D or E, Chapter
91	91		12, Education Code.
92	92		(b) A municipality, county, or political subdivision may
93	93		not enact or enforce an ordinance, order, regulation, resolution,
94	94		rule, or policy that prohibits an open-enrollment charter school
95	95		from operating at any location or within any zoning district in the
96	96		municipality, county, or political subdivision.
97	97		(c) This section does not otherwise affect the authority
98	98		granted by state law to a municipality, county, or political
99	99		subdivision to regulate an open-enrollment charter school.
100	100		SECTION 4. Section 395.022(b), Local Government Code, is
101	101		amended to read as follows:
102	102		(b) A school district and an open-enrollment charter school
103	103		are [is] not required to pay impact fees imposed under this chapter
104	104		unless the board of trustees of the district or the governing body
105	105		of the charter school consents to the payment of the fees by
106	106		entering a contract with the political subdivision that imposes the
107	107		fees. The contract may contain terms the board of trustees or
108	108		governing body considers advisable to provide for the payment of
109	109		the fees.
110	110		SECTION 5. Section 552.053, Local Government Code, is
111	111		amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
112	112		(b-2) to read as follows:
113	113		(b) The following may be exempt:
114	114		(1) this state;
115	115		(2) a county;
116	116		(3) a municipality; or
117	117		(4) [a] school districts and open-enrollment charter
118	118		schools [district].
119	119		(b-1) For purposes of an exemption granted under Subsection
120	120		(b)(4), the exemption must be granted to both school districts and
121	121		open-enrollment charter schools.
122	122		(b-2) For purposes of this section, "open-enrollment
123	123		charter school" means a school granted a charter under Subchapter D
124	124		or E, Chapter 12, Education Code.
125	125		SECTION 6. An exemption granted to a school district under
126	126		Section 552.053(b)(4), Local Government Code, as that section
127	127		existed before the effective date of this Act, automatically
128	128		extends to all open-enrollment charter schools located in the
129	129		municipality after the effective date of this Act unless the
130	130		municipality repeals the exemption before the effective date of
131	131		this Act.
132	132		SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
133	133		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
134	134		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
135	135		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
136	136		Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
137		-	COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
138		-	Amend H.B. 3155 (introduced version) by striking SECTION 3 of
139		-	the bill (page 4, lines 3-16) and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS
140		-	accordingly.
141		-	Dutton