87R10575 EAS-D
By: Goodwin H.B. No. 3056
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prohibiting billboards on cemetery property; providing
a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 711, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 711.013 to read as follows:
Sec. 711.013. PROHIBITING BILLBOARDS ON CEMETERY PROPERTY.
(a) In this section, "billboard" means a separate and fixed
structure directly attached to the land or a building having one or
more spaces used to display an advertisement, whether or not the
structure is artificially lighted.
(b) A person may not erect or maintain a billboard on
cemetery property. A cemetery organization may not enter into a
contract or lease authorizing a billboard on cemetery property.
(c) The attorney general may bring an action against a
person who appears to be in violation of this section or is
threatening to violate this section. In an injunction issued under
this section, a court may include reasonable requirements to
prevent any further violations of this section.
(d) In addition to the injunctive relief provided by
Subsection (c), the attorney general may institute an action for
civil penalties against a person for a violation of this section. A
civil penalty assessed under this section may not exceed $1,000 for
each violation. Each day a violation occurs or continues to occur is
a separate violation for purposes of assessing a penalty under this
section.
(e) The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses
incurred in bringing an action under this section, including court
costs, attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and
deposition expenses.
(f) The attorney general shall file an action under this
section in Travis County or in the county in which the violation
occurred.
(g) A civil penalty recovered in an action by the attorney
general under this section shall be deposited in the general
revenue fund.
SECTION 2. (a) A billboard prohibited by Section 711.013,
Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, that was erected on
cemetery property under a contract or lease entered into before the
effective date of this Act, must be dismantled or removed from the
cemetery on the expiration date of the existing contract or lease
between the cemetery organization and the billboard owner or
lessee, if applicable.
(b) A cemetery organization may not renew a contract or
lease for a billboard on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.