By: Hinojosa, Lucio S.B. No. 594
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of solid waste disposal services by
certain counties; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 364.011(a-1), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a-1) A commissioners court by rule may regulate solid waste
collection, handling, storage, and disposal by establishing a
mandatory program under Section 364.034 in an area of the county
located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality
if:
(1) the municipality does not provide solid waste
disposal services in that area; and
(2) the county[:
[(A)] is adjacent to the United Mexican States
and either:
(A)[; (B)] has a population of less than
300,000[;] and
[(C)] contains a municipality with a population
of 200,000 or more; or
(B) has a population of more than 700,000 and
contains at least two municipalities that each have a population of
77,000 or more.
SECTION 2. Section 364.034, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection
(b-1) to read as follows:
(a) A public agency or a county may:
(1) offer solid waste disposal service to persons in
its territory, including, in the case of a county described by
Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) or (a-2)(2) [364.011(a-2)(2)], an area
of the county located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality if the municipality does not provide solid waste
disposal services in that area;
(2) require the use of the service by those persons,
except as provided by Subsection (a-1);
(3) charge fees for the service; and
(4) establish the service as a utility separate from
other utilities in its territory.
(b) A fee for a service provided under this section may be
collected by:
(1) the county;
(2) a private or public entity that contracts with the
county to provide the service; [or]
(3) another private or public entity that contracts
with the county to collect the fees; or
(4) a county tax assessor-collector, for the purposes
of Section 364.0343.
(b-1) If a county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B)
contracts with a public or private entity to provide solid waste
disposal services as authorized under Section 364.011(a-1) and
Subsection (a), the contract must provide for solid waste disposal
services for the entire unincorporated area of the county, not
including areas in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality where the municipality provides waste disposal
services.
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 364, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 364.0343 to read as follows:
Sec. 364.0343. COLLECTION OF CERTAIN FEES FOR SOLID WASTE
DISPOSAL SERVICES. (a) This section applies to a county that:
(1) regulates solid waste collection, handling,
storage, and disposal by establishing a mandatory program under
Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B); and
(2) provides in the program rules that this section
applies to the collection of a fee under the program.
(b) The county tax assessor-collector of a county shall
include the fee in the tax bill prepared under Section 31.01, Tax
Code, for each landowner whose real property is benefited by the
solid waste disposal services for which the fee is imposed. The tax
bill must separately state the amount of the fee. The county tax
assessor-collector shall collect the fee for the county in the same
manner that the county tax assessor-collector collects ad valorem
taxes for the county.
(c) A commissioners court may obtain a lien against real
property benefited by the solid waste disposal services for which a
fee is imposed to secure payment of the fee. To obtain the lien, the
commissioners court must file a notice with the county clerk of the
county in which the property is located that includes:
(1) a statement that the fee has been imposed on the
landowner and the amount of the fee;
(2) a legal description of the property on which the
lien is to be attached sufficient to identify the property; and
(3) the name of the landowner, if known.
(d) The lien authorized by this section exists in favor of
the county. The lien attaches to the real property on the date the
notice of lien is filed with the county clerk. The lien is inferior
to a mortgage lien recorded with the county clerk before the date
the lien authorized by this section attaches to the property. A
county may not foreclose a lien authorized by this section if the
lien is the only lien attached to the property.
SECTION 4. Section 364.0345, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 364.0345. PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO USE REQUIRED
SERVICE IN CERTAIN AREAS. (a) The commissioners court of a county
described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) or (a-2)(2)
[364.011(a-2)(2)] that requires the use of a county solid waste
disposal service under Section 364.034 in the extraterritorial
jurisdiction of a municipality may adopt orders to enforce the
requirement, including an order establishing a civil or
administrative penalty in an amount reasonable and necessary to
ensure compliance with the requirement.
(b) A county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) may
not impose a civil penalty under Subsection (a) on a person in an
amount that exceeds 10 percent of the person's delinquent annual
service charge.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.