| 1 | 1 | | By: Tepper H.B. No. 2561 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the municipal disannexation of areas annexed during a |
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| 7 | 7 | | certain period of time. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 43, Local Government Code, |
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| 10 | 10 | | is amended by adding Section 43.1463 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 43.1463. DISANNEXATION OF AREAS ANNEXED DURING |
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| 12 | 12 | | TRANSITION FROM NONCONSENT TO CONSENT ANNEXATION MODEL. (a) This |
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| 13 | 13 | | section applies only to an area for which annexation was finalized |
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| 14 | 14 | | between March 3, 2015, and May 24, 2019. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (b) On November 7, 2023, a municipality shall hold an |
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| 16 | 16 | | election in an area described by Subsection (a) on the question of |
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| 17 | 17 | | disannexing the area from the municipality. The municipality: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) may not use public money on promotional campaigns |
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| 19 | 19 | | or advocacy related to the election; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) shall ensure that the ballot proposition for the |
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| 21 | 21 | | election: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (A) describes the area to be disannexed; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (B) identifies the area by the commonly used name |
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| 24 | 24 | | of the area, if applicable; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (C) identifies the entities that will provide law |
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| 26 | 26 | | enforcement, fire, and emergency services after disannexation; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (D) describes the effect of disannexation on ad |
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| 28 | 28 | | valorem taxes and fees in the area; and |
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| 29 | 29 | | (E) describes the effect of disannexation on |
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| 30 | 30 | | special districts located in the area. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) A municipality shall disannex an area described by |
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| 32 | 32 | | Subsection (a), including residential and commercial property in |
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| 33 | 33 | | the area, if the voters approve the disannexation in the election |
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| 34 | 34 | | held under Subsection (b). |
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| 35 | 35 | | (d) A municipality shall retain ownership of any |
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| 36 | 36 | | infrastructure, including a water treatment and storage facility, |
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| 37 | 37 | | transferred to the municipality from a special district as part of |
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| 38 | 38 | | the annexation of an area disannexed under this section. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (e) After an area is disannexed under this section: |
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| 40 | 40 | | (1) a special district located in and serving the area |
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| 41 | 41 | | may be dissolved only if the members of the governing body of the |
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| 42 | 42 | | district elect to dissolve the district after the disannexation; |
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| 43 | 43 | | and |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) an emergency services district located in or |
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| 45 | 45 | | adjacent to the area shall provide services to the area. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (f) A disannexation under this section does not authorize |
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| 47 | 47 | | the impairment of a municipal debt obligation and, to the extent |
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| 48 | 48 | | applicable, the area is not released from its pro rata share of that |
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| 49 | 49 | | indebtedness. The municipality shall continue to impose a property |
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| 50 | 50 | | tax each year on the property in the area at the same rate that is |
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| 51 | 51 | | imposed on other property in the municipality until the taxes |
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| 52 | 52 | | collected from the area equal its pro rata share of the |
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| 53 | 53 | | indebtedness. Those taxes may be charged only with the cost of |
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| 54 | 54 | | imposing and collecting the taxes, and the taxes shall be applied |
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| 55 | 55 | | exclusively to the payment of the pro rata share of the |
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| 56 | 56 | | indebtedness. This subsection does not prevent the inhabitants of |
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| 57 | 57 | | the area from paying in full at any time their pro rata share of the |
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| 58 | 58 | | indebtedness. |
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| 59 | 59 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 60 | 60 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 61 | 61 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 62 | 62 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 63 | 63 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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