88R13040 MCF-F
By: Rogers H.B. No. 4275
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to territory in an emergency services district that is
annexed by a municipality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 775.022, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and
(h) to read as follows:
(a) If a municipality completes all other procedures
necessary to annex territory in a district, including the
preparation of a service plan if required by Section 43.056, Local
Government Code, and if the municipality intends to remove the
territory from the district and be the sole provider of emergency
services to the territory by the use of municipal personnel or by
some method other than by use of the district, the municipality
shall send written notice of those facts, and the completed service
plan if applicable, to the board not later than the 30th day after
completing the necessary procedures. The municipality must send the
notice to the secretary of the board by certified mail, return
receipt requested. Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), the
[The] territory remains part of the district and does not become
part of the municipality until the secretary of the board receives
the notice. Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), on [On] receipt
of the notice, the board shall immediately change its records to
show that the territory has been disannexed from the district and
shall cease to provide further services to the residents of that
territory. This subsection does not require a municipality to
remove from a district territory the municipality has annexed.
(a-1) If a service plan is required by Section 43.056, Local
Government Code, for an annexation described by Subsection (a), not
later than the 30th day after the date the board receives a notice
under Subsection (a), the board shall determine whether the service
plan is sufficient to ensure that municipal services planned to be
provided in the annexed territory will meet or exceed the level of
service provided by the district in that territory. If the board
determines that municipal services planned to be provided in the
annexed territory will meet or exceed the level of service provided
by the district in that territory, the board shall adopt an order
disannexing the territory from the district, notify the appraisal
district to change its records to show that the territory has been
disannexed from the district, and cease to provide further services
to the residents of that territory. If the board determines that the
municipal services planned to be provided in the annexed territory
will not meet or exceed the level of service provided by the
district in that territory, the board may not adopt an order
disannexing the territory from the district. For the purposes of
this subsection, "level of service" for fire protection means the
location, deployment, and response time of fire suppression
resources originally dispatched to a structural or wildland fire.
(h) After territory is disannexed from a district under this
section, if the district or a service provider that contracts with
the district is dispatched or requested to provide services in the
territory, and the services are not part of or are in excess of an
automatic mutual aid or other mutual aid agreement between the
municipality and the district, the municipality shall compensate
the district for the cost of services provided in an amount
determined by the district not later than the 30th day after the
date on which the district provides the municipality a request for
payment. A payment made under this subsection is subject to
Subchapter B, Chapter 2251, and Section 2251.043, Government Code.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.