H.B. No. 5336
AN ACT
relating to the powers and duties of Port Freeport; limiting the
authority of certain municipalities to regulate land use by Port
Freeport; and the creation of a reinvestment zone containing
property owned by Port Freeport.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 5002, Special District Local Laws Code,
is amended by adding Subchapters D and E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 5002.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) “Port use” means any use permitted or allowed,
with or without a special use permit, in the following zoning
districts under the zoning ordinance, or any additional use
subsequently permitted or allowed in the following zoning districts
under an amendment to the zoning ordinance:
(A) a zoning district designated as DT, C-1, C-2,
C-3, or W-1; or
(B) a zoning district designated as “IN," other
than heavy industrial or other heavy industrial uses as defined in
the zoning ordinance.
(2) “Port zone” means:
(A) the lands within the protected zone that are
located both south of West Eighth Street and east of Cherry Street;
and
(B) all lands east of Farm-to-Market Road 1495
that are included within the Plat and Dedication of the Freeport
Townsite recorded in Volume 2, at Page 95 of the Brazoria County
Real Property Records.
(3) "Protected zone” means the portion of the
corporate limits of the City of Freeport as they exist on September
1, 2023, that lies:
(A) within the enclosed space bounded by
beginning at the intersection of State Highway 36 and the center of
the Brazos River, then north along the center of the Brazos River to
the intersection of the center of the Brazos River and the center of
the DOW fresh water canal, then north and east along the center of
the DOW fresh water canal to the intersection of the center of the
DOW fresh water canal and Farm-to-Market Road 1495, then south
along Farm-to-Market Road 1495 to the intersection of
Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and State Highway 36, and then west along
State Highway 36 to the intersection of State Highway 36 and the
center of the Brazos River;
(B) within Brazoria County 2020 United States
Census tract 664501 blocks 2027, 2032, and 2034;
(C) within the enclosed space bounded by
beginning at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and the
Intracoastal Waterway, then west along the Intracoastal Waterway to
the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Brazos River,
then south along the Brazos River to the Gulf of Mexico, then east
along the Gulf of Mexico to the intersection of a line extending
from the southern terminus of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 due south to
the intersection with the Gulf of Mexico, and then due north to the
intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and the Intracoastal
Waterway;
(D) adjacent to the old Brazos River channel and
inside the floodgate, which is zoned as a W-1 District under the
zoning ordinance, and bounded by Farm-to-Market Road 1495 on the
west;
(E) within the portion of Brazoria County 2020
United States Census tract 664200 blocks 2059, 2060, and 2061 that
lies within 3,500 feet of the centerline of State Highway 332;
(F) within the 13.316 acre tract of land
described in that certain Deed recorded in Volume 11199, at Page 471
of the Brazoria County Real Property Records; or
(G) within the 56.751 acre tract of land
described in that certain Deed of Exchange recorded in Volume
86286, at Page 927 of the Brazoria County Real Property Records.
(4) "Zoning ordinance" means Chapter 155, Code of
Ordinances, of the City of Freeport, Texas in effect on January 1,
2023.
Sec. 5002.152. POWERS REGARDING PORTS AND FACILITIES.
Except as provided by Section 5002.153, the district may:
(1) acquire by gift, purchase, or eminent domain and
own land adjacent or accessible by road, rail, or water to navigable
water and ports developed by the district that is necessary for the
development and operation of the navigable water or ports within
the district or necessary for or in aid of the development of
industries and businesses on that land; and
(2) construct, extend, improve, repair, maintain, and
reconstruct, cause to be constructed, extended, improved,
repaired, maintained, and reconstructed, and own, rent, lease, use,
and operate any facility of any kind necessary or convenient to the
exercise of the rights, powers, privileges, and functions granted
by this chapter.
Sec. 5002.153. LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION AND USE OF REAL
PROPERTY WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES.
After the effective date of the Act enacting this section, the
district shall not:
(1) acquire by gift, purchase, or condemnation any
real property located within the protected zone unless:
(A) the acquisition is of a residential lot or
lots for which no change in the permitted use will be sought by the
district; or
(B) the acquisition is submitted to the qualified
voters of the municipality within which the real property is
located at an election held on a uniform election date and is
approved by a majority of the votes received at the election;
(2) use any property owned or acquired by the district
in the port zone for anything other than a port use; or
(3) use any property owned or acquired by the district
in the protected zone that is not in the port zone for anything
other than a use permitted under the zoning ordinance unless the use
is approved by the governing body of the municipality in which the
land is located.
Sec. 5002.154. CALLING ELECTION. The governing body of a
municipality shall call an election under Section 5002.153(1)(B) to
be held on the next uniform election date within 30 days of the
municipality’s receipt from the district of a written request for
the election and the description of all property subject to the
election.
Sec. 5002.155. REPLATTING OF LAND. (a) The district may
replat land owned by the district in accordance with Subchapter A,
Chapter 212, Local Government Code, for the purpose of combining
previously platted lots for development.
(b) The municipal authority responsible for approving the
plat shall approve a replat requested by the district for the
purposes set forth in this section within 60 days following receipt
of the application for replat.
(c) The provisions of Subsection (b) do not apply to the
replatting of land by the district if the replat creates or proposes
municipally owned or municipally maintained public right-of-way or
municipally owned or municipally maintained water, wastewater, or
stormwater infrastructure within the property being platted.
SUBCHAPTER E. RELATIONSHIP WITH MUNICIPALITIES
Sec. 5002.201. DISTRICT PROPERTY SUBJECT TO MUNICIPAL
JURISDICTION. (a) This section applies only to property:
(1) owned or leased by the district; and
(2) located in:
(A) the district; and
(B) the boundaries or extraterritorial
jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of less than
20,000 that is wholly located in the district and whose corporate
limits border the Gulf of Mexico.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the district has
exclusive land use jurisdiction over property to which this section
applies.
(c) This section does not apply to an ordinance, rule, or
other measure adopted by a municipality that:
(1) applies only to property within the boundaries of
the municipality;
(2) regulates only the safety of the operations of the
municipality or reasonable aesthetics, including regulations
governing fire and emergency response, traffic, light, or noise;
(3) is commercially reasonable; and
(4) does not effectively prohibit development and
operation of industries and businesses on property owned or leased
by the district that are built in accordance with building codes
adopted by the district that meet or exceed the building codes
adopted by the local municipality.
(d) A municipality may conduct inspections to verify
compliance with Subsection (c) if the inspections are conducted in
a timely manner, and any differences in interpretation of
applicable codes are determined in favor of the district.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a municipality may
not adopt or enforce an ordinance, rule, or other measure that
prohibits or restricts:
(1) the acquisition or leasing of property to which
this section applies for a purpose described by Section 5002.152;
or
(2) the development of industries and businesses on
property to which this section applies.
Sec. 5002.202. MUNICIPAL CONSENT NOT REQUIRED. Municipal
consent is not required for the district to exercise a power or duty
under this chapter.
Sec. 5002.203. DESIGNATION OF REINVESTMENT ZONE.
Notwithstanding Subchapter B, Chapter 312, Tax Code, the district
may submit a written request to the commissioners court of a county
in which a property owned by the district is located for the
commissioners court to designate the property as a reinvestment
zone or area for the purposes of Chapter 312, Tax Code. The
commissioners court may designate the property as a reinvestment
zone or area if the commissioners court finds the criteria set forth
in Section 312.202, Tax Code, are met for the property as if a
municipality in which the property is located were creating the
zone.
Sec. 5002.204. ENFORCEMENT OF SUBCHAPTERS. (a) The
provisions of Subchapters D and E may be enforced only through
mandamus or declaratory or injunctive relief. A political
subdivision's immunity from suit is waived in regard to an action
under this subchapter.
(b) A court may award court costs and reasonable and
necessary attorney's fees to the prevailing party in an action
under this subchapter.
Sec. 5002.205. EFFECT OF INVALIDITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.
(a) This section applies only to a municipality with a population
of more than 5,000 that is wholly located in the district and to
property:
(1) owned or leased by the district;
(2) located in the district and within seven miles of
the Gulf of Mexico; and
(3) located in the corporate limits or
extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality that is subject to
this section.
(b) If enforcement of any part of Section 5002.201 is ever
permanently enjoined or held to be invalid or to violate the
requirements of the Texas Constitution by a final, non-appealable
order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, other than
pursuant to an action initiated by the district, then:
(1) all of Section 5002.201 will be automatically
enjoined from enforcement; and
(2) the authority of a municipality subject to this
section to regulate property subject to this section under Chapter
211 or 212, Local Government Code, or any local code or ordinance
shall be expressly preempted and Chapter 232, Local Government
Code, shall exclusively apply to such property.
(c) If enforcement of any part of Section 5002.153 or
5002.154 is ever permanently enjoined or held to be invalid or to
violate the requirements of the Texas Constitution by a final,
non-appealable order or judgment of a court of competent
jurisdiction, other than pursuant to an action initiated by a
municipality, then Section 5002.201 will be automatically enjoined
from enforcement.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 5336 was passed by the House on May 9,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 131, Nays 11, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 5336 on May 25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 5336 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 21, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays
2.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor