Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1430 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hinojosa, et al. S.B. No. 1430
2	2	(Canales)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the provision of solid waste disposal services by
8	8	certain counties.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 364.011(a-1), Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a-1) A commissioners court by rule may regulate solid waste
13	13	collection, handling, storage, and disposal by establishing a
14	14	mandatory program under Section 364.034 in an area of the county
15	15	located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality
16	16	if:
17	17	(1) the municipality does not provide solid waste
18	18	disposal services in that area; and
19	19	(2) the county[:
20	20	[(A)] is adjacent to the United Mexican States
21	21	and either:
22	22	(A) [; (B)] has a population of less than
23	23	300,000[;] and
24	24	[(C)] contains a municipality with a population
25	25	of 200,000 or more; or
26	26	(B) has a population of more than 400,000 and
27	27	contains at least two municipalities each of which has a population
28	28	of 70,000 or more.
29	29	SECTION 2. Section 364.034, Health and Safety Code, is
30	30	amended by amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding
31	31	Subsections (d-1) and (g-1) to read as follows:
32	32	(a) A public agency or a county may:
33	33	(1) offer solid waste disposal service to persons in
34	34	its territory, including, in the case of a county described by
35	35	Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) or (a-2)(2) [364.011(a-2)(2)], an area
36	36	of the county located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
37	37	municipality if the municipality does not provide solid waste
38	38	disposal services in that area;
39	39	(2) require the use of the service by those persons,
40	40	except as provided by Subsection (a-1);
41	41	(3) charge fees for the service; and
42	42	(4) establish the service as a utility separate from
43	43	other utilities in its territory.
44	44	(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a person is not
45	45	required to use solid waste disposal services offered by a county,
46	46	including a county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B), to
47	47	persons in an area of the county located within the
48	48	extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality that does not
49	49	provide solid waste disposal services in that area if:
50	50	(1) the person contracts for solid waste disposal
51	51	services with a provider that meets rules adopted by the commission
52	52	for the regulation of solid waste disposal; or
53	53	(2) the person is a private entity that contracts to
54	54	provide temporary solid waste disposal services to a construction
55	55	site or project by furnishing a roll-off container used to
56	56	transport construction waste or demolition debris to a facility for
57	57	disposal or recycling.
58	58	(d-1) Notwithstanding Section 364.034(d)(2) or Section
59	59	552.910, Local Government Code, a public or private utility that
60	60	bills and collects solid waste disposal service fees under a
61	61	contract under this section with a county described by Section
62	62	364.011(a-1)(2)(B) may not suspend water or sewer service to a
63	63	person who is delinquent in the payment of the solid waste disposal
64	64	service fee.
65	65	(g-1) This subsection applies only to a county described by
66	66	Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B). A person is exempt from the
67	67	application of a requirement adopted by a county under Subsection
68	68	(a) if the person is receiving under a contract solid waste disposal
69	69	services at a level that is the same as or higher than the level of
70	70	services that otherwise would be required. To qualify for the
71	71	exemption provided by this subsection, the person must, not later
72	72	than the first day of the month preceding the beginning of the
73	73	calendar quarter during which the person intends for the exemption
74	74	to take effect, provide to the county written documentation
75	75	acceptable to the county to show that the person is receiving
76	76	services under the contract. The person who provides solid waste
77	77	disposal services to a person who qualifies for the exemption shall
78	78	notify the county that the services under the contract have stopped
79	79	not later than the 15th day after the date those services are
80	80	stopped for any reason.
81	81	SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 364, Health and Safety
82	82	Code, is amended by adding Section 364.0343 to read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 364.0343. NOTICE AND HEARING OF CERTAIN FEES FOR SOLID
84	84	WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES. (a) This section applies to a county
85	85	that:
86	86	(1) regulates solid waste collection, handling,
87	87	storage, and disposal by establishing a mandatory program under
88	88	Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B); and
89	89	(2) provides in the program rules that this section
90	90	applies to the collection of a fee under the program.
91	91	(b) Before a county may impose the fee described by Section
92	92	364.034, the commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the
93	93	proposed fee. Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
94	94	hearing, the county shall provide notice of the hearing that
95	95	includes the date, time, and location of the hearing and a statement
96	96	that an interested citizen of the county may testify at the hearing.
97	97	The county:
98	98	(1) shall deliver the notice:
99	99	(A) by mail to each owner of real property that
100	100	would be affected by the fee, at the address shown on the most
101	101	recently certified tax roll of the district;
102	102	(B) by posting the notice prominently on the
103	103	county's Internet website from the date the notice is mailed until
104	104	the public hearing is concluded; and
105	105	(C) if the county maintains a public account on a
106	106	social media platform, by posting the notice on the county's social
107	107	media platform account; and
108	108	(2) may publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper in
109	109	addition to delivery of the notice by the methods required under
110	110	this section.
111	111	(c) As early as practicable in advance of a public hearing
112	112	required by this section, the county shall post on the county's
113	113	Internet website any written agenda and related supplemental
114	114	written materials provided by the county to the commissioners in
115	115	advance of the hearing for the commissioners' use during the
116	116	hearing. The county may exclude written materials that the county
117	117	attorney certifies are confidential or may be withheld from public
118	118	disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
119	119	(d) A public hearing held under this section must be on a
120	120	weekday that is not a public holiday. At the hearing, the
121	121	commissioners court shall afford adequate opportunity for
122	122	proponents and opponents of the proposed fee to present their
123	123	views.
124	124	(e) Not later than the 60th day before the scheduled start
125	125	date of the solid waste disposal services for which a fee is
126	126	collected under Section 364.034, the county shall mail notice to
127	127	each landowner whose real property will be benefited by the
128	128	services. The notice must include:
129	129	(1) a statement that:
130	130	(A) the county has adopted an order to require
131	131	the use of county solid waste disposal services under Section
132	132	364.034 and to collect a fee; and
133	133	(B) the landowner may qualify under Section
134	134	364.034(a-1), (g), or (g-1) for an exemption from the application
135	135	of the requirement; and
136	136	(2) instructions for completing and submitting the
137	137	documentation required for the exemptions under Sections
138	138	364.034(a-1), (g), and (g-1).
139	139	SECTION 4. Section 364.0345, Health and Safety Code, is
140	140	amended to read as follows:
141	141	Sec. 364.0345. PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO USE REQUIRED
142	142	SERVICE IN CERTAIN AREAS; LATE FEES. (a) The commissioners court
143	143	of a county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) or (a-2)(2)
144	144	[364.011(a-2)(2)] that requires the use of a county solid waste
145	145	disposal service under Section 364.034 in the extraterritorial
146	146	jurisdiction of a municipality may adopt orders to enforce the
147	147	requirement, including an order establishing a civil or
148	148	administrative penalty in an amount reasonable and necessary to
149	149	ensure compliance with the requirement.
150	150	(b) A county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) may
151	151	not:
152	152	(1) impose a civil penalty under Subsection (a) of
153	153	this section on a person in an amount that exceeds 10 percent of the
154	154	person's delinquent annual service charge; or
155	155	(2) charge fees for late payment of a fee for a service
156	156	provided under this section that exceed $60 in a single year.
157	157	SECTION 5. Section 791.037(b), Government Code, is amended
158	158	to read as follows:
159	159	(b) This section applies only to a county:
160	160	(1) with a population of more than 1.5 million in which
161	161	more than 75 percent of the population resides in a single
162	162	municipality; or
163	163	(2) that is located adjacent to the United Mexican
164	164	States, has a population of more than 400,000, and contains at least
165	165	two municipalities each of which has a population of 70,000 or more.
166	166	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.