By: Hinojosa, et al. S.B. No. 1430
(Canales)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of solid waste disposal services by
certain counties.
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 400,000 and
contains at least two municipalities each of which has a population
of 70,000 or more.
SECTION 2. Section 364.034, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding
Subsections (d-1) and (g-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.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a person is not
required to use solid waste disposal services offered by a county,
including a county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B), to
persons in an area of the county located within the
extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality that does not
provide solid waste disposal services in that area if:
(1) the person contracts for solid waste disposal
services with a provider that meets rules adopted by the commission
for the regulation of solid waste disposal; or
(2) the person is a private entity that contracts to
provide temporary solid waste disposal services to a construction
site or project by furnishing a roll-off container used to
transport construction waste or demolition debris to a facility for
disposal or recycling.
(d-1) Notwithstanding Section 364.034(d)(2) or Section
552.910, Local Government Code, a public or private utility that
bills and collects solid waste disposal service fees under a
contract under this section with a county described by Section
364.011(a-1)(2)(B) may not suspend water or sewer service to a
person who is delinquent in the payment of the solid waste disposal
service fee.
(g-1) This subsection applies only to a county described by
Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B). A person is exempt from the
application of a requirement adopted by a county under Subsection
(a) if the person is receiving under a contract solid waste disposal
services at a level that is the same as or higher than the level of
services that otherwise would be required. To qualify for the
exemption provided by this subsection, the person must, not later
than the first day of the month preceding the beginning of the
calendar quarter during which the person intends for the exemption
to take effect, provide to the county written documentation
acceptable to the county to show that the person is receiving
services under the contract. The person who provides solid waste
disposal services to a person who qualifies for the exemption shall
notify the county that the services under the contract have stopped
not later than the 15th day after the date those services are
stopped for any reason.
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 364, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 364.0343 to read as follows:
Sec. 364.0343. NOTICE AND HEARING 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) Before a county may impose the fee described by Section
364.034, the commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the
proposed fee. Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
hearing, the county shall provide notice of the hearing that
includes the date, time, and location of the hearing and a statement
that an interested citizen of the county may testify at the hearing.
The county:
(1) shall deliver the notice:
(A) by mail to each owner of real property that
would be affected by the fee, at the address shown on the most
recently certified tax roll of the district;
(B) by posting the notice prominently on the
county's Internet website from the date the notice is mailed until
the public hearing is concluded; and
(C) if the county maintains a public account on a
social media platform, by posting the notice on the county's social
media platform account; and
(2) may publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper in
addition to delivery of the notice by the methods required under
this section.
(c) As early as practicable in advance of a public hearing
required by this section, the county shall post on the county's
Internet website any written agenda and related supplemental
written materials provided by the county to the commissioners in
advance of the hearing for the commissioners' use during the
hearing. The county may exclude written materials that the county
attorney certifies are confidential or may be withheld from public
disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
(d) A public hearing held under this section must be on a
weekday that is not a public holiday. At the hearing, the
commissioners court shall afford adequate opportunity for
proponents and opponents of the proposed fee to present their
views.
(e) Not later than the 60th day before the scheduled start
date of the solid waste disposal services for which a fee is
collected under Section 364.034, the county shall mail notice to
each landowner whose real property will be benefited by the
services. The notice must include:
(1) a statement that:
(A) the county has adopted an order to require
the use of county solid waste disposal services under Section
364.034 and to collect a fee; and
(B) the landowner may qualify under Section
364.034(a-1), (g), or (g-1) for an exemption from the application
of the requirement; and
(2) instructions for completing and submitting the
documentation required for the exemptions under Sections
364.034(a-1), (g), and (g-1).
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; LATE FEES. (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:
(1) impose a civil penalty under Subsection (a) of
this section on a person in an amount that exceeds 10 percent of the
person's delinquent annual service charge; or
(2) charge fees for late payment of a fee for a service
provided under this section that exceed $60 in a single year.
SECTION 5. Section 791.037(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) This section applies only to a county:
(1) with a population of more than 1.5 million in which
more than 75 percent of the population resides in a single
municipality; or
(2) that is located adjacent to the United Mexican
States, has a population of more than 400,000, and contains at least
two municipalities each of which has a population of 70,000 or more.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.