By: Campbell S.B. No. 369
(Craddick, et al.)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 369: No.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to disannexation of certain areas that do not receive full
municipal services; providing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 43, Local Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 43.1415 to read as follows:
Sec. 43.1415. DISANNEXATION OF AREAS NOT RECEIVING FULL
SERVICES. (a) In this section, "full municipal services" means:
(1) the provision of police protection;
(2) the provision of fire protection;
(3) the provision of emergency medical services;
(4) the provision of solid waste collection, other
than those services that a municipality is not required to provide
under Section 43.056(o) to an area subject to that section;
(5) except as provided by Subsection (b), the
operation and maintenance of water and wastewater facilities in an
area not served by:
(A) the holder of a certificate of convenience
and necessity, other than the municipality or a municipally owned
utility; or
(B) a private septic system and an individual
water well;
(6) the operation and maintenance of roads and streets
and lighting for roads and streets, other than private roads and
streets; and
(7) the operation and maintenance of any other
facility, building, or service owned by the municipality.
(b) This section does not apply to an area:
(1) for which the municipality:
(A) is not currently required to provide full
municipal services under a service plan described by Section
43.056;
(B) due to the pendency of an application for a
permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or other
state agency, is not yet able to operate and maintain water and
wastewater facilities; or
(C) has entered into a regulatory plan or other
written agreement to extend the time for providing or waive
provision of full municipal services;
(2) located in the boundaries of or owned by a county
or municipal airport established, acquired, maintained, or
operated under Chapter 22, Transportation Code; or
(3) located in an airport hazard area, as that term is
defined by Section 241.003.
(c) A person owning real property that is subject to ad
valorem taxation by a municipality and is wholly or partly located
in an area in which the municipality is not providing or causing the
provision of full municipal services may file a complaint with the
municipality. A property owner filing a complaint under this
subsection shall:
(1) submit the complaint:
(A) by certified mail; and
(B) if the municipality maintains an Internet
website, through an online portal on the municipality's Internet
website; and
(2) include relevant documentation to support the
owner's claim.
(d) Not later than the 60th day after the date a complaint
from a property owner is filed with a municipality under Subsection
(c), the municipality shall:
(1) provide to the owner a response that includes:
(A) a statement of whether full municipal
services are being provided to the property;
(B) documentation identifying the services that
have been provided to the property during the past year, including:
(i) the manner in which the services were
provided; and
(ii) the location at which services were
provided; and
(C) documentation identifying the services that
are not being provided to the property at the time the response is
provided; and
(2) if the municipality determines that the property
is not receiving full municipal services, provide a plan of action
for the provision of full municipal services to the property as
provided by Subsection (g).
(e) A complaint by a property owner under Subsection (c) and
a response to a property owner by a municipality under Subsection
(d), including a plan of action for the provision of full municipal
services, is public information that is subject to disclosure under
Chapter 552, Government Code.
(f) If a municipality that receives a complaint under
Subsection (c) fails to respond to the owner within the time
required by Subsection (d), the property owner may file a complaint
with the attorney general for enforcement of a civil penalty
against the municipality in the amount of $500 for each day after
the 60th day after the date the complaint was filed with the
municipality. The attorney general may sue to collect a civil
penalty under this subsection.
(g) In this subsection, "major infrastructure project"
means a project to construct a new physical infrastructure, energy,
transportation, water, wastewater, or waste disposal facility. A
municipality that provides a plan of action to a property owner
under Subsection (d)(2) shall complete implementation of the plan
of action not later than:
(1) the first anniversary of the date of the
complaint; or
(2) the third anniversary of the date of the
complaint, if the plan of action depends on the completion of a
major infrastructure project that relates to the provision of
services in the area in which the property that is the subject of
the complaint is located.
(h) A property owner who files a complaint under Subsection
(c) may bring an action, or request that the attorney general bring
an action, to enforce this section. An action brought under this
subsection must be brought in a court with jurisdiction over the
area in which the property that is the subject of the complaint is
located. The court shall:
(1) order the municipality to hold an election on the
question of disannexing the area from the municipality if the court
finds that:
(A) property in the area is not receiving full
municipal services;
(B) the municipality is required to provide a
plan of action to a property owner in the area under Subsection
(d)(2) and:
(i) has failed to provide the plan of
action; or
(ii) has failed to implement the plan of
action within the required period under Subsection (g); or
(C) not later than the third anniversary of the
date of the complaint, the municipality is not providing or causing
the provision of full municipal services to the area in which the
property is wholly or partly located; and
(2) determine and include in the order entered under
Subdivision (1) the boundaries of the area within which the voters
of the municipality may participate in the election.
(i) A municipality shall disannex an area described by
Subsection (h)(2) if the voters approve the disannexation in the
election held under Subsection (h).
(j) If a property owner brings an action under Subsection
(h) and a court orders an election under that subsection, the
property owner may recover attorney's fees and court costs
resulting from bringing the action.
(k) A municipality's governmental immunity to suit and
governmental immunity from liability are waived to the extent of
liability created by this section.
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.