Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB369 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Campbell S.B. No. 369
2	2	(Craddick, et al.)
3	3	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 369: No.
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to disannexation of certain areas that do not receive full
9	9	municipal services; providing a civil penalty.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 43, Local Government Code,
12	12	is amended by adding Section 43.1415 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 43.1415. DISANNEXATION OF AREAS NOT RECEIVING FULL
14	14	SERVICES. (a) In this section, "full municipal services" means:
15	15	(1) the provision of police protection;
16	16	(2) the provision of fire protection;
17	17	(3) the provision of emergency medical services;
18	18	(4) the provision of solid waste collection, other
19	19	than those services that a municipality is not required to provide
20	20	under Section 43.056(o) to an area subject to that section;
21	21	(5) except as provided by Subsection (b), the
22	22	operation and maintenance of water and wastewater facilities in an
23	23	area not served by:
24	24	(A) the holder of a certificate of convenience
25	25	and necessity, other than the municipality or a municipally owned
26	26	utility; or
27	27	(B) a private septic system and an individual
28	28	water well;
29	29	(6) the operation and maintenance of roads and streets
30	30	and lighting for roads and streets, other than private roads and
31	31	streets; and
32	32	(7) the operation and maintenance of any other
33	33	facility, building, or service owned by the municipality.
34	34	(b) This section does not apply to an area:
35	35	(1) for which the municipality:
36	36	(A) is not currently required to provide full
37	37	municipal services under a service plan described by Section
38	38	43.056;
39	39	(B) due to the pendency of an application for a
40	40	permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or other
41	41	state agency, is not yet able to operate and maintain water and
42	42	wastewater facilities; or
43	43	(C) has entered into a regulatory plan or other
44	44	written agreement to extend the time for providing or waive
45	45	provision of full municipal services;
46	46	(2) located in the boundaries of or owned by a county
47	47	or municipal airport established, acquired, maintained, or
48	48	operated under Chapter 22, Transportation Code; or
49	49	(3) located in an airport hazard area, as that term is
50	50	defined by Section 241.003.
51	51	(c) A person owning real property that is subject to ad
52	52	valorem taxation by a municipality and is wholly or partly located
53	53	in an area in which the municipality is not providing or causing the
54	54	provision of full municipal services may file a complaint with the
55	55	municipality. A property owner filing a complaint under this
56	56	subsection shall:
57	57	(1) submit the complaint:
58	58	(A) by certified mail; and
59	59	(B) if the municipality maintains an Internet
60	60	website, through an online portal on the municipality's Internet
61	61	website; and
62	62	(2) include relevant documentation to support the
63	63	owner's claim.
64	64	(d) Not later than the 60th day after the date a complaint
65	65	from a property owner is filed with a municipality under Subsection
66	66	(c), the municipality shall:
67	67	(1) provide to the owner a response that includes:
68	68	(A) a statement of whether full municipal
69	69	services are being provided to the property;
70	70	(B) documentation identifying the services that
71	71	have been provided to the property during the past year, including:
72	72	(i) the manner in which the services were
73	73	provided; and
74	74	(ii) the location at which services were
75	75	provided; and
76	76	(C) documentation identifying the services that
77	77	are not being provided to the property at the time the response is
78	78	provided; and
79	79	(2) if the municipality determines that the property
80	80	is not receiving full municipal services, provide a plan of action
81	81	for the provision of full municipal services to the property as
82	82	provided by Subsection (g).
83	83	(e) A complaint by a property owner under Subsection (c) and
84	84	a response to a property owner by a municipality under Subsection
85	85	(d), including a plan of action for the provision of full municipal
86	86	services, is public information that is subject to disclosure under
87	87	Chapter 552, Government Code.
88	88	(f) If a municipality that receives a complaint under
89	89	Subsection (c) fails to respond to the owner within the time
90	90	required by Subsection (d), the property owner may file a complaint
91	91	with the attorney general for enforcement of a civil penalty
92	92	against the municipality in the amount of $500 for each day after
93	93	the 60th day after the date the complaint was filed with the
94	94	municipality. The attorney general may sue to collect a civil
95	95	penalty under this subsection.
96	96	(g) In this subsection, "major infrastructure project"
97	97	means a project to construct a new physical infrastructure, energy,
98	98	transportation, water, wastewater, or waste disposal facility. A
99	99	municipality that provides a plan of action to a property owner
100	100	under Subsection (d)(2) shall complete implementation of the plan
101	101	of action not later than:
102	102	(1) the first anniversary of the date of the
103	103	complaint; or
104	104	(2) the third anniversary of the date of the
105	105	complaint, if the plan of action depends on the completion of a
106	106	major infrastructure project that relates to the provision of
107	107	services in the area in which the property that is the subject of
108	108	the complaint is located.
109	109	(h) A property owner who files a complaint under Subsection
110	110	(c) may bring an action, or request that the attorney general bring
111	111	an action, to enforce this section. An action brought under this
112	112	subsection must be brought in a court with jurisdiction over the
113	113	area in which the property that is the subject of the complaint is
114	114	located. The court shall:
115	115	(1) order the municipality to hold an election on the
116	116	question of disannexing the area from the municipality if the court
117	117	finds that:
118	118	(A) property in the area is not receiving full
119	119	municipal services;
120	120	(B) the municipality is required to provide a
121	121	plan of action to a property owner in the area under Subsection
122	122	(d)(2) and:
123	123	(i) has failed to provide the plan of
124	124	action; or
125	125	(ii) has failed to implement the plan of
126	126	action within the required period under Subsection (g); or
127	127	(C) not later than the third anniversary of the
128	128	date of the complaint, the municipality is not providing or causing
129	129	the provision of full municipal services to the area in which the
130	130	property is wholly or partly located; and
131	131	(2) determine and include in the order entered under
132	132	Subdivision (1) the boundaries of the area within which the voters
133	133	of the municipality may participate in the election.
134	134	(i) A municipality shall disannex an area described by
135	135	Subsection (h)(2) if the voters approve the disannexation in the
136	136	election held under Subsection (h).
137	137	(j) If a property owner brings an action under Subsection
138	138	(h) and a court orders an election under that subsection, the
139	139	property owner may recover attorney's fees and court costs
140	140	resulting from bringing the action.
141	141	(k) A municipality's governmental immunity to suit and
142	142	governmental immunity from liability are waived to the extent of
143	143	liability created by this section.
144	144	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
145	145	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
146	146	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
147	147	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
148	148	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.