Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 2038	Senate Author:  Bettencourt
Effective:  9-1-23	House Sponsor:  Bell, Cecil et al.

            Senate Bill 2038 amends the Local Government Code to establish that a municipal annexation commenced after January 1, 2023, does not expand a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction unless contemporaneously with the annexation the owner or owners of the area that would be included in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction as a result of the annexation request that the area be included in the extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Senate Bill 2038 provides for the release of an area from a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction by petition or election by authorizing the following:

·        a resident of an area in a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or the owner or owners of the majority in value of an area consisting of one or more parcels of land in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, to file a petition with the municipality for the respective area to be released from the extraterritorial jurisdiction; and

·        a resident of an area in a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction to request the municipality to hold an election on the question of whether to release the area from the extraterritorial jurisdiction.

The bill sets out provisions relating to the petition and election process and requires the release of the area from the extraterritorial jurisdiction if, as applicable, the petition has the required number of signatures or the release is approved at the election. The bill exempts certain areas from being released by such process.