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Senate Bill 574 |
Senate Author: Armbrister |
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Effective: 9-1-05 |
House Sponsor: Pickett |
Senate Bill 574 amends the Local Government Code to clarify that the chapter on issuing local land development permits applies to municipal zoning, land use, annexation, and imminent destruction regulations that affect landscaping or tree preservation or open space or park dedication and to municipal zoning regulations that affect property classification. The bill specifies the earliest expiration date that a local regulatory agency can set for a project (five years) or permit (two years) on which no progress is made and exempts Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permits for on-site sewage disposal systems from this provision. It also reduces to one the number of specified actions necessary to constitute progress on a project. The bill provides that a political subdivision's immunity from a lawsuit relating to an action under the chapter is waived. The changes in law affect permit applications filed, progress demonstrated, and suits pending before a trial court on or after September 1, 2005.