H.B. No. 832
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the civil penalty a municipality may recover for a
1-3 violation of certain water control ordinances.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 54.012, Local Government Code, is amended
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 54.012. Civil Action. A municipality may bring a civil
1-8 action for the enforcement of an ordinance:
1-9 (1) for the preservation of public safety, relating to
1-10 the materials or methods used to construct a building or other
1-11 structure or improvement, including the foundation, structural
1-12 elements, electrical wiring or apparatus, plumbing and fixtures,
1-13 entrances, or exits;
1-14 (2) relating to the preservation of public health or
1-15 to the fire safety of a building or other structure or improvement,
1-16 including provisions relating to materials, types of construction
1-17 or design, interior configuration, illumination, warning devices,
1-18 sprinklers or other fire suppression devices, availability of water
1-19 supply for extinguishing fires, or location, design, or width of
1-20 entrances or exits;
1-21 (3) for zoning that provides for the use of land or
1-22 classifies a parcel of land according to the municipality's
1-23 district classification scheme;
1-24 (4) establishing criteria for land subdivision or
2-1 construction of buildings, including provisions relating to street
2-2 width and design, lot size, building width or elevation, setback
2-3 requirements, or utility service specifications or requirements;
2-4 (5) implementing civil penalties under this subchapter
2-5 for conduct classified by statute as a Class C misdemeanor;
2-6 (6) relating to dangerously damaged or deteriorated
2-7 structures or improvements;
2-8 (7) relating to conditions caused by accumulations of
2-9 refuse, vegetation, or other matter that creates breeding and
2-10 living places for insects and rodents; <or>
2-11 (8) relating to the interior configuration, design,
2-12 illumination, or visibility of business premises exhibiting for
2-13 viewing by customers while on the premises live or mechanically or
2-14 electronically displayed entertainment intended to provide sexual
2-15 stimulation or sexual gratification; or
2-16 (9) relating to point source effluent limitations or
2-17 the discharge of a pollutant, other than from a non-point source,
2-18 into a sewer system, including a sanitary or storm water sewer
2-19 system, owned or controlled by the municipality.
2-20 SECTION 2. Section 54.017(b), Local Government Code, is
2-21 amended to read as follows:
2-22 (b) A civil penalty under this section may not exceed $1,000
2-23 a day for a violation of an ordinance, except that a civil penalty
2-24 under this section may not exceed $5,000 a day for a violation of
2-25 an ordinance relating to point source effluent limitations or the
2-26 discharge of a pollutant, other than from a non-point source, into
2-27 a sewer system, including a sanitary or storm water sewer system,
3-1 owned or controlled by the municipality.
3-2 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
3-3 only to a violation committed on or after the effective date of
3-4 this Act. For purposes of this section, a violation is committed
3-5 on or after the effective date of this Act only if each element of
3-6 the violation occurs on or after that date.
3-7 (b) A violation committed before the effective date of this
3-8 Act is covered by the law in effect when the violation was
3-9 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for this
3-10 purpose.
3-11 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-12 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-13 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-14 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-15 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-16 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.