BWH H.B. 2871 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS COUNTY AFFAIRS H.B. 2871 By: Bosse 4-10-97 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND Outdoor burning at private residences in large, populated counties, outside of cities is not regulated by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. The Texas Clean Air Act does not provide for regulation of trash burning in these areas. As a result, citizen complaints against the nuisance caused by the burning of "trash" cannot actively be dealt with. County commissioners need authority to restrict or prohibit this burning so that nuisance conditions are minimized, and the number of citizens complaints are reduced. PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to grant authority to the commissioners court of a county with a population of 2.8 million or more to regulate and to provide for penalties for trash burning. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter Z, Chapter 240, Local Government Code by adding a new Section 240.906 as follows: 1) Subsection (a) defines "trash"; 2) Subsection (b) provides that the commissioners court of a county, with a population of 2.8 million or more, may prohibit or restrict the burning of trash in an unincorporated area of the county; 3) Subsection (c) notes that this section does not apply to a federal regulated waste disposal facility; 4) Subsection (d) entitles any person who prevents a violation of an order in this section injunctive relief; 5) Subsection (e) provides for a penalty between $100 and $2,000; 6) Subsection (f) provides for an administrative penalty between $100 and $2,000 and includes criteria from which this penalty is based on; and 7) Subsection (g) notes a person commits an offense classified as a Class C misdemeanor if the person violates the order in this section. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee Amendment No. 1 amends Section 240.906(b) by changing the population bracket from a county with a population of 250,000 or more, to a county with a populaton of 2.8 million or more.