By Nixon H.B. No. 761
75R4276 CAG-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the notice required before a sexually oriented business
1-3 may be constructed, operated, or used; providing penalties.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 243, Local Government Code, is amended by
1-6 adding Section 243.0035 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 243.0035. NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. (a) A municipality or
1-8 county may require that before a building or location is
1-9 constructed, operated, or used as a sexually oriented business the
1-10 person proposing to construct, operate, or use the building or
1-11 location give notice of the intent to construct, operate, or use
1-12 the building or location by:
1-13 (1) publishing notice in two consecutive issues of a
1-14 newspaper of general circulation in the municipality published in
1-15 the municipality, if the building or location is located in a
1-16 municipality, or in the county, if the building or location is
1-17 located in the unincorporated area of the county; and
1-18 (2) prominently posting, for the 20 days before the
1-19 date the construction, operation, or use of the building or
1-20 location as a sexually oriented business begins, an outdoor sign at
1-21 the building or location stating that the building or location is
1-22 intended to be constructed, operated, or used as a sexually
1-23 oriented business and stating the name and business address of the
1-24 owner of the building or location and of the operator of the
2-1 sexually oriented business.
2-2 (b) A sign posted under Subsection (a) shall be written in a
2-3 manner and of a size the governing body of the municipality or
2-4 county considers adequate to inform the general public of the
2-5 intended use of the property. The municipality or county may
2-6 require the sign to be both in English and a language other than
2-7 English if it is likely that a substantial number of the residents
2-8 in the area speak a language other than English as their familiar
2-9 language.
2-10 (c) A notice published under Subsection (a) shall be printed
2-11 in 10-point boldface type and shall include:
2-12 (1) a description, but not a legal description or a
2-13 metes and bounds description, of the exact location of the building
2-14 or location;
2-15 (2) the names of each owner of the building or
2-16 location and the operator of the sexually oriented business and, if
2-17 the building, location, or business is operated under an assumed
2-18 name, the trade name together with the names of the owners; and
2-19 (3) if the owner or operator is a corporation, the
2-20 names and titles of the corporate officers.
2-21 (d) For the purpose of complying with Subsection (a), if a
2-22 newspaper of general circulation:
2-23 (1) in the municipality is not published in the
2-24 municipality, the notice shall be published in a newspaper of
2-25 general circulation in the municipality published in the county
2-26 where the building or location is located; or
2-27 (2) in the county is not published in the county, the
3-1 notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
3-2 the county published in the neighboring county closest to the
3-3 building or location.
3-4 (e) The municipality or county may adopt other notice
3-5 requirements, including requirements that the person intending to
3-6 use a building or location for a purpose under Subsection (a)
3-7 timely inform adjoining landowners, residents within a specified
3-8 distance of the proposed building or location, or other classes of
3-9 persons or businesses within a specified distance determined by the
3-10 municipality or county.
3-11 (f) A sexually oriented business may not operate in or use a
3-12 building or operate at a location unless a municipality's or
3-13 county's regulations adopted under this section have been followed
3-14 in connection with that sexually oriented business.
3-15 SECTION 2. Section 243.010, Local Government Code, is
3-16 amended to read as follows:
3-17 Sec. 243.010. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A municipality or county may
3-18 sue in the district court for an injunction to prohibit:
3-19 (1) a person from constructing, operating, or using a
3-20 building or location for a sexually oriented business if the person
3-21 has not complied with an applicable notice requirement adopted
3-22 under Section 243.0035; or
3-23 (2) any other [the] violation of a regulation adopted
3-24 under this chapter.
3-25 (b) A person who constructs, operates, or uses a building or
3-26 location for a sexually oriented business without complying with
3-27 the notice requirements adopted by a municipality or county under
4-1 Section 243.0035 is liable to the municipality or county for a
4-2 civil penalty of $100 a day for each day on which the construction,
4-3 operation, or use of the building or location for a sexually
4-4 oriented business occurs without compliance with the notice
4-5 requirements.
4-6 (c) A person commits an offense if the person violates a
4-7 municipal or county regulation adopted under this chapter. An
4-8 offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
4-9 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
4-10 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.