By Hilbert H.B. No. 2363
75R8447 CAG-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the provision of services in certain annexed areas.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 43, Local Government Code,
1-5 is amended by adding Section 43.0562 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 43.0562. SERVICE PLAN FOR CERTAIN WATER DISTRICT
1-7 ANNEXATION. (a) This section applies only to a municipality with
1-8 a population of 225,000 or more that proposes to annex an area that
1-9 includes, in whole or in part, any area in the boundaries of a
1-10 municipal utility district or a water district regulated,
1-11 established, or operating under Title 4, Water Code.
1-12 (b) In addition to any requirements of Section 43.056, a
1-13 municipality shall, before it begins an annexation under this
1-14 chapter, comply with the requirements of this section.
1-15 (c) Before the 90th day before the date of an annexation and
1-16 before the publication of the notice of the first hearing required
1-17 under Section 43.052, the governing body of a municipality shall
1-18 publish a service plan that provides for the extension of full
1-19 municipal services to an annexed area.
1-20 (d) In developing the service plan, the municipality must
1-21 negotiate the terms of the plan with the governing board of a
1-22 municipal utility district or water district located in the area
1-23 proposed to be annexed. If the municipality and the governing
1-24 board of the district cannot reach agreement on any portion of a
2-1 service plan, the issue shall be submitted for arbitration under
2-2 Chapter 171, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
2-3 (e) The service plan must provide that every municipal
2-4 service described in the plan for the area to be annexed be
2-5 provided in a manner that ensures the services are equal to or
2-6 better than the services provided to the area immediately before
2-7 annexation. An annexation may not occur if any service proposed in
2-8 the plan is less than the service provided immediately before the
2-9 annexation. The service must also be provided to each portion of
2-10 the area to be annexed in the exact way that the service is
2-11 provided to any other portion of the area to be annexed.
2-12 (f) In addition to the requirements for a service plan under
2-13 Section 43.056, a service plan under this chapter must include:
2-14 (1) a description of the emergency medical services to
2-15 be provided to the area that includes a description of:
2-16 (A) service delivery times, including dispatch
2-17 and response times;
2-18 (B) equipment and supplies, including types of
2-19 ambulance units, types of medical equipment with which units are
2-20 equipped, and the ability of emergency services providers to use
2-21 the equipment and supplies;
2-22 (C) staffing and qualifications of emergency
2-23 medical service workers;
2-24 (D) communications provided to units in the
2-25 area, including the use of 911 systems or other emergency
2-26 communication systems;
2-27 (E) mutual aid agreements the municipality
3-1 entered;
3-2 (F) any special apparatus or services, including
3-3 emergency education training; and
3-4 (G) other detailed direct comparisons between
3-5 any aspect of emergency medical services and the services proposed
3-6 to be provided by the municipality; and
3-7 (2) a description of the fire protection services to
3-8 be provided to the area that includes a description of:
3-9 (A) service delivery times, including average
3-10 dispatch and average response times;
3-11 (B) the types of fire protection equipment and
3-12 capabilities, including whether the equipment meets industry
3-13 standards at the time of the annexation, is capable of comparable
3-14 or multiple functions, and is capable of stand-alone operations and
3-15 whether any reserve equipment is in fact operational;
3-16 (C) the organization and staffing of fire
3-17 protection units in the area, including whether the organization is
3-18 capable of addressing the immediate needs of the area, whether
3-19 sufficient well-trained personnel exist, and the certification and
3-20 training levels of the personnel;
3-21 (D) the cost of providing the fire protection
3-22 services;
3-23 (E) any mutual aid agreements the municipality
3-24 has made or will make;
3-25 (F) any special apparatus or services, including
3-26 hazardous materials units or vehicles, water, technical, or
3-27 vehicular rescue units or training, and emergency education
4-1 training; and
4-2 (G) other detailed direct comparisons between
4-3 any aspect of fire protection services in the area immediately
4-4 before annexation and the services proposed to be provided by the
4-5 municipality.
4-6 (g) In determining whether municipal service providers
4-7 provide service equal to or better than that provided by a
4-8 voluntary provider, a voluntary provider is considered equal to a
4-9 municipal service provider if the voluntary provider is trained or
4-10 certified under state law and has complied with any continuing
4-11 education requirements.
4-12 (h) In determining whether service delivery or response
4-13 times are equal to or better than services immediately before
4-14 annexation, the service plan shall use the service delivery or
4-15 response times of the emergency medical or fire protection
4-16 organization operating in the area.
4-17 (i) A fire protection or emergency service mutual aid
4-18 agreement that existed before the date of the service plan shall be
4-19 continued under the service plan for a period of not less than 10
4-20 years.
4-21 (j) If a municipality enters into an agreement with any
4-22 party to provide services under the plan required by this section,
4-23 the municipality shall provide the party with compatible
4-24 communication equipment that allows the party to communicate, in
4-25 any manner the party determines is necessary, directly with the
4-26 municipality's service provider.
4-27 (k) The service plan shall allow a resident of the area
5-1 proposed to be annexed to vote in any election. If a municipality
5-2 holds an election and the residents of an annexed area are not
5-3 allowed to vote in the election, the results of the election are
5-4 void. This subsection does not apply to:
5-5 (1) an election on the question of the creation of a
5-6 municipal special district or authority in which no part of the
5-7 area annexed is part of the proposed special district or authority
5-8 and the creation of which would not create any liability for which
5-9 a resident of the annexed area would be requested to pay in any
5-10 way, including through the payment of any municipal tax;
5-11 (2) a local option election conducted under Chapter
5-12 251, Alcoholic Beverage Code, in which no part of the area annexed
5-13 is part of the area affected by the election; or
5-14 (3) an election for a single-member district of the
5-15 municipality, in which no part of the area annexed is part of the
5-16 area within the district.
5-17 (l) A municipality shall hold three or more public hearings
5-18 at which persons interested in the service plan are given an
5-19 opportunity to be heard. Each hearing shall be separated by 30 or
5-20 more days from the date of a previous hearing. The hearing shall be
5-21 held between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at a site designated by the
5-22 municipal utility districts in the area proposed for annexation.
5-23 (m) A hearing conducted under this section shall be
5-24 conducted by a visiting state judge and a written record of the
5-25 proceedings shall be maintained.
5-26 (n) Not later than the 30th day after the date of the last
5-27 hearing, the municipality and a municipal utility district shall
6-1 agree on an independent third party to review the service plan to
6-2 determine if the plan meets the requirements of this section. If
6-3 the third party determines that the service plan does not meet the
6-4 requirements, the service plan is void and the municipality shall
6-5 develop a new service plan under this section.
6-6 (o) If the municipality, in annexing an area, either renders
6-7 useless for its primary function an emergency service provider's or
6-8 fire protection provider's land, buildings, or equipment in the
6-9 area to be annexed or in an adjacent area, or, using eminent domain
6-10 powers, condemns a provider's land or buildings, the municipality
6-11 shall pay to the provider, not later than the 30th day before the
6-12 date of the annexation, the value of the land, building, or
6-13 equipment that is determined by the average of three independent
6-14 appraisals. The municipality shall pay the cost of the appraisals.
6-15 A service plan adopted under this section shall list any land,
6-16 buildings, or equipment affected and shall allow providers to add
6-17 additional affected property to the list.
6-18 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
6-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-23 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-24 passage, and it is so enacted.