By:  Lindsay                                          S.B. No. 1394

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the authority of a municipality to require a building

 1-2     permit for construction and renovation work on county-owned

 1-3     buildings and facilities by certain counties.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 212, Local Government Code,

 1-6     is amended by adding Section 212.903 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 212.903.  CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION WORK ON

 1-8     COUNTY-OWNED BUILDINGS OR FACILITIES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.

 1-9     (a)  This section applies only to a county with a population of 2.8

1-10     million or more.

1-11           (b)  A municipality is not authorized to require a county to

1-12     notify the municipality or obtain a building permit for any new

1-13     construction or renovation work performed within the limits of the

1-14     municipality by the county's personnel or by county personnel

1-15     acting as general contractor on county-owned buildings or

1-16     facilities.  Such construction or renovation work shall be

1-17     inspected by a registered professional engineer or architect

1-18     licensed in this state in accordance with any other applicable law.

1-19     A municipality may require a building permit for construction or

1-20     renovation work performed on county-owned buildings or facilities

1-21     by private general contractors.

1-22           (c)  This section does not exempt a county from complying

1-23     with a municipality's building code standards when performing

 2-1     construction or renovation work.

 2-2           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-3           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-4     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-5     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-6     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-7     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.