By Seaman H.B. No. 479
76R3041 PAM-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to county regulation of public nuisances.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 343.011, Health and Safety Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 343.011. PUBLIC NUISANCE [IN CERTAIN COUNTIES].
1-7 (a) This section applies to the unincorporated area of a county
1-8 [with a population of 125,000 or more].
1-9 (b) A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public
1-10 nuisance under this section [on any premises].
1-11 (c) A public nuisance is:
1-12 (1) keeping, storing, or accumulating refuse on
1-13 premises in a neighborhood unless the refuse is entirely contained
1-14 in a closed receptacle;
1-15 (2) keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish,
1-16 including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves,
1-17 furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood for 10
1-18 days or more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed
1-19 in a building or is not visible from a public street;
1-20 (3) maintaining premises in a manner that creates an
1-21 unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes,
1-22 rodents, vermin, or disease-carrying pests;
1-23 (4) allowing weeds to grow on premises in a
1-24 neighborhood if the weeds are located within 300 feet of another
2-1 residence or commercial establishment;
2-2 (5) maintaining a building in a manner that is
2-3 structurally unsafe or constitutes a hazard to safety, health, or
2-4 public welfare because of inadequate maintenance, unsanitary
2-5 conditions, dilapidation, obsolescence, disaster, damage, or
2-6 abandonment or because it constitutes a fire hazard;
2-7 (6) maintaining on abandoned and unoccupied property
2-8 in a neighborhood a swimming pool that is not protected with:
2-9 (A) a fence that is at least four feet high and
2-10 that has a latched gate that cannot be opened by a child; or
2-11 (B) a cover over the entire swimming pool that
2-12 cannot be removed by a child; [or]
2-13 (7) maintaining a flea market in a manner that
2-14 constitutes a fire hazard;
2-15 (8) discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual
2-16 obstruction on:
2-17 (A) county-owned land; or
2-18 (B) land or easements owned or held by a special
2-19 district that has the commissioners court of the county as its
2-20 governing body; or
2-21 (9) discarding refuse on the smaller of:
2-22 (A) the area that spans 20 feet on each side of
2-23 a utility line; or
2-24 (B) the actual span of the utility easement.
2-25 (d) This section does not apply to:
2-26 (1) a site or facility that is permitted and regulated
2-27 by a state agency; or
3-1 (2) agricultural land.
3-2 (e) In Subsection (d), "agricultural land" means land that
3-3 qualifies for tax appraisal under Subchapter C or D, Chapter 23,
3-4 Tax Code.
3-5 SECTION 2. Section 343.0111, Health and Safety Code, is
3-6 amended to read as follows:
3-7 Sec. 343.0111. SPECIAL EXCEPTION OR VARIANCE TO PUBLIC
3-8 NUISANCE CLASSIFICATION [GENERALLY APPLICABLE]. (a) The
3-9 commissioners court of a county by order may:
3-10 (1) describe the circumstances in which a special
3-11 exception to the application of Section 343.011 is available to a
3-12 person and may grant the special exception in a specific case if
3-13 the commissioners court finds that the specific case fits within
3-14 the special exception, that the grant of the exception promotes
3-15 justice, that the grant of the exception is not contrary to the
3-16 public interest, and that the grant of the exception is consistent
3-17 with the general purpose of Section 343.011; and
3-18 (2) authorize in a specific case not covered by a
3-19 special exception a variance from the terms of Section 343.011 if
3-20 the commissioners court makes the same findings in connection with
3-21 the specific case that it makes in connection with a special
3-22 exception under Subdivision (1) and finds that due to special
3-23 conditions a literal enforcement of Section 343.011 would result in
3-24 an unnecessary hardship. [This section applies to the
3-25 unincorporated area of a county, regardless of the population size
3-26 of the county.]
3-27 (b) The commissioners court shall keep a record of its
4-1 proceedings under this section and must include in the record a
4-2 showing of the reasons for each decision made under this section.
4-3 [A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public nuisance under
4-4 this section.]
4-5 [(c) A public nuisance is:]
4-6 [(1) discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual
4-7 obstruction on:]
4-8 [(A) county-owned land; or]
4-9 [(B) land or easements owned or held by a
4-10 special district that has the county commissioners court as its
4-11 governing body; or]
4-12 [(2) discarding refuse on the smaller of:]
4-13 [(A) the area that spans 20 feet on each side of
4-14 a utility line; or]
4-15 [(B) the actual span of the utility easement.]
4-16 SECTION 3. Section 343.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
4-17 amended to read as follows:
4-18 (a) A person commits an offense if:
4-19 (1) the person violates Section 343.011(b) [or
4-20 343.0111(b)]; and
4-21 (2) the nuisance remains unabated after the 30th day
4-22 after the date on which the person receives notice from a county
4-23 official, agent, or employee to abate the nuisance.
4-24 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
4-25 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.