1-1     By:  Ellis, Seaman (Senate Sponsor - Cain)            H.B. No. 1159
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 1999;
 1-3     April 27, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Intergovernmental Relations; May 13, 1999, reported favorably by
 1-5     the following vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 13, 1999, sent to
 1-6     printer.)
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to county regulation of public nuisances.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 343.011, Health and Safety Code, is
1-12     amended to read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 343.011.  PUBLIC NUISANCE [IN CERTAIN COUNTIES].
1-14     (a)  This section applies only to the unincorporated area of a
1-15     county [with a population of 125,000 or more].
1-16           (b)  A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public
1-17     nuisance under this section [on any premises].
1-18           (c)  A public nuisance is:
1-19                 (1)  keeping, storing, or accumulating refuse on
1-20     premises in a neighborhood unless the refuse is entirely contained
1-21     in a closed receptacle;
1-22                 (2)  keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish,
1-23     including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves,
1-24     furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood for 10
1-25     days or more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed
1-26     in a building or is not visible from a public street;
1-27                 (3)  maintaining premises in a manner that creates an
1-28     unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes,
1-29     rodents, vermin, or disease-carrying pests;
1-30                 (4)  allowing weeds to grow on premises in a
1-31     neighborhood if the weeds are located within 300 feet of another
1-32     residence or commercial establishment;
1-33                 (5)  maintaining a building in a manner that is
1-34     structurally unsafe or constitutes a hazard to safety, health, or
1-35     public welfare because of inadequate maintenance, unsanitary
1-36     conditions, dilapidation, obsolescence, disaster, damage, or
1-37     abandonment or because it constitutes a fire hazard;
1-38                 (6)  maintaining on abandoned and unoccupied property
1-39     in a neighborhood a swimming pool that is not protected with:
1-40                       (A)  a fence that is at least four feet high and
1-41     that has a latched gate that cannot be opened by a child; or
1-42                       (B)  a cover over the entire swimming pool that
1-43     cannot be removed by a child; [or]
1-44                 (7)  maintaining a flea market in a manner that
1-45     constitutes a fire hazard;
1-46                 (8)  discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual
1-47     obstruction on:
1-48                       (A)  county-owned land; or
1-49                       (B)  land or easements owned or held by a special
1-50     district that has the commissioners court of the county as its
1-51     governing body; or
1-52                 (9)  discarding refuse on the smaller of:
1-53                       (A)  the area that spans 20 feet on each side of
1-54     a utility line; or
1-55                       (B)  the actual span of the utility easement.
1-56           (d)  This section does not apply to:
1-57                 (1)  a site or facility that is:
1-58                       (A)  permitted and regulated by a state agency;
1-59     or
1-60                       (B)  licensed or permitted under Chapter 361; or
1-61                 (2)  agricultural land.
1-62           (e)  In Subsection (d), "agricultural land" means land that
1-63     qualifies for tax appraisal under Subchapter C or D, Chapter 23,
1-64     Tax Code.
 2-1           SECTION 2.  Section 343.0111, Health and Safety Code, is
 2-2     amended to read as follows:
 2-3           Sec. 343.0111.  SPECIAL EXCEPTION OR VARIANCE TO PUBLIC
 2-4     NUISANCE CLASSIFICATION [GENERALLY APPLICABLE].  (a)  The
 2-5     commissioners court of a county by order may:
 2-6                 (1)  describe the circumstances in which a special
 2-7     exception to the application of Section 343.011 is available to a
 2-8     person and may grant the special exception in a specific case if
 2-9     the commissioners court finds that the specific case fits within
2-10     the special exception, that the grant of the exception promotes
2-11     justice, that the grant of the exception is not contrary to the
2-12     public interest, and that the grant of the exception is consistent
2-13     with the general purpose of Section 343.011; and
2-14                 (2)  authorize in a specific case not covered by a
2-15     special exception a variance from the terms of Section 343.011 if
2-16     the commissioners court makes the same findings in connection with
2-17     the specific case that it makes in connection with a special
2-18     exception under Subdivision (1) and finds that due to special
2-19     conditions a literal enforcement of Section 343.011 would result in
2-20     an unnecessary hardship.  [This section applies to the
2-21     unincorporated area of a county, regardless of the  population size
2-22     of the county.]
2-23           (b)  The commissioners court shall keep a record of its
2-24     proceedings under this section and must include in the record a
2-25     showing of the reasons for each decision made under this section.
2-26     [A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public nuisance under
2-27     this section.]
2-28           [(c)  A public nuisance is:]
2-29                 [(1)  discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual
2-30     obstruction on:]
2-31                       [(A)  county-owned land; or]
2-32                       [(B)  land or easements owned or held by a
2-33     special district that has the county commissioners court as its
2-34     governing body; or]
2-35                 [(2)  discarding refuse on the smaller of:]
2-36                       [(A)  the area that spans 20 feet on each side of
2-37     a utility line; or]
2-38                       [(B)  the actual span of the utility easement.]
2-39           SECTION 3.  Section 343.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
2-40     amended to read as follows:
2-41           (a)  A person commits an offense if:
2-42                 (1)  the person violates Section 343.011(b) [or
2-43     343.0111(b)]; and
2-44                 (2)  the nuisance remains unabated after the 30th day
2-45     after the date on which the person receives notice from a county
2-46     official, agent, or employee to abate the nuisance.
2-47           SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
2-48     an offense under or violation of Section 343.011, as amended by
2-49     this Act, that is committed or that occurs on or after the
2-50     effective date of this Act.
2-51           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-52           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-53     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-54     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-55     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-56     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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