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.
2-57 * * * * *