1-1     By:  Kuempel, Bosse, et al.                           H.B. No. 1704
 1-2          (Senate Sponsor - Shapiro)
 1-3           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 22, 1999;
 1-4     April 23, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on State
 1-5     Affairs; April 27, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-6     Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 27, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to the approval of certain permit applications by local
1-10     governments.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1.  FINDINGS; INTENT.  (a)  The legislature finds
1-13     that the former Subchapter I, Chapter 481, Government Code,
1-14     relating to state and local permits, originally enacted by Section
1-15     1, Chapter 374, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular Session,
1-16     1987, and subsequently amended by Section 3.01, Chapter 4, Acts of
1-17     the 71st Legislature, Regular Session, 1989, Section 2, Chapter
1-18     118, Acts of the 71st Legislature, Regular Session, 1989, and
1-19     Section 1, Chapter 794, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular
1-20     Session, 1995, was inadvertently repealed by Section 51(b), Chapter
1-21     1041, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997.
1-22           (b)  The legislature finds that the repeal of former
1-23     Subchapter I, Chapter 481, Government Code, which became effective
1-24     September 1, 1997, resulted in the reestablishment of
1-25     administrative and legislative practices that often result in
1-26     unnecessary governmental regulatory uncertainty that inhibits the
1-27     economic development of the state and increases the cost of housing
1-28     and other forms of land development and often resulted in the
1-29     repeal of previously approved permits causing decreased property
1-30     and related values, bankruptcies, and failed projects.
1-31           (c)  The legislature finds that the restoration of
1-32     requirements relating to the processing and issuance of permits and
1-33     approvals by local governmental regulatory agencies is necessary to
1-34     minimize to the extent possible the effect of the inadvertent
1-35     repeal of the former Subchapter I, Chapter 481, Government Code,
1-36     and to safeguard the general economy and welfare of the state and
1-37     to protect property rights.
1-38           (d)  It is the intent of the legislature that no project,
1-39     permit, or series of permits that was protected by former
1-40     Subchapter I, Chapter 481, Government Code, be prejudiced by or
1-41     required or allowed to expire because of the repeal of former
1-42     Subchapter I or an action taken by a regulatory agency after the
1-43     repeal.
1-44           SECTION 2.  AMENDMENT.  Subtitle C, Title 7, Local Government
1-45     Code, is amended by adding Chapter 245 to read as follows:
1-46                   CHAPTER 245.  ISSUANCE OF LOCAL PERMITS
1-47           Sec. 245.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
1-48                 (1)  "Permit" means a license, certificate, approval,
1-49     registration, consent, permit, or other form of authorization
1-50     required by law, rule, regulation, order, or ordinance that a
1-51     person must obtain to perform an action or initiate, continue, or
1-52     complete a project for which the permit is sought.
1-53                 (2)  "Political subdivision" means a political
1-54     subdivision of the state, including a county, a school district, or
1-55     a municipality.
1-56                 (3)  "Project" means an endeavor over which a
1-57     regulatory agency exerts its jurisdiction and for which one or more
1-58     permits are required to initiate, continue, or complete the
1-59     endeavor.
1-60                 (4)  "Regulatory agency" means the governing body of,
1-61     or a bureau, department, division, board, commission, or other
1-62     agency of, a political subdivision acting in its capacity of
1-63     processing, approving, or issuing a permit.
1-64           Sec. 245.002.  UNIFORMITY OF REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  Each
 2-1     regulatory agency shall consider the approval, disapproval, or
 2-2     conditional approval of an application for a permit solely on the
 2-3     basis of any orders, regulations, ordinances, rules, expiration
 2-4     dates, or other properly adopted requirements in effect at the time
 2-5     the original application for the permit is filed.
 2-6           (b)  If a series of permits is required for a project, the
 2-7     orders, regulations, ordinances, rules, expiration dates, or other
 2-8     properly adopted requirements in effect at the time the original
 2-9     application for the first permit in that series is filed shall be
2-10     the sole basis for consideration of all subsequent permits required
2-11     for the completion of the project.  All permits required for the
2-12     project are considered to be a single series of permits.
2-13     Preliminary plans and related subdivision plats, site plans, and
2-14     all other development permits for land covered by the preliminary
2-15     plans or subdivision plats are considered collectively to be one
2-16     series of permits for a project.
2-17           (c)  After an application for a project is filed, a
2-18     regulatory agency may not shorten the duration of any permit
2-19     required for the project.
2-20           (d)  Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the
2-21     contrary, a permit holder may take advantage of recorded
2-22     subdivision plat notes, recorded restrictive covenants required by
2-23     a regulatory agency, or a change to the laws, rules, regulations,
2-24     or ordinances of a regulatory agency that enhance or protect the
2-25     project, including changes that lengthen the effective life of the
2-26     permit after the date the application for the permit was made,
2-27     without forfeiting any rights under this chapter.
2-28           Sec. 245.003.  APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER.  This chapter
2-29     applies only to a project in progress on or commenced after
2-30     September 1, 1997.  For purposes of this chapter a project was in
2-31     progress on September 1, 1997, if:
2-32                 (1)  before September 1, 1997:
2-33                       (A)  a regulatory agency approved or issued one
2-34     or more permits for the project; or
2-35                       (B)  an application for a permit for the project
2-36     was filed with a regulatory agency; and
2-37                 (2)  on or after September 1, 1997, a regulatory agency
2-38     enacts, enforces, or otherwise imposes:
2-39                       (A)  an order, regulation, ordinance, or rule
2-40     that in effect retroactively changes the duration of a permit for
2-41     the project;
2-42                       (B)  a deadline for obtaining a permit required
2-43     to continue or complete the project that was not enforced or did
2-44     not apply to the project before September 1, 1997; or
2-45                       (C)  any requirement for the project that was not
2-46     applicable to or enforced on the project before September 1, 1997.
2-47           Sec. 245.004.  EXEMPTIONS.  This chapter does not apply to:
2-48                 (1)  a permit that is at least two years old, is issued
2-49     for the construction of a building or structure intended for human
2-50     occupancy or habitation, and is issued under laws, ordinances,
2-51     procedures, rules, or regulations adopting only:
2-52                       (A)  uniform building, fire, electrical,
2-53     plumbing, or mechanical codes adopted by a recognized national code
2-54     organization; or
2-55                       (B)  local amendments to those codes enacted
2-56     solely to address imminent threats of destruction of property or
2-57     injury to persons;
2-58                 (2)  municipal zoning regulations that do not affect
2-59     lot size, lot dimensions, lot coverage, or building size or that do
2-60     not change development permitted by a restrictive covenant required
2-61     by a municipality;
2-62                 (3)  regulations that specifically control only the use
2-63     of land in a municipality that does not have zoning and that do not
2-64     affect lot size, lot dimensions, lot coverage, or building size;
2-65                 (4)  regulations for sexually oriented businesses;
2-66                 (5)  municipal or county ordinances, rules,
2-67     regulations, or other requirements affecting colonias;
2-68                 (6)  fees imposed in conjunction with development
2-69     permits;
 3-1                 (7)  regulations for annexation;
 3-2                 (8)  regulations for utility connections;
 3-3                 (9)  regulations to prevent imminent destruction of
 3-4     property or injury to persons, including regulations effective only
 3-5     within a flood plain established by a federal flood control program
 3-6     and enacted to prevent the flooding of buildings intended for
 3-7     public occupancy; or
 3-8                 (10)  construction standards for public works located
 3-9     on public lands or easements.
3-10           Sec. 245.005.  DORMANT PROJECTS.  Notwithstanding any other
3-11     provision of this chapter, after the first anniversary of the
3-12     effective date of this chapter, a regulatory agency may enact an
3-13     ordinance, rule, or regulation that places an expiration date on a
3-14     permit if as of the first anniversary of the effective date of this
3-15     chapter:  (i) the permit does not have an expiration date; and (ii)
3-16     no progress has been made towards completion of the project.  Any
3-17     ordinance, rule, or regulation enacted pursuant to this section
3-18     shall place an expiration date of no earlier than the fifth
3-19     anniversary of the effective date of this chapter.  Progress
3-20     towards completion of the project shall include any one or more of
3-21     the following:
3-22                 (1)  an application for a final plat or plan is
3-23     submitted to a regulatory agency;
3-24                 (2)  a good-faith attempt is made to file with a
3-25     regulatory agency an application for a permit necessary to begin or
3-26     continue towards completion of the project;
3-27                 (3)  costs have been incurred for developing the
3-28     project including, without limitation, costs associated with
3-29     roadway, utility, and other infrastructure facilities designed to
3-30     serve, in whole or in part, the project (but exclusive of land
3-31     acquisition) in the aggregate amount of five percent of the most
3-32     recent appraised market value of the real property on which the
3-33     project is located;
3-34                 (4)  fiscal security is posted with a regulatory agency
3-35     to ensure performance of an obligation required by the regulatory
3-36     agency; or
3-37                 (5)  utility connection fees or impact fees for the
3-38     project have been paid to a regulatory agency.
3-39           Sec. 245.006.  ENFORCEMENT OF CHAPTER.  This chapter may be
3-40     enforced only through mandamus or declaratory or injunctive relief.
3-41           SECTION 3.  EFFECT OF PRIOR LAW.  (a)  The repeal of
3-42     Subchapter I, Chapter 481, Government Code, by Section 51(b),
3-43     Chapter 1041, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
3-44     and any actions taken by a regulatory agency for the issuance of a
3-45     permit, as those terms are defined by Section 245.001, Local
3-46     Government Code, as added by Section 2 of this Act, after that
3-47     repeal and before the effective date of this Act, shall not cause
3-48     or require the expiration or termination of a project, permit, or
3-49     series of permits to which Section 2 of this Act applies.  An
3-50     action by a regulatory agency that violates this section is void to
3-51     the extent necessary to give effect to this section.
3-52           (b)  This Act does not affect the rights or remedies of any
3-53     person or entity under a final judgment  rendered by a court before
3-54     the effective date of this Act, or in any litigation pending in a
3-55     court on the effective date of this Act, involving an
3-56     interpretation of Subchapter I, Chapter 481, Government Code, as it
3-57     existed before its repeal by the 75th Legislature.
3-58           SECTION 4.  CONSTRUCTION OF ACT.  Nothing in this Act shall
3-59     be construed to apply to a condition or provision of an ordinance,
3-60     rule, or regulation that is enacted by a regulatory agency, as that
3-61     term is defined by Section 245.001, Local Government Code, as added
3-62     by Section 2 of this Act, which is specifically required by
3-63     uniformly applicable regulations adopted by a state agency after
3-64     the effective date of this Act.
3-65           SECTION 5.  EFFECT ON COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT.  Nothing
3-66     in this Act shall be construed to:
3-67                 (1)  limit or otherwise affect the authority of a
3-68     municipality, a county, another political subdivision, the state,
3-69     or an agency of the state, with respect to the implementation or
 4-1     enforcement of an ordinance, a rule, or a statutory standard of a
 4-2     program, plan, or ordinance that was adopted under the federal
 4-3     Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. Section 1451 et
 4-4     seq.)  or its subsequent amendments or Subtitle E, Title 2, Natural
 4-5     Resources Code; or
 4-6                 (2)  apply to a permit, order, rule, regulation, or
 4-7     other action issued, adopted, or undertaken by a municipality, a
 4-8     county, another political subdivision, the state, or an agency of
 4-9     the state in connection with the federal Coastal Zone Management
4-10     Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. Section 1451 et seq.)  or its subsequent
4-11     amendments or Subtitle E, Title 2, Natural Resources Code.
4-12           SECTION 6.  EMERGENCY.  The importance of this legislation
4-13     and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-14     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-15     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-16     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-17     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-18     passage, and it is so enacted.
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