HBA-CBW, MPM H.B. 1148 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1148 By: Cook County Affairs 3/18/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE As the demand for wireless services and seamless coverage grows, wireless providers are constructing new towers at increasing rates. In urban areas, numerous small cellular towers can be positioned on top of a building or other structures. However, in rural areas towers must be taller and spaced farther apart to ensure adequate coverage. In some cases, the towers in rural areas may be taller than 400 feet. Municipalities have zoning boards that can regulate the placement of cellular towers. However, residents who live in unincorporated portions of a county such as rural areas have no ability to influence the placement of a tower in their neighborhood. Giving a county the authority to regulate the height, lighting, location, and removal of cellular towers would help ensure that residents in rural areas are not subject to the visual clutter, safety hazards, and other problems that a cellular tower in their neighborhood can create. House Bill 1148 grants the commissioners court of a county the authority to regulate wireless communication facilities. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1148 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a commissioners court of a county (court) by order to regulate wireless communication facilities, including collocated or shared facilities. The bill authorizes the court in the regulations to require a permit for construction, expansion, or removal of a tower or other facility and impose fees for the cost of administering the regulations. The bill authorizes the court to regulate the height, lighting, location, and removal of towers and other facilities. The bill requires a person wishing to construct a wireless communication facility (person) to file with the county official designated by the court the appropriate documentation before the 180th day before the construction begins and publish a notice of a public hearing in a local newspaper before the 120th day before construction begins. The bill requires the person to mail a letter to each resident and land owner within one mile of the facility before the 60th day before construction begins notifying them of the size and use of the facility and the appropriate contact name and phone number for interested persons to contact to receive information about the construction. The bill provides that a person who violates an order of the commissioners court adopted pursuant to this Act commits a Class C misdemeanor and authorizes the county attorney or an attorney representing the county to file an action in a district court to enjoin a violation or threatened violation of an order. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.