SRC-SEW S.B. 1708 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1708
77R4824 JMG-FBy: Van de Putte
Intergovernmental Relations
4/10/2001
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, street and drainage improvements in land development
subdivisions are constructed by the developer of the subdivision.  These
improvements are constructed to county standards.  During construction,
these improvements are inspected and the county conditionally accepts the
improvements upon their completion.  In order to ensure that the contractor
and developer construct the improvements to the highest quality, and for
long life, the county maintains a one-year warranty period on the
improvements prior to full acceptance by the county.   

Occasionally, street and drainage improvements are not properly constructed
and deteriorate noticeably within that one-year warranty period.  However,
the contractor and/or developer may fail to make the necessary repairs.
The county has no ability to force the repairs to be made, nor does the
county have a mechanism to ensure funding for the repairs on the
improvements after the one-year warranty period has passed.  As proposed,
S.B. 1708 authorizes a commissioners court to require one-year maintenance
bonds on improvements in subdivisions that will be maintained in the future
by a county in order to ensure proper construction and maintenance of
subdivision streets, roads, and drainage.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Sections 232.003 and 232.004, Local Government Code, as
follows: 

Sec.  232.003.  Authorizes the commissioners by an order adopted and
entered in the minutes of the commissioners court, and after a notice is
published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, to require
that the owner of the tract to be subdivided execute a good and sufficient
bond to ensure proper construction and maintenance of the streets, roads,
and drainage improvements in the subdivision in the manner provided by
Section 232.004. 

Sec.  232.004.  Requires the bond to be in an amount determined by the
commissioners court to be adequate to ensure proper construction or
maintenance of the roads and streets in and drainage requirements for the
subdivision, but not to exceed the estimated cost of construction or
maintenance of the roads, streets, and drainage requirements.  Requires a
bond under Section 232.003(8), in addition to the requirements set out by
this section, to be in an amount to which the owner and the commissioners
court agree is adequate to ensure proper maintenance of the streets, roads,
and drainage improvements in the subdivision for a certain period. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 2001.  
  Makes application of this Act prospective.