By Craddick H.B. No. 1070
77R3284 MI-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the authority of certain landowners to connect their
1-3 property to various municipal facilities, including water and sewer
1-4 facilities.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 395.081, Local Government Code, is amended
1-7 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 395.081. FEES FOR ADJOINING LANDOWNERS IN CERTAIN
1-9 MUNICIPALITIES. (a) In this section, "capital improvement"
1-10 includes a sewer line, water line, drainage facility, or roadway
1-11 facility from a municipality to a development located inside or
1-12 outside the municipality's boundaries.
1-13 (b) This section applies only to a municipality with a
1-14 population of 115,000 [105,000] or less that constitutes more than
1-15 three-fourths of the population of the county in which the majority
1-16 of the area of the municipality is located.
1-17 (c) [(b)] A municipality that has not adopted an impact fee
1-18 under this chapter [that is constructing a capital improvement,
1-19 including sewer or waterline or drainage or roadway facilities,
1-20 from the municipality to a development located within or outside
1-21 the municipality's boundaries,] in its discretion[,] may allow a
1-22 landowner whose land adjoins an existing or proposed [the] capital
1-23 improvement or is within a specified distance from an existing or
1-24 proposed [the] capital improvement, as determined by the governing
2-1 body of the municipality, to connect to the capital improvement if:
2-2 (1) the governing body of the municipality has adopted
2-3 a finding under Subsection (d) [(c)]; and
2-4 (2) the landowner agrees to pay a proportional share
2-5 of the cost of the capital improvement as determined by the
2-6 governing body of the municipality and agreed to by the landowner.
2-7 (d) [(c)] Before a municipality may allow a landowner to
2-8 connect to a capital improvement under Subsection (c) [(b)], the
2-9 municipality shall adopt a finding that the municipality will
2-10 benefit from allowing the landowner to connect to the capital
2-11 improvement. The finding shall describe the benefit to be received
2-12 by the municipality.
2-13 (e) The governing body of the municipality may prohibit a
2-14 landowner from connecting to a capital improvement unless the
2-15 landowner enters a written agreement with the municipality in which
2-16 the landowner agrees to pay a proportional share of the cost of the
2-17 capital improvement as determined by the governing body under
2-18 Subsection (c)(2).
2-19 (f) [(d)] A determination of the governing body of a
2-20 municipality, or its officers or employees, under this section is a
2-21 discretionary function of the municipality and the municipality and
2-22 its officers or employees are not liable for a determination made
2-23 under this section.
2-24 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.