By Farrar                                             H.B. No. 1660
         77R5964 JMG-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the fine or penalty for the violation of a rule,
 1-3     ordinance, or police regulation.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 54.001(b), Local Government Code, is
 1-6     amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (b)  A fine or penalty for the violation of a rule,
 1-8     ordinance, or police regulation may not exceed $500.  However, a
 1-9     fine or penalty for the violation of a rule, ordinance, or police
1-10     regulation that governs fire safety, zoning, municipal
1-11     beautification, or public health and sanitation, including dumping
1-12     of refuse, may not exceed $2,000.  In this subsection, "municipal
1-13     beautification" means the aesthetic enhancement of urban land or
1-14     conservation of natural resources and scenic areas.
1-15           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
1-16     applies only to the violation of a rule, ordinance, or police
1-17     regulation committed on or after that date. The violation of a
1-18     rule, ordinance, or police regulation committed before the
1-19     effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
1-20     violation was committed, and the former law is continued in effect
1-21     for that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation was
1-22     committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
1-23     the violation occurred before that date.