1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the abatement of public nuisances in counties. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Section 343.011(c), Health and Safety Code, is 1-5 amended to read as follows: 1-6 (c) A public nuisance is: 1-7 (1) keeping, storing, or accumulating refuse on 1-8 premises in a neighborhood unless the refuse is entirely contained 1-9 in a closed receptacle; 1-10 (2) keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish, 1-11 including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, 1-12 furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood or within 1-13 300 feet of a public street for 10 days or more, unless the rubbish 1-14 or object is completely enclosed in a building or is not visible 1-15 from a public street; 1-16 (3) maintaining premises in a manner that creates an 1-17 unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, 1-18 rodents, vermin, or disease-carrying pests; 1-19 (4) allowing weeds to grow on premises in a 1-20 neighborhood if the weeds are located within 300 feet of another 1-21 residence or commercial establishment; 1-22 (5) maintaining a building in a manner that is 1-23 structurally unsafe or constitutes a hazard to safety, health, or 1-24 public welfare because of inadequate maintenance, unsanitary 2-1 conditions, dilapidation, obsolescence, disaster, damage, or 2-2 abandonment or because it constitutes a fire hazard; 2-3 (6) maintaining on abandoned and unoccupied property 2-4 in a neighborhood a swimming pool that is not protected with: 2-5 (A) a fence that is at least four feet high and 2-6 that has a latched gate that cannot be opened by a child; or 2-7 (B) a cover over the entire swimming pool that 2-8 cannot be removed by a child; 2-9 (7) maintaining a flea market in a manner that 2-10 constitutes a fire hazard; 2-11 (8) discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual 2-12 obstruction on: 2-13 (A) county-owned land; or 2-14 (B) land or easements owned or held by a special 2-15 district that has the commissioners court of the county as its 2-16 governing body; or 2-17 (9) discarding refuse on the smaller of: 2-18 (A) the area that spans 20 feet on each side of 2-19 a utility line; or 2-20 (B) the actual span of the utility easement. 2-21 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001. _______________________________ _______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.B. No. 2092 was passed by the House on April 27, 2001, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.B. No. 2092 was passed by the Senate on May 17, 2001, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0, 1 present, not voting. _______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________________ Date __________________________ Governor