78R1470 ATP-D
By: Bailey H.B. No. 223
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain counties to enact noise
regulations; providing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 240, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. REGULATION OF NOISE AND SOUND LEVELS
Sec. 240.041. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
applies only to a county with a population of more than 3.3 million.
Sec. 240.042. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Nonresidential property" means any real property
that is not residential property.
(2) "Residential property" means any real property
developed and used primarily for human habitation that has
facilities for sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.
Sec. 240.043. METHOD OF SOUND MEASUREMENT. Sound measured
under this subchapter shall be measured:
(1) in decibels read from a calibrated sound level
meter; and
(2) at or near the closest property line where the
sound is being received.
Sec. 240.044. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE. (a) The commissioners
court of a county by order may regulate as permitted by this
subchapter sound levels to promote the public health, safety, or
welfare.
(b) A regulation adopted under this subchapter applies only
to the unincorporated area of the county.
Sec. 240.045. PERMISSIBLE REGULATIONS. (a) The regulations
may prohibit:
(1) sound levels that exceed:
(A) on residential property:
(i) 65 decibels at 7 a.m. or after and
before 10 p.m.; and
(ii) 58 decibels at 10 p.m. or after and
before 7 a.m.; or
(B) 68 decibels on nonresidential property;
(2) the use of a motor vehicle that creates an
unreasonably loud sound;
(3) the production of sound from amplification
equipment that:
(A) is objectionable to a reasonable person;
(B) exceeds the volume necessary for convenient
hearing by a person located in the vehicle in which or on the
property on which the sound amplifier is operated; or
(C) is plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet
from:
(i) the vehicle in which the sound
amplifier is operated; or
(ii) the property line of the property on
which the sound amplifier is operated;
(4) the production of sound that causes a person
located on property other than the property on which the sound is
produced to be aware of sympathetic vibrations or resonance caused
by the sound; or
(5) the keeping of any animal that causes or makes a
frequent or a long and continued sound that is objectionable to a
reasonable person.
(b) The regulations may prohibit any act not described by
Subsection (a) that produces a sound that a reasonable person would
find objectionable.
(c) In determining whether a sound is objectionable to a
reasonable person, the following factors may be considered:
(1) the time of day the sound is produced;
(2) the proximity of the production of the sound to
residential property;
(3) whether the sound is recurrent, intermittent, or
constant;
(4) the volume and intensity of the sound;
(5) whether the sound has been enhanced in volume or
range by electronic or mechanical means; and
(6) whether the sound may be controlled without
unreasonable effort or expense to the producer of the sound.
Sec. 240.046. EXEMPTIONS. A sound is exempt from
regulation under this subchapter if it is a sound produced:
(1) for the purpose of alerting persons to the
existence of an emergency, danger, or attempted crime;
(2) by an emergency vehicle;
(3) by emergency work necessary to restore public
utilities, to restore property to a safe condition, or to protect
persons or property from imminent danger;
(4) by a lawfully:
(A) scheduled stadium or amphitheater event; or
(B) permitted parade;
(5) by a reenactment of a historical battle for which
any required permit was obtained and any explosives used were
inspected by the county fire marshal;
(6) by fireworks or pyrotechnics;
(7) by an outdoor event, race, festival, or concert
that was sponsored, cosponsored, or permitted by the county;
(8) by any other lawful activity that constitutes
protected expression under the First Amendment of the United States
Constitution;
(9) by the construction, excavation, demolition,
alteration, or repair of a building or other structure or the
operation of tools or equipment to construct, excavate, demolish,
alter, or repair a building or other structure, conducted after 7
a.m. and before 8 p.m. that does not exceed 75 decibels;
(10) by aircraft in operation at an airport or in
flight, or railroad equipment in operation on railroad
rights-of-way;
(11) by operating a mechanically powered saw, drill,
sander, router, grinder, lawn or garden tool, lawnmower, or any
other similar device after 7 a.m. and before 8 p.m. that does not
exceed 85 decibels;
(12) as authorized under a permit issued under Section
240.047;
(13) by the operation of any air-conditioning unit
that does not exceed 65 decibels on residential property or 75
decibels on nonresidential property;
(14) by bells or chimes as part of a religious
observance or service after 7 a.m. and before 10 p.m. that does not
exceed five continuous minutes in duration in any one-hour period;
(15) by the discharge of a firearm at a public or
private shooting range; or
(16) by the operations of an electric utility or a
power generation company as defined by Section 31.002, Utilities
Code, or a gas utility as defined by Section 101.003 or 121.001,
Utilities Code.
Sec. 240.047. PERMIT AND FEES. (a) The commissioners court
of a county by order may require a permit for the use of a
loudspeaker, loudspeaker system, sound amplifier, or any other
machine or device that produces sound outside of buildings or other
enclosed structures that exceeds the levels specified by Section
240.045(a)(1).
(b) An application for the permit must be made in accordance
with regulations adopted by the county.
(c) The regulations adopted under this section may provide
for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit by the county.
(d) A district court has jurisdiction of a suit that arises
from the denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit by the
county.
(e) A county may impose fees on an applicant for a permit
under this section. The fees must be based on the administrative
costs of issuing the permit. A county that imposes a permit fee
shall establish procedures to reduce the fee amount if the
applicant is unable to pay the full permit fee.
Sec. 240.048. INJUNCTION. A county may sue in the district
court for an injunction to prohibit the violation or threatened
violation of a regulation adopted under this subchapter.
Sec. 240.049. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person commits an
offense if the person violates a regulation adopted under this
subchapter.
(b) Each hour that a violation of a regulation adopted under
this subchapter continues constitutes a separate offense.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.