78R3795 MI-F

By:  Puente                                                       H.B. No. 1151



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the protection by a municipality of a lake that is a 
source of water supply.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 54.012, Local Government Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 54.012.  CIVIL ACTION.  A municipality may bring a civil 
action for the enforcement of an ordinance:
		(1)  for the preservation of public safety, relating to 
the materials or methods used to construct a building or other 
structure or improvement, including the foundation, structural 
elements, electrical wiring or apparatus, plumbing and fixtures, 
entrances, or exits;
		(2)  relating to the preservation of public health or 
to the fire safety of a building or other structure or improvement, 
including provisions relating to materials, types of construction 
or design, interior configuration, illumination, warning devices, 
sprinklers or other fire suppression devices, availability of water 
supply for extinguishing fires, or location, design, or width of 
entrances or exits;
		(3)  for zoning that provides for the use of land or 
classifies a parcel of land according to the municipality's 
district classification scheme;
		(4)  establishing criteria for land subdivision or 
construction of buildings, including provisions relating to street 
width and design, lot size, building width or elevation, setback 
requirements, or utility service specifications or requirements;
		(5)  implementing civil penalties under this 
subchapter for conduct classified by statute as a Class C 
misdemeanor;
		(6)  relating to dangerously damaged or deteriorated 
structures or improvements;
		(7)  relating to conditions caused by accumulations of 
refuse, vegetation, or other matter that creates breeding and 
living places for insects and rodents;
		(8)  relating to the interior configuration, design, 
illumination, or visibility of business premises exhibiting for 
viewing by customers while on the premises live or mechanically or 
electronically displayed entertainment intended to provide sexual 
stimulation or sexual gratification; [or]
		(9)  relating to point source effluent limitations or 
the discharge of a pollutant, other than from a non-point source, 
into a sewer system, including a sanitary or storm water sewer 
system, owned or controlled by the municipality; or
		(10)  relating to the regulation of municipal easements 
in the area contiguous to a lake owned by the municipality that is a 
source of water supply and to the authority to assess reasonable 
fees for recreational use of that lake.
	SECTION 2.  Section 54.017(b), Local Government Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(b)  A civil penalty under this section may not exceed $1,000 
a day for a violation of an ordinance, except that a civil penalty 
under this section may not exceed $5,000 a day for a violation of an 
ordinance:
	(1)  relating to point source effluent limitations or the 
discharge of a pollutant, other than from a non-point source, into a 
sewer system, including a sanitary or storm water sewer system, 
owned or controlled by the municipality; or
	(2)  regulating septic systems.                                         
	SECTION 3.  Section 401.002, Local Government Code, is 
amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to 
read as follows:
	(c)  The authority granted by this section may be exercised 
inside the municipality's boundaries or inside the municipality's 
extraterritorial jurisdiction or outside the municipality's 
extraterritorial jurisdiction only if required to meet other state 
or federal requirements or if the source of water supply is a lake 
owned by the municipality.
	(d)  The authority granted by this section for the protection 
of recharge, recharge areas, or recharge features of groundwater 
aquifers may be exercised outside the municipality's boundaries and 
within the extraterritorial jurisdiction provided the municipality 
exercising such authority has a population greater than 750,000 and 
the groundwater constitutes more than 75 percent of the 
municipality's source of water supply.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                      
	(b)  The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 54.012 
and 54.017, Local Government Code, as amended by this Act, apply 
only to a violation of a municipal ordinance that occurs on or after 
the effective date of this Act.  A violation that occurs before that 
date is governed by the law as it existed on the date the violation 
occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that 
purpose.