H.B. No. 1204
AN ACT
relating to the authority of municipalities and counties to
regulate subdivisions and certain development in a municipality's
extraterritorial jurisdiction and in the unincorporated area of a
county.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading of Section 242.001, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 242.001. REGULATION OF SUBDIVISIONS IN
EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION GENERALLY.
SECTION 2. (a) Section 242.001(a), Local Government Code,
as amended by Chapters 736 and 1028, Acts of the 77th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2001, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to a county operating under
Sections 232.001-232.005 or Subchapter B, C, or E, Chapter 232, and
a municipality that has extraterritorial jurisdiction in that
county. Subsections (b)-(g) [(b)-(e)] do not apply:
(1) within a county that contains extraterritorial
jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of 1.9 million or
more; or
(2) within a county within 50 miles of an
international border, or to which Subchapter C, Chapter 232,
applies.
(b) This section takes effect only if House Bill No. 1197,
Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, does not
become law. If that bill becomes law, this section has no effect.
SECTION 3. (a) Section 242.001(a), Local Government Code,
as amended by Chapters 736 and 1028, Acts of the 77th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2001, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to a county operating under
Sections 232.001-232.005 or Subchapter B, C, or E, Chapter 232, and
a municipality that has extraterritorial jurisdiction in that
county. Subsections (b)-(g) [(b)-(e)] do not apply:
(1) within a county that contains extraterritorial
jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of 1.9 million or
more; [or]
(2) within a county within 50 miles of an
international border, or to which Subchapter C, Chapter 232,
applies; or
(3) to a tract of land subject to a development
agreement under Subchapter G, Chapter 212, or other provisions of
this code.
(b) This section takes effect only if House Bill No. 1197,
Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, becomes law.
If that bill does not become law, this section has no effect.
SECTION 4. Section 242.001, Local Government Code, is
amended by reenacting and amending Subsection (c), as amended by
Chapters 736 and 1028, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001, and by amending Subsections (d), (f), and (g) and
adding Subsections (h) and (i) to read as follows:
(c) Except as provided by Subsections (d)(3) and (4), a
municipality and a county may not both regulate subdivisions and
approve related permits in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality after an agreement under Subsection (d) is executed.
The municipality and the county shall enter into a written
agreement that identifies the governmental entity authorized to
regulate subdivision plats and approve related permits in the
extraterritorial jurisdiction. For a municipality in existence on
September 1, 2001, the municipality and county shall enter into a
written agreement under this subsection on or before April 1, 2002.
For a municipality incorporated after September 1, 2001, the
municipality and county shall enter into a written agreement under
this subsection not later than the 120th day after the date the
municipality incorporates. On reaching an agreement, the
municipality and county shall certify that the agreement complies
with the requirements of this chapter. The municipality and the
county shall adopt the agreement by order, ordinance, or
resolution. The agreement must be amended by the municipality and
the county if necessary to take into account an expansion or
reduction in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the
municipality. The municipality shall notify the county of any
expansion or reduction in the municipality's extraterritorial
jurisdiction. Any expansion or reduction in the municipality's
extraterritorial jurisdiction that affects property that is
subject to a preliminary or final plat, a plat application, or an
application for a related permit filed with the municipality or the
county or that was previously approved under Section 212.009 or
Chapter 232 does not affect any rights accrued under Chapter 245.
The approval of the plat, [or] any permit, a plat application, or an
application for a related permit remains effective as provided by
Chapter 245 regardless of the change in designation as
extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality.
(d) An agreement under Subsection (c) may grant the
authority to regulate subdivision plats and approve related permits
in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality as follows:
(1) the municipality may be granted exclusive
jurisdiction to regulate subdivision plats and approve related
permits in the extraterritorial jurisdiction and may regulate
subdivisions under Subchapter A of Chapter 212 and other statutes
applicable to municipalities;
(2) the county may be granted exclusive jurisdiction
to regulate subdivision plats and approve related permits in the
extraterritorial jurisdiction and may regulate subdivisions under
Sections 232.001-232.005, Subchapter B or C, Chapter 232, and other
statutes applicable to counties;
(3) the municipality and the county may apportion the
area within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality
with the municipality regulating subdivision plats and approving
related permits in the area assigned to the municipality and the
county regulating subdivision plats and approving related permits
in the area assigned to the county; or
(4) the municipality and the county may enter into an
interlocal agreement that:
(A) establishes one office that is authorized to:
(i) accept plat applications for tracts of
land located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction;
(ii) collect municipal and county plat
application fees in a lump-sum amount; and
(iii) provide applicants one response
indicating approval or denial of the plat application; and
(B) establishes a single set of consolidated and
consistent [set of] regulations related to plats, subdivision
construction plans, and subdivisions of land as authorized by
Chapter 212, Sections 232.001-232.005, Subchapters B and C, Chapter
232, and other statutes applicable to municipalities and counties
that will be enforced in the extraterritorial jurisdiction.
(f) If a certified agreement between a county and
municipality as required by Subsection (c) is not in effect on or
before the applicable date prescribed by Section 242.0015(a), the
municipality and the county must enter into arbitration as provided
by Section 242.0015. If the arbitrator or arbitration panel, as
applicable, has not reached a decision in the 60-day period as
provided by Section 242.0015, the arbitrator or arbitration panel,
as applicable, shall issue an interim decision regarding the
regulation of plats and subdivisions and approval of related
permits in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality.
The interim decision shall provide for a single set of regulations
and authorize a single entity to regulate plats and subdivisions.
The interim decision remains in effect only until the arbitrator or
arbitration panel reaches a final decision. [This subsection
applies until an agreement is reached under Subsection (d). For an
area in a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, as defined
by Section 212.001, a plat may not be filed with the county clerk
without the approval of both the municipality and the county. If a
municipal regulation and a county regulation relating to plats and
subdivisions of land conflict, the more stringent regulation
prevails. However, if one governmental entity requires a plat to be
filed for the subdivision of a particular tract of land in the
extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality and the other
governmental entity does not require the filing of a plat for that
subdivision, the authority responsible for approving plats for the
governmental entity that does not require the filing shall issue on
request of the subdivider a written certification stating that a
plat is not required to be filed for that subdivision of the land.
The certification must be attached to a plat required to be filed
under this subsection.]
(g) If a regulation or agreement adopted under this section
relating to plats and subdivisions of land or subdivision
development establishes a plan for future roads that conflicts with
a proposal or plan for future roads adopted by a metropolitan
planning organization, the proposal or plan of the metropolitan
planning organization prevails [Subsection (f) applies to a county
and area to which Subsections (b)-(e) do not apply].
(h) This subsection applies only to a county to which
Subsections (b)-(g) do not apply, except that this subsection does
not apply to a county subject to Section 242.002. For an area in a
municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, as defined by
Section 212.001, a plat may not be filed with the county clerk
without the approval of both the municipality and the county. If a
municipal regulation and a county regulation relating to plats and
subdivisions of land conflict, the more stringent regulation
prevails. However, if one governmental entity requires a plat to be
filed for the subdivision of a particular tract of land in the
extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality and the other
governmental entity does not require the filing of a plat for that
subdivision, the authority responsible for approving plats for the
governmental entity that does not require the filing shall issue on
request of the subdivider a written certification stating that a
plat is not required to be filed for that subdivision of the land.
The certification must be attached to a plat required to be filed
under this subsection.
(i) Property subject to pending approval of a preliminary or
final plat application filed after September 1, 2002, that is
released from the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality
shall be subject only to county approval of the plat application and
related permits and county regulation of that plat. This subsection
does not apply to the simultaneous exchange of extraterritorial
jurisdiction between two or more municipalities or an exchange of
extraterritorial jurisdiction that is contingent on the subsequent
approval by the releasing municipality.
SECTION 5. Chapter 242, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 242.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 242.0015. ARBITRATION REGARDING SUBDIVISION
REGULATION AGREEMENT. (a) This section applies only to a county
and a municipality that are required to make an agreement as
described under Section 242.001(f). If a certified agreement
between a county and a municipality with an extraterritorial
jurisdiction that extends 3.5 miles or more from the corporate
boundaries of the municipality is not in effect on or before January
1, 2004, the parties must arbitrate the disputed issues. If a
certified agreement between a county and a municipality with an
extraterritorial jurisdiction that extends less than 3.5 miles from
the corporate boundaries of the municipality is not in effect on or
before January 1, 2006, the parties must arbitrate the disputed
issues. A party may not refuse to participate in arbitration
requested under this section. An arbitration decision under this
section is binding on the parties.
(b) The county and the municipality must agree on an
individual to serve as arbitrator. If the county and the
municipality cannot agree on an individual to serve as arbitrator,
the county and the municipality shall each select an arbitrator and
the arbitrators selected shall select a third arbitrator.
(c) The third arbitrator selected under Subsection (b)
presides over the arbitration panel.
(d) Not later than the 30th day after the date the county and
the municipality are required to have an agreement in effect under
Section 242.001(f), the arbitrator or arbitration panel, as
applicable, must be selected.
(e) The authority of the arbitrator or arbitration panel is
limited to issuing a decision relating only to the disputed issues
between the county and the municipality regarding the authority of
the county or municipality to regulate plats, subdivisions, or
development plans.
(f) Each party is equally liable for the costs of an
arbitration conducted under this section.
(g) The arbitrator or arbitration panel, as applicable,
shall render a decision under this section not later than the 60th
day after the date the arbitrator or arbitration panel is selected.
If after a good faith effort the arbitrator or panel has not reached
a decision as provided under this subsection, the arbitrator or
panel shall continue to arbitrate the matter until the arbitrator
or panel reaches a decision.
(h) A municipality and a county may not arbitrate the
subdivision of an individual plat under this section.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 212, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 212.0025 to read as follows:
Sec. 212.0025. CHAPTER-WIDE PROVISION RELATING TO
REGULATION OF PLATS AND SUBDIVISIONS IN EXTRATERRITORIAL
JURISDICTION. The authority of a municipality under this chapter
relating to the regulation of plats or subdivisions in the
municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction is subject to any
applicable limitation prescribed by an agreement under Section
242.001.
SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 232, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 232.0013 to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0013. CHAPTER-WIDE PROVISION RELATING TO
REGULATION OF PLATS AND SUBDIVISIONS IN EXTRATERRITORIAL
JURISDICTION. The authority of a county under this chapter
relating to the regulation of plats or subdivisions in the
extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality is subject to any
applicable limitation prescribed by an agreement under Section
242.001 or by Section 242.002.
SECTION 8. Section 232.0015(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Section 232.0013, this [This]
subchapter does not apply to a subdivision of land to which
Subchapter B applies.
SECTION 9. Section 232.009(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A person who owns real property in a tract that has been
[has] subdivided and [land] that is subject to the subdivision
controls of the county in which the property [land] is located may
apply in writing to the commissioners court of the county for
permission to revise the subdivision plat that applies to the
property and that is filed for record with the county clerk.
SECTION 10. Subchapter A, Chapter 232, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 232.0095 to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0095. ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES FOR PLAT REVISION.
(a) This section applies only to real property located outside
municipalities and outside the extraterritorial jurisdiction, as
determined under Chapter 42, of municipalities with a population of
1.5 million or more.
(b) As an alternative to the provisions in Section 232.009
governing the revision of plats, a county by order may adopt the
provisions in Sections 212.013, 212.014, 212.015, and 212.016
governing plat vacations, replatting, and plat amendment within a
municipality's jurisdiction. A county that adopts the provisions
in those sections may approve a plat vacation, a replat, and an
amending plat in the same manner and under the same conditions,
including the notice and hearing requirements, as a municipal
authority responsible for approving plats under those sections.
SECTION 11. Section 232.100, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.100. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to the subdivision of the land that is:
(1) subject to county regulations under Subchapter A
or B; and
(2) in a county that:
(A) has a population of 150,000 or more and is
adjacent to an international border;
(B) has a population of 700,000 or more; [or]
(C) is adjacent to a county with a population of
700,000 or more and is within the same metropolitan statistical
area as that adjacent county, as designated by the United States
Office of Management and Budget; or
(D) is adjacent to a county with a population of
700,000 or more, is not within the same metropolitan statistical
area as that adjacent county, and has a population that has
increased after the 1990 decennial census, from one decennial
census to the next, by more than 40 percent.
SECTION 12. If any provision of this Act or its application
to any county, municipality, or circumstance is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this
Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are declared
to be severable.
SECTION 13. Except as provided by Section 242.001(i), Local
Government Code, as added by this Act, the changes in law made by
this Act to Chapters 212, 232, and 242, Local Government Code, apply
only to a development agreement or subdivision plat that is filed on
or after the effective date of this Act, and to the subdivision
covered by the plat. A development agreement or subdivision plat
that is filed before the effective date of this Act, and the
subdivision covered by the plat, are governed by the law in effect
immediately preceding that date, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 14. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1204 was passed by the House on April
24, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 4, 2 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 1204 on May 30, 2003, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 1204 on June 1, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 147,
Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1204 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 28, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays
2; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
1204 on June 1, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor