78R8002 SRC-D
By: Chisum H.B. No. 1687
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to county maintenance of drainage ditches along public
roads in certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 254.008, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 254.008. REGULATION OF PRIVATE DITCHES IN COUNTIES OF
100,000 OR LESS. (a) This section applies only in [In] a county
with a population of 100,000 or less.
(b) The [, the] commissioners court by order may:
(1) remove the blockage of a ditch on real property
that is not owned by the county, if the ditch connects with a
drainage ditch constructed or maintained by the county; or
(2) provide for the removal or clearance of a blockage
from a ditch that is in violation of an order adopted under this
section.
(c) On the request of the record owner of the property, the
commissioners court shall remove or provide for the removal or
clearance of a blockage of a ditch on real property not owned by the
county if:
(1) the property is in a platted residential
subdivision;
(2) the ditch connects with a drainage ditch
constructed or maintained by the county; and
(3) the primary source of water carried by the ditch is
runoff from roads and ditches maintained by the county.
(d) [(b)] Before a commissioners court acts to remove or
clear a blockage under Subsection (b) [this section], the court
shall send a notice by certified mail to the record owners of the
property on which the blockage is located in violation of an order
adopted under this section. The notice must inform the owners of
the order and of the other relevant provisions of this section. The
court may not remove or clear the blockage before the 20th day after
the date the notice is sent.
(e) When acting to remove or clear a blockage under
Subsection (c), the county shall ensure that the entire length of
the ditch on the property is clear to carry off to a natural
waterway all water that may collect in the ditch. The county shall
complete the removal before the 45th day after the date of receipt
of the request. If the county fails to remove the blockage within
that time, the county is liable to the property owner and to
adjoining property owners for the cost of removal of the blockage
and for property damage, personal injury, or death proximately
caused by the blockage.
(f) [(c)] The commissioners court shall pay the costs
incurred in clearing or removing a blockage under this section.
(g) [(d)] In this section:
(1) "Blockage" means an accumulation of refuse,
vegetation, silt, or other matter in a ditch that substantially
decreases or stops the flow of water through the ditch.
(2) "Ditch" includes a culvert.
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.