78(R) HB 1859 - Senate Committee Report version


                                                                                


By:  Bohac, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire)                    H.B. No. 1859
	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2003; 
May 13, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on Health 
and Human Services; May 23, 2003, reported favorably by the 
following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 23, 2003, sent to printer.)


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT


relating to the construction or operation of chemical dependency 
treatment facilities near certain residential and community 
properties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 244, Local Government Code, is amended 
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER C.  CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY TREATMENT FACILITIES
	Sec. 244.051.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:                        
		(1)  "Treatment facility" has the meaning assigned by 
Section 464.001, Health and Safety Code.
		(2)  "Affected property" means property that is located 
in a municipality and that is:
			(A)  residential property;                                            
			(B)  a primary or secondary school;                                   
			(C)  a public park or public recreation area of 
the state or a political subdivision of the state; or
			(D)  a church, synagogue, or other place of 
worship.                
	Sec. 244.052.  APPLICABILITY.  This subchapter does not 
apply to:     
		(1)  an alternative education program under Section 
37.008, Education Code, that is licensed under Chapter 464, Health 
and Safety Code, to provide chemical dependency treatment services; 
or
		(2)  an entity described by Section 464.003 or 464.052, 
Health and Safety Code.
	Sec. 244.053.  NOTICE OF PROPOSED LOCATION.  (a)  A person 
who intends to construct or operate a treatment facility within 
1,000 feet of an affected property shall:
		(1)  notify the governing body of the municipality in 
which the affected property is located; and
		(2)  post the notice required by Subsection (b).                       
	(b)  A person described by Subsection (a) shall prominently 
post an outdoor sign at the proposed location of the treatment 
facility stating that the person is intending to construct or 
operate a chemical dependency treatment facility at the location 
and providing the person's name and business address.  The sign must 
be at least four by six feet in size and must be written in lettering 
at least four inches in height.  The municipality in which the 
affected property is located may require the sign to be both in 
English and in a language other than English if it is likely that a 
substantial number of the residents in the area speak as their 
primary language a language other than English.
	(c)  A person must give the notice required by this section 
not later than the 90th day before the date the person begins 
construction or operation of the treatment facility.
	(d)  If the affected property is located in more than one 
municipality, the notice required by this section must be given to 
each municipality, and the procedures prescribed by this subchapter 
must be followed in relation to each municipality.
	Sec. 244.054.  CONSTRUCTION OR OPERATION OF FACILITY.  After 
complying with the notice requirements of Section 244.053, a person 
may construct or operate a treatment facility within 1,000 feet of 
an affected property only if the governing body of the municipality 
does not issue a resolution under Section 244.055 denying the 
municipality's consent to the construction or operation.
	Sec. 244.055.  LOCAL CONSENT.  (a)  The municipality denies 
consent to the construction or operation of a treatment facility 
within 1,000 feet of an affected property if the governing body 
determines by resolution after a public hearing that the treatment 
facility would be located within 1,000 feet of an affected property 
and that the construction or operation of the facility is not in the 
best interest of the municipality.  The governing body must hold the 
public hearing under this subsection not later than the 90th day 
after the date it receives the notice required by Section 244.053.
	(b)  If the governing body of the municipality does not issue 
the resolution described by Subsection (a) before the 91st day 
after the date it receives the notice required by Section 244.053, 
the municipality is considered to consent to the construction or 
operation of a treatment facility within 1,000 feet of an affected 
property.
	Sec. 244.056.  DISTANCE MEASUREMENT.  For purposes of this 
subchapter, distance is measured along the shortest straight line 
between the nearest property line of the proposed location for a 
treatment facility and the nearest property line of an affected 
property.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                      
	(b)  The change in law made by this Act by the addition of 
Subchapter C, Chapter 244, Local Government Code, applies only to 
the construction or operation of a treatment facility that begins 
on or after December 1, 2003.  Construction or operation of a 
treatment facility that begins before December 1, 2003, is governed 
by the law in effect immediately before September 1, 2003, and that 
law is continued in effect for that purpose.



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