78R3795 MI-F
By: Duncan S.B. No. 550
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.