78R8002 SRC-D

By:  Wentworth                                                    S.B. No. 860



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.