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79R14803 JTS-D


By:  Eissler                                                      H.B. No. 39 

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 39:                                     

By:  Kuempel                                                  C.S.H.B. No. 39 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to outdoor burning of household refuse in certain 
counties; creating an offense.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 382.018, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 382.018.  OUTDOOR BURNING OF WASTE AND COMBUSTIBLE 
MATERIAL.  Subject to Section 352.082, Local Government Code, the
[The] commission by rule may control and prohibit the outdoor 
burning of waste and combustible material and may include 
requirements concerning the particular method to be used to control 
or abate the emission of air contaminants resulting from that 
burning.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 352, Local Government 
Code, is amended by adding Section 352.082 to read as follows:
	Sec. 352.082.  OUTDOOR BURNING OF HOUSEHOLD REFUSE IN 
CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.  (a)  This section applies only to the 
unincorporated area of a county:
		(1)  that is adjacent to a county with a population of 
3.3 million or more; and
		(2)  in which a planned community is located that has 
20,000 or more acres of land, that was originally established under 
the Urban Growth and New Community Development Act of 1970 (42 
U.S.C. Section 4501 et seq.), and that is subject to restrictive 
covenants containing ad valorem or annual variable budget based 
assessments on real property.
	(b)  In this section, "neighborhood" and "refuse" have the 
meanings assigned by Section 343.002, Health and Safety Code.
	(c)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally 
or knowingly burns household refuse outdoors on a lot that is:
		(1)  located in a neighborhood; or                                     
		(2)  smaller than five acres.                                          
	(d)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. 
On conviction of an offense under this section, the court shall 
require the defendant, in addition to any fine, to perform 
community service as provided by Section 16(e), Article 42.12, Code 
of Criminal Procedure.
	SECTION 3.  Section 16, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e)  A defendant required to perform community service under 
this section after conviction of an offense under Section 352.082, 
Local Government Code, shall perform 60 hours of service.  The 
community service must consist of picking up litter in the county in 
which the defendant resides or working at a recycling facility if a 
program for performing that type of service is available in the 
community in which the court is located.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.