79R964 ATP-D
By: Casteel H.B. No. 653
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of the subdivision of land under the
jurisdiction of counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 232.022(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) This subchapter applies only to:
(1) a county any part of which is located within 50
miles of an international border; or
(2) a county that has elected by an order adopted by
the commissioners court to operate under this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 232, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 232.0225 to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0225. MINIMUM STATE STANDARDS. (a) To the extent
this subchapter refers to minimum state standards or refers to the
application of a provision of Chapter 16, Water Code, the
references apply to all counties regardless of any limitation
established by Chapter 16, Water Code, including the limitation
established by Section 16.343(f), Water Code.
(b) This section and the other provisions of this subchapter
do not authorize a county to participate in any financial
assistance program or any other program authorized by Chapter 15,
16, or 17, Water Code, unless the county qualifies under the Water
Code.
SECTION 3. Section 232.025, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.025. SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENTS. By an order
adopted and entered in the minutes of the commissioners court, and
after a notice is published in English and Spanish in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county, the commissioners court shall
for each subdivision:
(1) require a right-of-way on a street or road that
functions as a main artery in a subdivision, of a width of not less
than 50 feet or more than 100 feet;
(2) require a right-of-way on any other street or road
in a subdivision of not less than 40 feet or more than 70 feet;
(3) require that the shoulder-to-shoulder width on
collectors or main arteries within the right-of-way be not less
than 32 feet or more than 56 feet, and that the shoulder-to-shoulder
width on any other street or road be not less than 25 feet or more
than 35 feet;
(4) adopt, based on the amount and kind of travel over
each street or road in a subdivision, reasonable specifications
relating to the construction of each street or road;
(5) adopt reasonable specifications to provide
adequate drainage for each street or road in a subdivision in
accordance with standard engineering practices;
(6) require that each purchase contract made between a
subdivider and a purchaser of land in the subdivision contain a
statement describing how and when water, sewer, electricity, and
gas services will be made available to the subdivision; [and]
(7) require that the subdivider of the tract execute a
bond in the manner provided by Section 232.027;
(8) adopt reasonable specifications that provide for
drainage in the subdivision to:
(A) efficiently manage the flow of stormwater
runoff in the subdivision; and
(B) coordinate subdivision drainage with the
general storm drainage pattern for the area; and
(9) require lot and block monumentation to be set by a
registered professional surveyor before recordation of the plat.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 232, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Sections 232.0255 and 232.0256 to read as
follows:
Sec. 232.0255. STANDARD FOR ROADS IN SUBDIVISION. A county
may not impose under Section 232.025 a higher standard for streets
or roads in a subdivision than the county imposes on itself for the
construction of streets or roads with a similar type and amount of
traffic.
Sec. 232.0256. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: USE OF
GROUNDWATER. (a) If a person submits a plat for the subdivision of
a tract of land for which the source of the water supply intended
for the subdivision is groundwater under that land, the
commissioners court of a county by order may require the plat
application to have attached to it a statement that:
(1) is prepared by an engineer licensed to practice in
this state or a geoscientist licensed to practice in this state; and
(2) certifies that adequate groundwater is available
for the subdivision.
(b) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality by rule
shall establish the appropriate form and content of a certification
to be attached to a plat application under this section.
SECTION 5. Section 232.038, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.038. SUIT BY PRIVATE PERSON [IN ECONOMICALLY
DISTRESSED AREA]. (a) This section applies only to:
(1) a [A] person who has purchased or is purchasing
from a subdivider a lot after July 1, 1995, in a subdivision for
residential purposes that does not have water and sewer services as
required by this subchapter and is located in an economically
distressed area, as defined by Section 17.921, Water Code, from a
subdivider; or
(2) a person who has purchased or is purchasing from a
subdivider a lot after September 1, 2005, in a subdivision for
residential purposes that does not have water and sewer services as
required by this subchapter.
(b) A person described by Subsection (a)[,] may bring suit
in the district court in which the property is located or in a
district court in Travis County to:
(1) declare the sale of the property void and require
the subdivider to return the purchase price of the property; and
(2) recover from the subdivider:
(A) the market value of any permanent
improvements the person placed on the property;
(B) actual expenses incurred as a direct result
of the failure to provide adequate water and sewer facilities;
(C) court costs; and
(D) reasonable attorney's fees.
SECTION 6. Section 13.002(26), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(26) "Affected county" is a county any part of which is
located within 50 miles of an international border [to which
Subchapter B, Chapter 232, Local Government Code, applies].
SECTION 7. Section 13.2501, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 13.2501. CONDITIONS REQUIRING REFUSAL OF
SERVICE. The holder of a certificate of public convenience and
necessity shall refuse to serve a customer within its certified
area if the holder of the certificate is prohibited from providing
the service under Section 212.012 or 232.029 [232.0047], Local
Government Code.
SECTION 8. Section 26.001(26), Water Code, as added by
Section 24, Chapter 979, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1995, is amended to read as follows:
(26) "Affected county" is a county any part of which is
located within 50 miles of an international border [to which
Subchapter B, Chapter 232, Local Government Code, applies].
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
232, Local Government Code, and other statutes apply only to a tract
of land subdivided on or after September 1, 2005. A tract of land
subdivided before that date is governed by the law in effect
immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.