By:  Leibowitz                                                    H.B. No. 1287



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to county abatement of a public nuisance.                            
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 343.013, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
	(c)  A county may bring suit under this section to prohibit 
or control access to the premises to prevent a continued or future 
violation of Section 343.011(c)(1), (8), or (9).  The court may 
grant relief under this subsection only if the county demonstrates 
that:
		(1)  the person responsible for causing the public 
nuisance has not responded sufficiently to previous attempts to 
abate a nuisance on the premises, if the relief sought prohibits or 
controls access of a person other than the owner; or
		(2)  the owner of the premises knew about the nuisance 
and has not responded sufficiently to previous attempts to abate a 
nuisance on the premises, if the relief sought controls access of 
the owner.
	(d)  In granting relief under Subsection (c), the court:                
		(1)  may not, in a suit brought under Section 
343.011(c)(9), prohibit or control access by the owner or operator 
of a utility line or utility easement to that utility line or 
utility easement; and
		(2)  may not prohibit the owner of the premises from 
accessing the property but may prohibit a continued or future 
violation.
	SECTION 2.  Section 343.021, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 343.021.  AUTHORITY TO ABATE NUISANCE.  A county may 
abate a nuisance under this chapter by demolition or removal or, in 
the case of a nuisance under Section 343.011(c)(1), (8), or (9), by 
prohibition or control of access to the premises, if the county 
adopts abatement procedures that are consistent with the general 
purpose of this chapter and that conform to this chapter.
	SECTION 3.  Sections 343.022(a) and (c), Health and Safety 
Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The abatement procedures adopted by the commissioners 
court must be administered by a regularly salaried, full-time 
county employee, but the prohibition or control of access to the 
premises to prevent a violation of Section 343.011(c)(1), (8), or 
(9), or the removal or demolition of the nuisance, may be made by a 
person authorized by the person administering the abatement 
program.
	(c)  The notice must state:                                                    
		(1)  the specific condition that constitutes a 
nuisance;                    
		(2)  that the person receiving notice shall abate the 
nuisance before the:
			(A)  31st day after the date on which the notice is 
served, if the person has not previously received a notice 
regarding a nuisance on the premises; or
			(B)  10th business day after the date on which the 
notice is served, if the person has previously received a notice 
regarding a nuisance on the premises;
		(3)  that failure to abate the nuisance may result in:                        
			(A)  abatement by the county;                                                
			(B)  assessment of costs to the person responsible 
for causing the nuisance when that person can be identified; and
			(C)  a lien against the property on which the 
nuisance exists, if the person responsible for causing the nuisance 
has an interest in the property;
		(4)  that the county may prohibit or control access to 
the premises to prevent a continued or future nuisance described by 
Section 343.011(c)(1), (8), or (9); and
		(5) [(4)]  that the person receiving notice is entitled 
to submit[, before the 31st day after the date on which the notice 
is served,] a written request for a hearing before the:
			(A)  31st day after the date on which the notice is 
served, if the person has not previously received a notice 
regarding a nuisance on the premises; or
			(B)  10th business day after the date on which the 
notice is served, if the person has previously received a notice 
regarding a nuisance on the premises.
	SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 343, Health and Safety 
Code, is amended by adding Section 343.0235 to read as follows:
	Sec. 343.0235.  USE OF COUNTY FUNDS.  A county is entitled to 
use any money available under other law for a cleanup or remediation 
of private property to abate a nuisance described by Section 
343.011(c)(1), (8), or (9).
	SECTION 5.  Section 343.022(c), Health and Safety Code, as 
amended by this Act, applies only to notice given on or after the 
effective date of this Act.  Notice given before the effective date 
of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before 
the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in 
effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.