79R14736 ATP-D


By:  Brown of Kaufman, Bailey                                     H.B. No. 1628

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1628:                                   

By:  Allen of Dallas                                          C.S.H.B. No. 1628



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of certain counties to enact noise 
regulations; providing a criminal penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 240, Local Government Code, is amended 
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER C.  REGULATION OF NOISE AND SOUND LEVELS
	Sec. 240.041.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:                           
		(1)  "Major metropolitan county" means a county in 
which three or more municipalities, each with a population of more 
than 175,000, are predominantly located.
		(2)  "Nonurban county" means a county that has a 
population of less than 100,000 and that had a percentage change in 
its population growth, according to the two most recent federal 
decennial censuses, of less than 50 percent.
	Sec. 240.042.  APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER.  This subchapter 
applies only to:
		(1)  a nonurban county located adjacent to a major 
metropolitan county; or
		(2)  a county with a population of more than 3.3 
million.            
	Sec. 240.043.  AUTHORITY TO REGULATE.  (a)  The 
commissioners court of the county by order may prohibit the 
production of sound from a loudspeaker or sound amplifier:
		(1)  the level of which exceeds 85 decibels at a 
distance of 50 feet from the property line of the property on which 
the loudspeaker or sound amplifier is operated; and
		(2)  that disturbs a person of ordinary sensibilities 
in the immediate vicinity of the loudspeaker or sound amplifier.
	(b)  A regulation adopted under this subchapter applies only 
to the unincorporated area of the county.
	Sec. 240.044.  PERMIT FOR CERTAIN EVENTS; PERMIT FEES.  (a)  
The commissioners court by order may authorize the holding of 
events at which loudspeakers or sound amplifiers that produce 
sounds exceeding the levels specified by Section 240.043 will be 
used, if the person holding an event obtains a permit from the 
county for the event.
	(b)  A person must apply for the permit in accordance with 
regulations adopted by the county.
	(c)  The regulations adopted under this section may provide 
for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit by the county.
	(d)  A district court has jurisdiction of a suit that arises 
from the denial, suspension, or revocation of a permit by the 
county.
	(e)  A county may impose fees on an applicant for a permit 
under this section.  The fees must be based on the administrative 
costs of issuing the permit.  A county that imposes a permit fee 
shall establish procedures to reduce the fee amount if the 
applicant is unable to pay the full permit fee.
	Sec. 240.045.  INJUNCTION.  A county may sue in the district 
court for an injunction to prohibit the violation or threatened 
violation of a prohibition or other regulation adopted under this 
subchapter.
	Sec. 240.046.  CRIMINAL PENALTY.  (a)  A person commits an 
offense if the person violates a prohibition or other regulation 
adopted under this subchapter.
	(b)  Each hour that a violation of a prohibition or other 
regulation adopted under this subchapter continues constitutes a 
separate offense.
	(c)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.            
	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, 2005.