79R4485 ATP-D
By: Hope H.B. No. 3198
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a revision of the procedures for municipal annexation
in certain municipalities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 43.021, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 43.021. AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES
[HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITY] TO ANNEX AREA AND TAKE OTHER ACTIONS
REGARDING BOUNDARIES. A home-rule municipality or any municipality
with a population of 40,000 or less may take the following actions
according to rules as may be provided by the charter of the
municipality, if the municipality has a charter, and state law and
not inconsistent with the procedural rules prescribed by this
chapter:
(1) fix the boundaries of the municipality;
(2) extend the boundaries of the municipality and
annex area adjacent to the municipality; and
(3) exchange area with other municipalities.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 43, Local Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 43.0215 to read as follows:
Sec. 43.0215. VOTER APPROVAL OF ANNEXATION REQUIRED IN
CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies only to a
municipality with a population of 40,000 or less.
(b) The municipality may annex by ordinance an area for full
purposes under this chapter only if:
(1) the municipality holds an election in the
municipality, at which the qualified voters of the municipality may
vote on the question of the annexation, and a majority of the votes
received at the election approve the annexation; and
(2) one of the following conditions is met:
(A) the municipality holds an election in the
area proposed to be annexed, at which the qualified voters of the
area may vote on the question of the annexation, and a majority of
the votes received at the election approve the annexation;
(B) a majority of the registered voters of the
area proposed to be annexed petition the governing body of the
municipality, in writing, to annex the area; or
(C) no qualified voters reside in the area
proposed to be annexed.
(c) On the effective date of an annexation ordinance, the
area becomes a part of the municipality and a resident of the area
is entitled to the rights and privileges of a resident of the
municipality and is bound by the acts and ordinances adopted by the
municipality.
(d) A municipality shall order an election on the question
of annexing an area under this section to be held on the first
uniform election date that falls on or after the 65th day after the
date the second public hearing required by Section 43.0561 is held.
(e) An election under this section shall be held in the same
manner as general elections of the municipality. The municipality
shall pay for the costs of holding the election.
(f) A municipality that holds an election under this section
may not hold another election on the question of annexation before
the corresponding uniform election date of the following year.
(g) This section does not apply to area that the
municipality owns.
(h) This section does not apply to or limit the ability of a
municipality to enter into an agreement with an adjacent
municipality to make mutually agreeable changes in their boundaries
of areas that are less than 1,000 feet in width.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 43.022, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 43.022. VOTER APPROVAL OF ANNEXATION BY CERTAIN
HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITIES [MUNICIPALITY] REQUIRED UNDER CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES.
SECTION 4. Section 43.022(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) If, under its charter, the governing body of a home-rule
municipality with a population of more than 40,000 initiates or
orders an election to submit to the qualified voters of the
municipality the question of annexing an adjacent area, the
governing body shall at the same time order an election to be held
at a convenient location in the municipality to submit the question
to the qualified voters of that area.
SECTION 5. Section 43.028(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to the annexation by a
municipality with a population of more than 40,000 of an area:
(1) that is one-half mile or less in width;
(2) that is contiguous to the annexing municipality;
and
(3) that is vacant and without residents or on which
fewer than three qualified voters reside.
SECTION 6. Section 43.052(h), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(h) This section does not apply to an area proposed for
annexation by a municipality with a population of more than 40,000
if:
(1) the area contains fewer than 100 separate tracts
of land on which one or more residential dwellings are located on
each tract;
(2) the area will be annexed by petition of more than
50 percent of the real property owners in the area proposed for
annexation or by vote or petition of the qualified voters or real
property owners as provided by Subchapter B;
(3) the area is or was the subject of:
(A) an industrial district contract under
Section 42.044; or
(B) a strategic partnership agreement under
Section 43.0751;
(4) the area is located in a colonia, as that term is
defined by Section 2306.581, Government Code;
(5) the area is annexed under Section [Section 43.026,
43.027, 43.029, or] 43.031;
(6) the area is located completely within the
boundaries of a closed military installation; or
(7) the municipality determines that the annexation of
the area is necessary to protect the area proposed for annexation or
the municipality from:
(A) imminent destruction of property or injury to
persons; or
(B) a condition or use that constitutes a public
or private nuisance as defined by background principles of nuisance
and property law of this state.
SECTION 7. Section 43.054(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The prohibition established by Subsection (a) does not
apply if:
(1) the boundaries of the municipality are contiguous
to the area on at least two sides;
(2) the annexation is proposed by a municipality with
a population of more than 40,000 and is initiated on the written
petition of the owners or of a majority of the qualified voters of
the area; or
(3) the area abuts or is contiguous to another
jurisdictional boundary.
SECTION 8. Section 43.0545(c), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to an area:
(1) completely surrounded by incorporated territory
of one or more municipalities;
(2) for which the owners of the area have requested
annexation by a [the] municipality with a population of more than
40,000;
(3) that is owned by the municipality; or
(4) that is the subject of an industrial district
contract under Section 42.044.
SECTION 9. Section 43.055(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) In a calendar year, a municipality may not annex a total
area greater than 10 percent of the incorporated area of the
municipality as of January 1 of that year, plus any amount of area
carried over to that year under Subsection (b). In determining the
total area annexed in a calendar year, an area annexed for limited
purposes is included, but an annexed area is not included if it is:
(1) annexed by a municipality with a population of
more than 40,000 at the request of a majority of the qualified
voters of the area and the owners of at least 50 percent of the land
in the area;
(2) owned by the municipality, a county, the state, or
the federal government and used for a public purpose;
(3) annexed by a municipality with a population of
more than 40,000 at the request of at least a majority of the
qualified voters of the area; or
(4) annexed by a municipality with a population of
more than 40,000 at the request of the owners of the area.
SECTION 10. Section 43.061, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 43.061. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies to an
area proposed for annexation by a municipality with a population of
more than 40,000 that is not required to be included in a municipal
annexation plan under Section 43.052.
SECTION 11. Section 43.0712(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) If a municipality annexes [enacts an ordinance to annex]
a special district and assumes control and operation of utilities
within the district, and the annexation is invalidated by a final
judgment of a court after all appeals have been exhausted, the
municipality is deemed[, by enactment of its annexation ordinance,]
to have acquired title to utilities owned by a developer within the
special district and is obligated to pay the developer all amounts
related to the utilities as provided in Section 43.0715.
SECTION 12. Section 43.072, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
(n) to read as follows:
(b) A home-rule municipality with a population of more than
40,000 having a common boundary with a district subject to this
section may annex the area of the district if:
(1) the annexation is approved by a majority of the
qualified voters who vote on the question at an election held under
this section;
(2) the annexation is completed before the date that
is one year after the date of the election; and
(3) all the area of the district is annexed.
(b-1) A home-rule municipality with a population of 40,000
or less having a common boundary with a district subject to this
section may annex the area of the district if all the area of the
district is annexed.
(n) Subsections (g)-(m) do not apply to a municipality with
a population of 40,000 or less.
SECTION 13. Section 43.102(c), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The area may be annexed without the consent of the
owners or residents of the area if the area is annexed by a
municipality with a population of more than 40,000.
SECTION 14. Section 43.103(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A general-law municipality with a population of 500 or
more may annex[, by ordinance and without the consent of any
person,] the part of a street, highway, alley, or other public or
private way, including a railway line, spur, or roadbed, that is
adjacent and runs parallel to the boundaries of the municipality.
SECTION 15. Section 43.141(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A majority of the qualified voters of an annexed area
may petition the governing body of a [the] municipality with a
population of more than 40,000 to disannex the area if the
municipality fails or refuses to provide services or to cause
services to be provided to the area within the period specified by
Section 43.056 or by the service plan prepared for the area under
that section.
SECTION 16. Subchapter G, Chapter 43, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 43.1415 to read as follows:
Sec. 43.1415. VOTER APPROVAL OF DISANNEXATION REQUIRED IN
CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies only to a
municipality with a population of 40,000 or less.
(b) A municipality may disannex an area if the municipality
holds an election in the municipality at which a majority of the
voters of the:
(1) municipality voting in an election held on the
question of disannexation approve the disannexation; and
(2) area proposed to be disannexed voting in the
election approve the disannexation.
(c) If a majority of the registered voters in an area
petition the governing body of the municipality in writing to
disannex the area, the municipality shall order an election in the
municipality on the question of disannexation of the area. If a
majority of the voters of the municipality voting in the election
approve the disannexation, the municipality shall institute
disannexation proceedings.
(d) The municipality shall hold an election under
Subsection (c) on the first uniform election date following the
date the petition is verified by the secretary or clerk that allows
sufficient time to comply with other requirements of law. The
municipality shall pay for the cost of holding the election.
(e) If an area is disannexed under this section, it may not
be annexed again before the 10th anniversary of the date of the
disannexation.
(f) A petition for disannexation must:
(1) be in writing;
(2) request the disannexation;
(3) describe the area to be disannexed and have a plat
or other likeness of the area attached; and
(4) be presented to the secretary or clerk of the
municipality for verification.
(g) If an area is disannexed from a municipality as provided
by this section and the municipality owes any debts, by bond or
otherwise, at the time of the disannexation, the area is not
released from its pro rata share of that indebtedness. The
governing body shall continue to impose a property tax each year on
the property in the area at the same rate that is imposed on
property in the municipality until the taxes collected from the
area equal its pro rata share of the indebtedness. The taxes imposed
in the area may be charged only with the cost of imposing the taxes,
and shall be applied exclusively to the payment of the pro rata
share of the indebtedness. This subsection does not prevent the
residents of the area from paying in full at any time their pro rata
share of the indebtedness.
(h) An area may not be disannexed from a general-law
municipality if the disannexation would result in the municipality
having:
(1) an area of less than one square mile; or
(2) a diameter of less than one mile, measured from the
center of the original municipal boundaries in any direction.
SECTION 17. Section 43.142, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 43.142. DISANNEXATION ACCORDING TO MUNICIPAL CHARTER
IN CERTAIN HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITIES [MUNICIPALITY]. A home-rule
municipality with a population of more than 40,000 may disannex an
area in the municipality according to rules as may be provided by
the charter of the municipality and not inconsistent with the
procedural rules prescribed by this chapter.
SECTION 18. Section 43.145(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The governing body of a municipality by ordinance may
discontinue an area as a part of the municipality if:
(1) the municipality has a population of [4,000 or]
more than 40,000 and is located in a county with a population of
more than 205,000, and the area is composed of at least three
contiguous acres that are unimproved and adjoining the municipal
boundaries; or
(2) the municipality has a population of 596,000 or
more, and the area is an improved area that is not taxable by the
municipality and is contiguous to the municipal boundary.
SECTION 19. Sections 43.023, 43.024, 43.025, 43.026,
43.027, 43.029, 43.033, 43.034, 43.071(f), 43.101(c), 43.143, and
43.144, Local Government Code, are repealed.
SECTION 20. (a) The change in law made by Section 43.0215,
Local Government Code, as added by this Act, applies only to the
annexation of an area that is not final on the effective date of
this Act. A municipality that has taken action to annex an area
before the effective date of this Act may hold an election on the
question of annexation on the later of the date prescribed by
Section 43.0215(e), Local Government Code, as added by this Act, or
the first uniform election date that falls on or after the 65th day
after the effective date of this Act.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
43.052(h) and 43.061, Local Government Code, apply only to the
annexation of an area for which all parts of the statutory
annexation process are begun on or after the effective date of this
Act. Except as provided by this subsection, the annexation of an
area for which any part of the statutory annexation process was
begun before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. A municipality
to which Section 43.0215, Local Government Code, as added by this
Act, applies, that annexes an area under Subchapter C-1, Chapter
43, Local Government Code, on or after the effective date of this
Act shall hold an election on the question of annexation as required
by Section 43.0215, Local Government Code, as added by this Act, on
the later of the first uniform election date that falls on or after
the 65th day after the date of the second public hearing required by
Section 43.063, Local Government Code, or the first uniform
election date that falls on or after the 65th day after the
effective date of this Act. The annexation of an area under
Subchapter C-1, Chapter 43, Local Government Code, by a
municipality to which Section 43.0215, Local Government Code, as
added by this Act, applies, on or after the effective date of this
Act must be completed within 90 days after the date of the election
required by Section 43.0215, Local Government Code, as added by
this Act.
SECTION 21. 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.