79(R) SB 141 - Introduced version

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79R964 ATP-D

By:  Wentworth                                                    S.B. No. 141



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.