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By: Wentworth S.B. No. 768
(In the Senate - Filed February 25, 2005; March 10, 2005,
read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
Relations; April 26, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
April 26, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 768 By: Wentworth
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of counties to regulate the use of outdoor
lighting; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 232.003, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.003. SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENTS. By an order
adopted and entered in the minutes of the commissioners court, and
after a notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county, the commissioners court may:
(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 the extent to which water will be made
available to the subdivision and, if it will be made available, how
and when;
(7) require that the owner of the tract to be
subdivided execute a good and sufficient bond in the manner
provided by Section 232.004;
(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;
and
(10) adopt reasonable specifications applicable in
the subdivision to minimize the negative effects of outdoor
lighting.
SECTION 2. Chapter 240, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. OUTDOOR LIGHTING GENERALLY
Sec. 240.051. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Outdoor lighting" and "person" have the meanings
assigned by Section 240.031.
(2) "Utility" means a person that provides to the
public gas, light, power, telephone, sewage, or water service.
Sec. 240.052. COUNTY REGULATORY AUTHORITY; ADOPTION OF
ORDERS. (a) The commissioners court of a county may adopt orders
regulating the installation and use of outdoor lighting in any
unincorporated territory of the county.
(b) The orders must be designed to protect against the use
of outdoor lighting in a manner that causes excessive glare, light
trespass, skyglow, environmental concerns, or any other negative
effect on public safety or the ability of another person to use and
enjoy the person's private property.
(c) In the orders, the commissioners court may:
(1) require that a permit be obtained from the county
before the installation and use of certain types of outdoor
lighting in a regulated area;
(2) establish a fee for the issuance of the permit;
(3) prohibit the use of certain types of outdoor
lighting;
(4) establish requirements for the shielding of
outdoor lighting; and
(5) regulate the times during which certain types of
outdoor lighting may be used.
(d) The commissioners court may adopt orders that provide
more stringent standards for certain areas of the county, as
determined appropriate by the commissioners court.
(e) The commissioners court may adopt an order under this
subchapter only after conducting a public hearing on the proposed
order. The court shall give at least two weeks' public notice of
the hearing.
Sec. 240.053. ENFORCEMENT; PENALTY. (a) A county or
district attorney may sue in the district court to enjoin a
violation of this subchapter.
(b) A person who knowingly violates an order adopted under
this subchapter commits an offense. An offense under this section
is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) Both civil and criminal enforcement may be used against
the same conduct.
Sec. 240.054. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. The
commissioners court may not adopt an order under this subchapter
regulating the installation and use of outdoor lighting that was
installed or used before the effective date of the order and is:
(1) owned or maintained by a utility; or
(2) related to the operations of:
(A) an electric utility, power generation
company, or transmission and distribution utility, as those terms
are defined by Section 31.002, Utilities Code;
(B) a gas utility, as defined by Section 101.003
or 121.001, Utilities Code; or
(C) surface coal mining and reclamation
operations, as defined by Section 134.004, Natural Resources Code.
SECTION 3. 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.
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