BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

                                                                                                                                      C.S.H.B. 610

                                                                                                                                 By: Brown, Fred

                                                                                                          Land & Resource Management

                                                                                                        Committee Report (Substituted)

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Currently, municipalities are not specifically required to include a list in their service plan detailing the municipal services that they will provide to an area upon annexation.  Municipalities are obligated to adhere to their service plan, but by omitting certain services, a municipality may be able to avoid the obligation of providing those services.

 

The purpose of C.S.H.B. 610 is to require municipalities to include a list of all services required by Section 43.056, Local Government Code, to be included in their service plans, and to propose in the service plan a schedule for providing those services.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, department, or agency.

 

ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.               Section 43.056(b), Local Government Code, is amended as  follows:

 

Requires a municipality to complete a service plan in the period provided by Section 43.056(a), Local Government Code, before the annexation.

 

Requires a municipality to include in its service plan a list of all services required by Section 43.056, Local Government Code, to be provided under the service plan.

 

Deletes language authorizing a municipality to extend the time in which it must provide certain services to 4½ years after the effective date of the annexation, if it was unable to provide them in 2½ years. 

 

SECTION 2.               Effective Date

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2007.

 

COMPARISON TO THE ORIGINAL

 

SECTION 1.               The Committee Substitute adds new language to require that the service plan must be completed in the period provided by Section 43.056(a), Local Government Code, before the annexation.  The Introduced version contained no similar provision.

 

The Committee Substitute deletes language authorizing a municipality to extend the time in which it must provide certain services to 4½ years after the effective date of the annexation, if it was unable to provide them in 2½ years, and deletes language dealing with the delivery of sewer services to areas annexed after December 1, 1998 and before September 1, 1999.

 

SECTION 2.               No changes.