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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to county authority to abate nuisances. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 343.002(1), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(1) "Abate" means to eliminate or remedy by removal, |
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repair, rehabilitation, or demolition or, in the case of a nuisance |
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under Section 343.011(c)(11), by removal, remediation, storage, |
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transportation, disposal, and other means of waste management |
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authorized by Chapter 361 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. |
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SECTION 2. Section 343.011, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows: |
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(c) A public nuisance is: |
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(1) keeping, storing, or accumulating refuse on |
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premises in a neighborhood unless the refuse is entirely contained |
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in a closed receptacle; |
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(2) keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish, |
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including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, |
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furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood or within |
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300 feet of a public street for 10 days or more, unless the rubbish |
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or object is completely enclosed in a building or is not visible |
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from a public street; |
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(3) maintaining premises in a manner that creates an |
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unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, |
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rodents, vermin, or disease-carrying pests; |
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(4) allowing weeds to grow on premises in a |
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neighborhood if the weeds are located within 300 feet of another |
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residence or commercial establishment; |
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(5) maintaining a building in a manner that is |
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structurally unsafe or constitutes a hazard to safety, health, or |
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public welfare because of inadequate maintenance, unsanitary |
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conditions, dilapidation, obsolescence, disaster, damage, or |
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abandonment or because it constitutes a fire hazard; |
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(6) maintaining on abandoned and unoccupied property |
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in a neighborhood, or maintaining on any property in a neighborhood |
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in a county with a population of more than 1.1 million, a swimming |
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pool that is not protected with: |
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(A) a fence that is at least four feet high and |
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that has a latched gate that cannot be opened by a child; or |
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(B) a cover over the entire swimming pool that |
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cannot be removed by a child; |
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(7) maintaining a flea market in a manner that |
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constitutes a fire hazard; |
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(8) discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual |
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obstruction on: |
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(A) county-owned land; or |
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(B) land or easements owned or held by a special |
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district that has the commissioners court of the county as its |
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governing body; |
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(9) discarding refuse on the smaller of: |
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(A) the area that spans 20 feet on each side of a |
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utility line; or |
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(B) the actual span of the utility easement; [or] |
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(10) filling or blocking a drainage easement, failing |
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to maintain a drainage easement, maintaining a drainage easement in |
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a manner that allows the easement to be clogged with debris, |
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sediment, or vegetation, or violating an agreement with the county |
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to improve or maintain a drainage easement; or [.] |
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(11) discarding refuse on property that is not |
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authorized for that activity. |
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(d) This section does not apply to: |
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(1) a site or facility that is: |
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(A) permitted and regulated by a state agency for |
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an activity listed in Subsection (c); or |
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(B) licensed or permitted under Chapter 361 for |
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an activity listed in Subsection (c); or |
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(2) agricultural land. |
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SECTION 3. Section 343.013(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A county or district court may by injunction prevent, |
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[or] restrain, abate, or otherwise remedy a violation of this |
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chapter in the unincorporated area of the county. |
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SECTION 4. Section 343.021, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 343.021. AUTHORITY TO ABATE NUISANCE. A county may |
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abate a nuisance under this chapter by demolition or removal or, in |
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the case of a nuisance under Section 343.011(c)(1), (8), or (9), by |
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prohibition or control of access to the premises[,] or, in the case |
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of a nuisance under Section 343.011(c)(110, by removal, |
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remediation, storage, transportation, disposal, and other means of |
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waste management authorized by Chapter 361 of the Texas Health and |
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Safety Code, if the county adopts abatement procedures that are |
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consistent with the general purpose of this chapter and that |
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conform to this chapter. |
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SECTION 5. Section 343.022(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) The abatement procedures adopted by the commissioners |
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court must be administered by a regularly salaried, full-time |
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county employee, but the prohibition or control of access to the |
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premises to prevent a violation of Section 343.011(c)(1), (8), or |
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(9), or the removal or demolition of the nuisance, or the abatement |
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of a nuisance under Section 343.011(c)(11), may be made by a person |
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authorized by the person administering the abatement program. |
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SECTION 6. Section 343.023(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A county may: |
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(1) assess the cost of abating the nuisance, which |
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includes all costs for management, remediation, storage, |
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transportation, disposal, damages, or other expenses incurred by |
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the county, the cost of legal notification by publication, and an |
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administrative fee of not more than $100 on the person receiving |
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notice under Section 343.022; or |
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SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |