BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1579

By: Gonzales

Border & Intergovernmental Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In the summer of 2008, parts of Hidalgo County suffered immense flooding during and after Hurricane Dolly.  The flooding affected some of the poorest areas of the county, including several colonias, where residents experienced high water levels in their homes and on their roads for several weeks after the storm.  While the county was able to pump water from most neighborhoods, the county was not authorized to remove the water from some colonias, where the residents lived on private roads.  The flooding damaged residents' homes and properties and created unsafe roads and unsanitary conditions because of large amounts of stagnant water providing a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.

H.B. 1579 authorizes a county in the case of a natural disaster to provide flood relief to residents of colonias that have privately owned roads if the removal of the water would protect the health and safety of the residents.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1579 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a county to provide assistance for the removal from private property, including a road, of flood water resulting from a natural disaster in a colonia if the removal of the water is necessary to protect the health and safety of the colonia.  The bill defines "colonia" for the purpose of this provision.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2009.