BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4607

By: Guillen

County Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Zapata County is a county with no incorporated municipality and has previously been granted the Powers of a Type A Municipality to allow it to control growth and provide ordinance-making powers needed for small towns and rapidly growing areas. Located just south of Laredo on a two-lane highway that will soon be upgraded to a four-lane divided highway, the area expects rapid growth as transit times are reduced and Laredo residents have the opportunity to move to a low-crime area with lower comparable housing and land prices.

H.B. 4607 expands on the existing statute which allows zoning in areas within 25,000 feet of Falcon Lake and the Rio Grande River to include tributaries to those bodies of water because these areas provide runoff into the river and the lake and zoning is needed to control pollution and provide for the health and safety of a growing population.

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. 4607 amends the Local Government Code to make provisions relating to zoning around Falcon Lake applicable to the tributaries and arroyos leading to Falcon Lake or to the Rio Grande River.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.