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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the time in which a person must abate an animal carcass |
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nuisance. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 343.011(c), Health and Safety Code, as |
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amended by Chapters 388 (S.B. 680) and 1366 (H.B. 3581), Acts of the |
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80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is reenacted and amended |
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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 a swimming 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 and locked gate; and |
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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 on any property in a neighborhood in a |
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county with a population of more than 1.1 million a swimming pool |
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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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(8) maintaining a flea market in a manner that |
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constitutes a fire hazard; |
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(9) 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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(10) 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; |
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(11) 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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(12) [(11)] discarding refuse on property that is not |
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authorized for that activity; or |
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(13) keeping, storing, or accumulating an animal |
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carcass: |
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(A) on premises in a neighborhood; |
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(B) within 300 feet of a public road; or |
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(C) within 100 feet of a property line. |
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SECTION 2. Section 343.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if: |
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(1) the person violates Section 343.011(b); and |
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(2) the nuisance remains unabated after: |
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(A) the 30th day after the date on which the |
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person receives notice from a county official, agent, or employee |
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to abate the nuisance, if the nuisance is described by a subdivision |
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of Section 343.011(c) other than Subdivision (13); or |
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(B) the third day after the date on which the |
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person receives notice from a county official, agent, or employee |
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to abate the nuisance, if the nuisance is described by Section |
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343.011(c)(13). |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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covered by the law in effect before the effective date of this Act, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 4. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails |
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over another Act of the 81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, |
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relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted |
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codes. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |