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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to regulating faulty on-site sewage disposal systems in |
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the unincorporated areas of a county as a public nuisance; |
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providing a criminal penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 343.011, Health and |
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Safety Code, is amended 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) discarding refuse on property that is not |
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authorized for that activity; or |
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(13) surface discharge from an on-site sewage disposal |
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system as defined by Section 366.002. |
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SECTION 2. 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) If a |
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county adopts abatement procedures that are consistent with the |
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general purpose of this chapter and that conform to this chapter, |
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the county may abate a nuisance under this chapter: |
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(1) by demolition or removal, except as provided by |
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Subsection (b); |
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(2) in the case of a nuisance under Section |
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343.011(c)(1), (9), or (10), by prohibiting or controlling access |
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to the premises; |
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(3) in the case of a nuisance under Section |
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343.011(c)(6), by: |
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(A) prohibiting or controlling access to the |
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premises and installing a cover that cannot be opened by a child |
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over the entire swimming pool; or |
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(B) draining and filling the swimming pool; or |
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(4) in the case of a nuisance under Section |
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343.011(c)(12), by removal, remediation, storage, transportation, |
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disposal, or other means of waste management authorized under |
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Chapter 361. |
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(b) In the case of a nuisance under Section 343.011(c)(13), |
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the county may use any means of abatement reasonably necessary to |
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bring the system into compliance with Chapter 366 only after the |
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defendant fails to abate the nuisance as ordered by the court under |
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Section 343.012(e). |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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