BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 3002 |
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By: Martinez, "Mando" |
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County Affairs |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties note that South Texas has many colonias, which are unincorporated communities generally considered to be characterized by poor infrastructure, low quality homes, and higher incidences of crime. While these communities have long been neglected by the state, the parties suggest, the actual community members within colonias are strong, determined individuals living within their means. The parties further note that a local agreement was recently reached relating to a sustainable source of funding, outside of funds from the legislature, to address the issue of street lighting for colonias. Without proper street lighting, the parties conclude, many safety and security issues may arise within these communities. C.S.H.B. 3002 seeks to outline a mechanism by which colonias and the counties in which they are located can provide street lighting.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 3002 amends the Transportation Code to change the entity that, under the order of the commissioners court of a county that has any of its territory located within 150 miles of an international boundary, may collect a fee for the establishment of street lights along a county road located in a subdivision imposed on landowners in the subdivision who benefit from the street lights from the county or another public or private entity with which the county may contract to the county tax assessor-collector. The bill requires the county tax assessor-collector to include the fee in the property tax bill for each landowner whose real property is benefited by the street lights for which the fee is imposed. The bill requires the tax bill to separately state the amount of the imposed fee. The bill requires the county tax assessor-collector to collect the fee for the county in the same manner that the county tax assessor-collector collects property taxes for the county.
C.S.H.B. 3002 authorizes a commissioners court to obtain a lien against real property benefited by the street lights for which a fee is imposed to secure payment of the fee. The bill requires the commissioners court, in order to obtain the lien, to file a notice that includes certain information with the county clerk of the county in which the property is located. The bill establishes that the lien exists in favor of the county, attaches to the real property on the date the notice of lien is filed with the county clerk, and is inferior to a mortgage lien previously recorded with the county clerk. The bill prohibits a county from foreclosing the bill's street light fee lien if the lien is the only lien attached to the property.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 3002 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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