BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3477

By: Paul

Land & Resource Management

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised regarding situations in which a homeowner seeking to make a home renovation submits design plans to obtain the necessary permits from a municipality prior to beginning construction only to have the municipality, on final inspection of the completed renovation project, require costly repairs to another part of the home that has no bearing on the project for which the permit was granted. C.S.H.B. 3477 seeks to prevent unanticipated costs and project delays for a homeowner.

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.

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

C.S.H.B. 3477 amends the Local Government Code to prohibit a municipality that issues a permit to improve a part of a single-family residential structure, except as required for participation in the national flood insurance program, from requiring the structure's owner to comply with a municipal requirement that is not necessary for the permitted improvement and that is applicable to another part of the structure that is not being improved.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3477 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes an exception to the bill's prohibition for compliance with a municipal requirement that is required for participation in the national flood insurance program.