87R14159 TYPED

By: Biedermann H.B. No. 3883

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to development regulations for certain unincorporated areas located within the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area; authorizing a fee; authorizing a civil penalty; creating a criminal offense.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 231, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Subchapter N to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER N. DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS IN COUNTIES LOCATED WITHIN

HILL COUNTRY PRIORITY GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AREA 9

Sec. 231.301. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area" means the area that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality designated as the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area under Section 35.008, Water Code, as that area existed on January 1, 2021.

(2) "Infrastructure" includes facilities for:

(A) water supply, treatment, and distribution;

(B) wastewater collection and treatment;

(C) stormwater, drainage, and flood control; and

(D) roadways.

(3) "Infrastructure cost recovery fee" means a fee imposed by a county on the owner of property undergoing new development to pay for or recover costs of the county for improvements to infrastructure necessary to serve new development.

(4) "New development" means an activity that increases the number of service units on property, including:

(A) the subdivision of land; or

(B) any use or extension of the use of land.

(5) "Service unit" means a standardized measure of consumption, use, generation, or discharge attributable to an individual unit of development calculated in accordance with generally accepted engineering or planning standards and based on historical data and trends for the preceding 10 years applicable to the county in which the individual unit of development is located.

Sec. 231.302. LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS IN UNINCORPORATED AREA. The commissioners court of a county that has unincorporated area located in the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area by order may adopt and impose in that unincorporated area:

(1) reasonable lot size restrictions;

(2) requirements that the supplier of water to a proposed subdivision be contractually obligated to provide a sufficient supply of water to adequately serve the residents of the proposed subdivision during normal and drought conditions;

(3) an infrastructure cost recovery fee; and

(4) reasonable standards for minimum lot frontages on all proposed and existing roads.

Sec. 231.303. ELECTION TO APPROVE REGULATORY AUTHORITY REQUIRED. (a) Regulatory authority granted under Section 231.302 is not effective until the authority is approved by a majority of the county residents voting in an election held under this section.

(b) County residents voting in an election held under this section:

(1) may approve of the entire regulatory authority granted under Section 231.302; or

(2) may approve specific regulatory authority granted under Section 231.302 without approving other specific regulatory authority granted under that section.

(c) The commissioners court of a county located in the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area:

(1) shall order and hold an election in the county to approve the grant of regulatory authority if the commissioners court receives a petition requesting the election signed by registered voters of the county in a number equal to or greater than 20 percent of the number of votes received by all candidates for governor in the county in the most recent gubernatorial election.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 277.002, Election Code:

(1) a petition must include each signer's zip code with the signer's residence address; and

(2) a signature is not considered valid if the date of signing is before the 90th day before the date the petition is filed with the commissioners court.

(e) Not later than the fifth day after the date a petition is received by the commissioners court, the county judge shall submit the petition for verification to the county clerk. The county clerk shall determine whether the petition meets the requirements prescribed by this section and Section 277.002, Election Code. Not later than the 30th day after the date the petition is submitted to the county clerk for verification, the county clerk shall certify in writing to the commissioners court whether the petition is valid. If the county clerk determines that the petition is invalid, the county clerk shall state the reasons for that determination.

(f) If the county clerk certifies that a petition is valid, the commissioners court shall order the election to be held on the first November uniform election date authorized by Section 41.001, Election Code, that occurs after the date the court receives the county clerk's certification and that provides sufficient time to comply with other requirements of law.

(g) The ballot for an election under this section shall be prepared to permit voting for or against the proposition: "Approving the authority granted to the Commissioners Court of (name of county) to regulate land development in (insert description of the area subject to regulation)." The ballot shall be prepared to permit voting for or against the grants of regulatory authority proposed in the commissioners court motion under Subsection (c)(1) or the petition filed with the commissioners court under Subsection (c)(2), as applicable.

(h) The approval authority granted under this section includes the authority to repeal, revise, or amend a previous decision to operate under this subchapter.

Sec. 231.304. COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS. Development regulations must be:

(1) adopted in accordance with:

(A) any county plan for growth and development of the county if a county plan has been adopted by the commissioners court; and

(B) any desired future conditions, as that term is defined by Section 36.001, Water Code, developed by groundwater conservation districts located in the county; and

(2) coordinated with:

(A) the comprehensive plans of municipalities located in the county; and

(B) the comprehensive plans of groundwater conservation districts located in the county.

Sec. 231.305. PROCEDURES GOVERNING ADOPTION OF REGULATIONS. (a) A development regulation adopted under this subchapter is not effective until the regulation is adopted by the commissioners court of the county after a public hearing. Before the 15th day before the date of the hearing, the commissioners court must publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.

(b) The commissioners court may establish or amend a development regulation only by an order passed by a majority vote of the full membership of the court.

Sec. 231.306. DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION. (a) The commissioners court of a county authorized under this subchapter to impose development regulations may appoint a development commission to assist in the implementation and enforcement of the regulations.

(b) The development commission must consist of:

(1) an ex officio chair who must be a public official, other than a county commissioner, in the county; and

(2) four additional members who are all residents of the county.

(c) The development commission is advisory only and may recommend appropriate development regulations for the county.

(d) The members of the development commission are subject to the same requirements relating to conflicts of interest that are applicable to the commissioners court under Chapter 171.

Sec. 231.307. SPECIAL EXCEPTION. (a) A person aggrieved by a development regulation adopted under this subchapter may petition the commissioners court of the county that adopted the regulation or the development commission, if the commissioners court has established a development commission, for a special exception to the development regulation.

(b) The commissioners court of each county that exercises the authority granted by this subchapter shall adopt procedures governing applications, notice, hearings, and other matters relating to the grant of a special exception.

Sec. 231.308. COOPERATION WITH OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS. The commissioners court of a county authorized under this subchapter to impose development regulations:

(1) may enter into agreements with any municipality located in the county to assist in the implementation and enforcement of the regulations; and

(2) shall enter into agreements with any groundwater conservation district located in the county to assist in the implementation and enforcement of the regulations.

Sec. 231.309. LOT SIZE RESTRICTIONS IN CERTAIN AREAS. Lot size restrictions authorized under this subchapter that apply in subdivisions served by a public water supply system that uses water from the Trinity Aquifer must be adopted and imposed in accordance with any desired future conditions adopted under Chapter 36, Water Code, by a groundwater conservation district in which the subdivision is wholly or partly located.

Sec. 231.310. INFRASTRUCTURE COST RECOVERY FEE. (a) The commissioners court of a county may be authorized under this subchapter to impose an infrastructure cost recovery fee to provide necessary infrastructure to serve new development in the unincorporated area of the county only as provided by this section and Sections 231.311 and 231.312.

(b) A county may impose an infrastructure cost recovery fee under this section only to pay for or recover the costs of constructing, acquiring, or expanding infrastructure necessary to serve new development. The fee may not be:

(1) applied to infrastructure improvements that do not serve the new development or to which the new development does not have access; or

(2) imposed to pay for:

(A) repairing, operating, or maintaining existing or new infrastructure improvements, including infrastructure improvements that were constructed, acquired, or expanded as necessary to serve new development; or

(B) upgrading, replacing, or expanding existing development to meet stricter safety, efficiency, environmental, or regulatory standards.

(c) Before a county may impose an infrastructure cost recovery fee to recover costs of roadway improvements, the county must prepare an infrastructure development plan. The plan must include a road traffic study conducted by a qualified engineer. The county may not impose the fee to recover costs of roadway improvements unless the road traffic study projects a minimum of a 25 percent increase in road traffic attributable to the new development.

(d) Any interest earned on an infrastructure cost recovery fee is considered part of the fee and is subject to the same restrictions under this section.

(e) A county may assess an infrastructure cost recovery fee before or at the time a subdivision plat is recorded. The fee may be collected at the time the county issues a building permit or a certificate of occupancy, unless the county and the owner of the development enter into an agreed payment plan.

(f) A county may reduce or waive the assessment of an infrastructure cost recovery fee if the new development qualifies as affordable housing under 42 U.S.C. Section 12745.

(g) After an infrastructure cost recovery fee has been assessed, the fee may not be increased unless additional service units are added. If additional service units are added, the fee may be assessed only at a rate that reflects the cost per service unit of the total fee originally imposed.

(h) The infrastructure improvement for which an infrastructure cost recovery fee is imposed must be completed not later than the first anniversary of the date the fee is paid. The time prescribed for completion may be extended by a majority vote of the commissioners court if the commissioners court makes a finding that the infrastructure improvement is exceptionally complicated or intensive and reasonably requires additional time. An extension granted under this subsection may not exceed the second anniversary of the date the fee is paid. Any portion of the fee that remains after the time prescribed expires shall be refunded to the owner of the development. To the extent an agreement between the owner of new development and the county conflicts with this subsection, the agreement prevails.

Sec. 231.311. PROCEDURES FOR ASSESSING INFRASTRUCTURE COST RECOVERY FEES. (a) On or before the date of publication of notice of a public hearing under Section 231.305 to consider the imposition of an infrastructure cost recovery fee, the commissioners court shall make available to the public a description of any proposed infrastructure improvements and a description of the proposed fee.

(b) On or before the 30th day before the date of the hearing, the commissioners court shall:

(1) publish notice of the hearing in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the county; and

(2) send written notice by certified mail to the owner of new development for which a fee is proposed.

(c) The notice under Subsection (b)(1) shall include:

(1) a relevant heading;

(2) the time, date, and location for the hearing;

(3) a statement that the hearing is open to public comment; and

(4) a general statement of the subject matter of the hearing.

(d) Not later than the 30th day after the date of the public hearing, the commissioners court by order shall adopt or reject the proposed assessment of the fee. An order approving the assessment of the fee may not be adopted as an emergency measure.

Sec. 231.312. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE REQUIRED; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) The commissioners court of a county that imposes an infrastructure improvement cost recovery fee under this subchapter shall submit a written certification verifying compliance with this subchapter to the attorney general each year not later than the last day of the county's fiscal year. The certification must be signed by the county judge.

(b) A county that fails to submit a certification for a fiscal year as required by this section is liable to the state for a civil penalty in an amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of the fees assessed in that fiscal year. A penalty collected under this subsection shall be deposited to the credit of the housing trust fund.

Sec. 231.313. ENFORCEMENT; CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) The commissioners court of a county authorized under this subchapter to impose development regulations may adopt orders to enforce those regulations.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person violates an order or development regulation adopted under this subchapter. An offense under this subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000. Each day that a violation occurs constitutes a separate offense.

Sec. 231.314. CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAWS. If a development regulation adopted under this subchapter imposes higher standards than those required under another statute or local order or regulation, the regulation adopted under this subchapter controls in the area subject to regulation. If the other statute or local order or regulation imposes higher standards, that statute, order, or regulation controls.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.