BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3514

By: Burns

Land & Resource Management

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, a municipality is prohibited from annexing area in a water or sewer district unless it annexes the entire part of the district that is outside the municipality's boundaries. This is an issue for small municipalities in small counties, such as the City of Glen Rose where the water district is the size of the entire county. While there is a certain exception that allows for the consenting annexation of such an area, that exception is limited to an area that does not exceed a certain width, which is a problem for residential and commercial customers who wish to be annexed but whose property exceeds the width limitation. C.S.H.B. 3514 seeks to resolve this issue by providing for the annexation by a municipality with a population of less than 3,000 of a property in a district with the district's consent.

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. 3514 amends the Local Government Code to exempt from provisions relating to the prohibition against a municipality annexing area in a water or sewer district unless it annexes the entire part of the district that is outside the municipality's boundaries the annexation of a property by a municipality with a population of less than 3,000 if the governing body of a water or sewer district the boundaries of which include the property consents to the annexation.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3514 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the exemption in the introduced applied to an annexing municipality with a population of 3,000 or less, the exemption in the substitute applies to an annexing municipality instead with a population of less than 3,000.