88R13040 MCF-F

By: Rogers H.B. No. 4275

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to territory in an emergency services district that is annexed by a municipality.

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

SECTION 1. Section 775.022, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (h) to read as follows:

(a) If a municipality completes all other procedures necessary to annex territory in a district, including the preparation of a service plan if required by Section 43.056, Local Government Code, and if the municipality intends to remove the territory from the district and be the sole provider of emergency services to the territory by the use of municipal personnel or by some method other than by use of the district, the municipality shall send written notice of those facts, and the completed service plan if applicable, to the board not later than the 30th day after completing the necessary procedures. The municipality must send the notice to the secretary of the board by certified mail, return receipt requested. Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), the [The] territory remains part of the district and does not become part of the municipality until the secretary of the board receives the notice. Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), on [On] receipt of the notice, the board shall immediately change its records to show that the territory has been disannexed from the district and shall cease to provide further services to the residents of that territory. This subsection does not require a municipality to remove from a district territory the municipality has annexed.

(a-1) If a service plan is required by Section 43.056, Local Government Code, for an annexation described by Subsection (a), not later than the 30th day after the date the board receives a notice under Subsection (a), the board shall determine whether the service plan is sufficient to ensure that municipal services planned to be provided in the annexed territory will meet or exceed the level of service provided by the district in that territory. If the board determines that municipal services planned to be provided in the annexed territory will meet or exceed the level of service provided by the district in that territory, the board shall adopt an order disannexing the territory from the district, notify the appraisal district to change its records to show that the territory has been disannexed from the district, and cease to provide further services to the residents of that territory. If the board determines that the municipal services planned to be provided in the annexed territory will not meet or exceed the level of service provided by the district in that territory, the board may not adopt an order disannexing the territory from the district. For the purposes of this subsection, "level of service" for fire protection means the location, deployment, and response time of fire suppression resources originally dispatched to a structural or wildland fire.

(h) After territory is disannexed from a district under this section, if the district or a service provider that contracts with the district is dispatched or requested to provide services in the territory, and the services are not part of or are in excess of an automatic mutual aid or other mutual aid agreement between the municipality and the district, the municipality shall compensate the district for the cost of services provided in an amount determined by the district not later than the 30th day after the date on which the district provides the municipality a request for payment. A payment made under this subsection is subject to Subchapter B, Chapter 2251, and Section 2251.043, Government Code.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.