By: Hinojosa, LaMantia S.B. No. 1430
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the provision of solid waste disposal services by
  certain counties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 364.011(a-1), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a-1)  A commissioners court by rule may regulate solid waste
  collection, handling, storage, and disposal by establishing a
  mandatory program under Section 364.034 in an area of the county
  located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality
  if:
               (1)  the municipality does not provide solid waste
  disposal services in that area; and
               (2)  the county[:
                     [(A)]  is adjacent to the United Mexican States
  and either:
                     (A) [; (B)]  has a population of less than
  300,000[;] and
                     [(C)]  contains a municipality with a population
  of 200,000 or more; or
                     (B)  has a population of more than 400,000 and
  contains at least two municipalities each of which has a population
  of 70,000 or more.
         SECTION 2.  Section 364.034, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding
  Subsections (d-1) and (g-1) to read as follows:
         (a)  A public agency or a county may:
               (1)  offer solid waste disposal service to persons in
  its territory, including, in the case of a county described by
  Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) or (a-2)(2) [364.011(a-2)(2)], an area
  of the county located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
  municipality if the municipality does not provide solid waste
  disposal services in that area;
               (2)  require the use of the service by those persons,
  except as provided by Subsection (a-1);
               (3)  charge fees for the service; and
               (4)  establish the service as a utility separate from
  other utilities in its territory.
         (a-1)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a person is not
  required to use solid waste disposal services offered by a county,
  including a county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B), to
  persons in an area of the county located within the
  extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality that does not
  provide solid waste disposal services in that area if:
               (1)  the person contracts for solid waste disposal
  services with a provider that meets rules adopted by the commission
  for the regulation of solid waste disposal; or
               (2)  the person is a private entity that contracts to
  provide temporary solid waste disposal services to a construction
  site or project by furnishing a roll-off container used to
  transport construction waste or demolition debris to a facility for
  disposal or recycling.
         (d-1)  Notwithstanding Section 364.034(d)(2) or Section
  552.910, Local Government Code, a public or private utility that
  bills and collects solid waste disposal service fees under a
  contract under this section with a county described by Section
  364.011(a-1)(2)(B) may not suspend water or sewer service to a
  person who is delinquent in the payment of the solid waste disposal
  service fee.
         (g-1)  This subsection applies only to a county described by
  Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B). A person is exempt from the
  application of a requirement adopted by a county under Subsection
  (a) if the person is receiving under a contract solid waste disposal
  services at a level that is the same as or higher than the level of
  services that otherwise would be required.  To qualify for the
  exemption provided by this subsection, the person must, not later
  than the first day of the month preceding the beginning of the
  calendar quarter during which the person intends for the exemption
  to take effect, provide to the county written documentation
  acceptable to the county to show that the person is receiving
  services under the contract.  The person who provides solid waste
  disposal services to a person who qualifies for the exemption shall
  notify the county that the services under the contract have stopped
  not later than the 15th day after the date those services are
  stopped for any reason.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter C, Chapter 364, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 364.0343 to read as follows:
         Sec. 364.0343.  NOTICE AND HEARING OF CERTAIN FEES FOR SOLID
  WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICES. (a) This section applies to a county
  that:
               (1)  regulates solid waste collection, handling,
  storage, and disposal by establishing a mandatory program under
  Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B); and
               (2)  provides in the program rules that this section
  applies to the collection of a fee under the program.
         (b)  Before a county may impose the fee described by Section
  364.034, the commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the
  proposed fee. Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
  hearing, the county shall provide notice of the hearing that
  includes the date, time, and location of the hearing and a statement
  that an interested citizen of the county may testify at the hearing.
  The county:
               (1)  shall deliver the notice:
                     (A)  by mail to each owner of real property that
  would be affected by the fee, at the address shown on the most
  recently certified tax roll of the district;
                     (B)  by posting the notice prominently on the
  county's Internet website from the date the notice is mailed until
  the public hearing is concluded; and
                     (C)  if the county maintains a public account on a
  social media platform, by posting the notice on the county's social
  media platform account; and
               (2)  may publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper in
  addition to delivery of the notice by the methods required under
  this section.
         (c)  As early as practicable in advance of a public hearing
  required by this section, the county shall post on the county's
  Internet website any written agenda and related supplemental
  written materials provided by the county to the commissioners in
  advance of the hearing for the commissioners' use during the
  hearing. The county may exclude written materials that the county
  attorney certifies are confidential or may be withheld from public
  disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
         (d)  A public hearing held under this section must be on a
  weekday that is not a public holiday. At the hearing, the
  commissioners court shall afford adequate opportunity for
  proponents and opponents of the proposed fee to present their
  views.
         (e)  Not later than the 60th day before the scheduled start
  date of the solid waste disposal services for which a fee is
  collected under Section 364.034, the county shall mail notice to
  each landowner whose real property will be benefited by the
  services. The notice must include:
               (1)  a statement that:
                     (A)  the county has adopted an order to require
  the use of county solid waste disposal services under Section
  364.034 and to collect a fee; and
                     (B)  the landowner may qualify under Section
  364.034(a-1), (g), or (g-1) for an exemption from the application
  of the requirement; and
               (2)  instructions for completing and submitting the
  documentation required for the exemptions under Sections
  364.034(a-1), (g), and (g-1).
         SECTION 4.  Section 364.0345, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 364.0345.  PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO USE REQUIRED
  SERVICE IN CERTAIN AREAS; LATE FEES. (a) The commissioners court
  of a county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) or (a-2)(2)
  [364.011(a-2)(2)] that requires the use of a county solid waste
  disposal service under Section 364.034 in the extraterritorial
  jurisdiction of a municipality may adopt orders to enforce the
  requirement, including an order establishing a civil or
  administrative penalty in an amount reasonable and necessary to
  ensure compliance with the requirement.
         (b)  A county described by Section 364.011(a-1)(2)(B) may
  not:
               (1)  impose a civil penalty under Subsection (a) of
  this section on a person in an amount that exceeds 10 percent of the
  person's delinquent annual service charge; or
               (2)  charge fees for late payment of a fee for a service
  provided under this section that exceed $60 in a single year.
         SECTION 5.  Section 791.037(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  This section applies only to a county:
               (1)  with a population of more than 1.5 million in which
  more than 75 percent of the population resides in a single
  municipality; or
               (2)  that is located adjacent to the United Mexican
  States, has a population of more than 400,000, and contains at least
  two municipalities each of which has a population of 70,000 or more.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.