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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the provision of solid waste disposal services by |
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certain counties; authorizing a fee; creating a criminal offense. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 364.011(a-2), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a commissioners court |
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may, through a competitive bidding process, contract for the |
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provision of solid waste collection, handling, storage, and |
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disposal in an area of the county located within the |
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extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality if: |
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(1) the municipality does not provide solid waste |
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disposal services in that area; and |
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(2) the county: |
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(A) has a population of more than 1.5 million and |
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at least 75 percent of the population resides in a single |
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municipality; or |
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(B) has a population of less than 1.3 million and |
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contains a municipality with a population of 750,000 or more. |
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SECTION 2. Section 791.037(b), Government Code, is amended |
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to read as follows: |
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(b) This section applies only to a county: |
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(1) with a population of more than 1.5 million in which |
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more than 75 percent of the population resides in a single |
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municipality; or |
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(2) with a population of less than 1.3 million that |
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contains a municipality with a population of 750,000 or more. |
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SECTION 3. Sections 352.082(a) and (c), Local Government |
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Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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(a) This section applies only to: |
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(1) the unincorporated area of a county: |
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(A) [(1)] that is adjacent to a county with a |
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population of 3.3 million or more; and |
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(B) [(2)] in which a planned community is located |
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that has 20,000 or more acres of land, that was originally |
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established under the Urban Growth and New Community Development |
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Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. Section 4501 et seq.), and that is subject to |
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restrictive covenants containing ad valorem or annual variable |
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budget based assessments on real property; or |
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(2) the unincorporated area of a county: |
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(A) with a population of less than 1.3 million |
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that contains a municipality with a population of 750,000 or more; |
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and |
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(B) that offers solid waste disposal services to |
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persons in its territory. |
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(c) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally |
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or knowingly burns household refuse outdoors on a lot that is |
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either: |
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(1) located in the unincorporated area of a county |
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described by Subsection (a)(1) and: |
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(A) located in a neighborhood; or |
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(B) [(2)] smaller than five acres; or |
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(2) located in the unincorporated area of a county |
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described by Subsection (a)(2), if the commissioners court of the |
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county has established a mandatory program under Section 364.034, |
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Health and Safety Code, that benefits the lot. |
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SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former |
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law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this |
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Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |