February 25, 2011
Number 8
BRACKETED LEGISLATION:
ANNEXATION AND DRAINAGE FEE EXEMPTIONS
Legislators often file “bracketed” legislation (legislation that applies to only one or a small
number of cities) to address what they perceive as “local concerns.” The League’s policy with
regard to bracketed bills is, in part, that “TML will oppose bracketed legislation when requested
by the affected city or cities[, but t]he League will not expend on that legislation the same level
of effort it expends on bills that would negatively affect all or many cities…”
League staff does not summarize bracketed legislation in the Legislative Update, but does inform
affected cities when possible. In practice, those cities are usually already well aware of the
legislation.
However, from time to time, rumors of the expansion of bracketed legislation to additional cities
or to all cities warrant mentions of the bills. Two examples from this session relate to annexation
authority and municipal drainage fee exemptions:
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Annexation Authority – H.B. 107 (Brown): This bill is bracketed to the City of
College Station. It provides that the city may not annex an area with 50 or more
inhabitants unless: (1) the city holds an election in the area to be annexed; and (2) a
majority of the votes received at the election favor the annexation. Some have heard that
the bill may be amended in the House Urban Affairs committee to apply to every city.
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The League’s general position is to “oppose legislation that would erode municipal
annexation authority.”
•
Municipal Drainage Fee Exemptions – H.B. 1143 (Gonzales), H.B. 1289
(Gonzalez)/S.B. 609 (Rodriguez), H.B. 1022 (Dutton)/S.B. 714 (Patrick): These bills
are bracketed either to El Paso or Houston (although the Houston bills appear to be
flawed in their population bracket). They would exempt various entities – such as
municipal housing authorities, religious organizations, and non-profit organizations –
from municipal drainage fees. (Note: During the 2003 legislative session, lawmakers
exempted state agencies and public institutions of higher education from the requirement
to pay drainage fees. In addition, despite the League’s efforts and the efforts of several
cities, the omnibus water bill passed during the 2007 legislative session contained a
provision that exempts private institutions of higher education from paying the fees.) The
League’s general position is to “oppose legislation that would exempt any entity from
paying municipal drainage fees.”
The League is in communication with city officials in the affected cities and will inform the
membership immediately if the applicability of the bills is expanded.
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE DISCUSSES RAISING FIRE
CERTIFICATION FEES PAID BY CITIES
On February 16, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Budget Articles I, IV, and V met to
hear testimony on various state agencies, including the Texas Commission on Fire Protection
(TCFP).
During the hearing, a member of the subcommittee asked TCFP representatives about potentially
raising the $35 fee paid by cities for each firefighter certification application as a means of
generating revenue.
The TCFP representative responded with a refreshing proposal that would decrease the amount
that cities are required to pay in certification fees. To view the brief exchange, go to
http://www.wwwebinars.com/LUFeb/AppSubComm.swf.
ORGANIZATION FORMED TO SEEK FUNDING OF STATE
WATER PLAN
The League has joined the H2O4TEXAS Coalition, a diverse collection of private and public
sector entities committed to securing full implementation of the State Water Plan.
The coalition recently announced its formation and its agenda for the legislative session. To see
the press release, go to
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https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:1357716.6248868090/rid:a24358dd7d9e83c2
c4662609d24e1273.
For more information on the coalition’s purpose and activities, go to www.h2o4texas.org.
SENATE FINANCE INTERIM REPORT
The Senate Committee on Finance recently released its interim report, in which it considered
four interim charges. The report’s city-related recommendations are as follows:
Review and make recommendations regarding existing and future public debt at all levels
of government in Texas, including independent school districts, cities, other local
governments, and the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan.
•
Issue 1: Total Public Debt and Debt-Like Obligations
o Require the Texas Bond Review Board (BRB) to add two new sections
annual report, applicable only to even-numbered years, that would: (1)
certain debt-like obligations and liabilities, including (but not limited to)
through financing and toll-equity agreements, pre-paid tuition plans,
guarantee programs, and the existing debt allotment; and (2) provide a
comprehensive and detailed look at the status of local debt in Texas.
•
to its
track
passbond
more
Issue 2: Credit Ratings and Bond Market Access
o Consider requiring municipal issuers of public debt to issue in each oddnumbered year a three-year credit enhancement plan based on the strengths and
weaknesses indentified by relevant credit rating agencies, and to make that plan
publically available.
•
Issue 3: Limitations on Debt and Voter Approval Requirement
o Designate the BRB as the state’s repository of detailed local debt information.
Require the BRB to establish a searchable database available to voters statewide
that includes definitions of relevant financial terms and information on the current
debt burden at the state and local levels. Require voter notification of the
database prior to bond elections. Allow the BRB to contract with the Municipal
Advisory Council of Texas to fulfill these requirements and increase the BRB’s
appropriation as needed to achieve this recommendation.
o Repeal Local Government Code Section 107.003, authorizing the sale of pension
obligation bonds, or set voter approval requirements or election petition window
parameters for such sales.
o Consider creating voter approval requirements or election petition window
parameters for city/county highway system bonds.
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o Study the impact of: (1) setting a cap on the maximum amount of outstanding
certificates of obligation (COs) and maximum amount of outstanding tax revenue
anticipation notes (TRANs) with maturity dates over one year; (2) requiring
voter approval of all COs and any TRAN with a maturity date over one year;
and (3) extending the CO election petition window to sixty days and establishing
an election petition window of thirty days for all TRANs with maturity dates over
one year.
o Study options for increasing reporting requirements and oversight for COs,
TRANs, pension bonds, and city/county highway system bonds.
•
Issue 4: Interest Rate Swaps
o Require legal review by the attorney general of any interest rate swap agreement
at the state or local level, regardless of when it is initiated.
o Require local issuers that use interest rate swap agreements to report information
on those agreements to the BRB on an annual basis, and require the BRB to
include high-level summary information on swaps at the local level in its annual
report.
Identify and evaluate potential improvements to the property tax system.
•
Issue 1: Increasing Public Participation in the Tax-Rate Setting Process and
Ensuring Fairness in Appraisal Protests and Appeals
o Continue to monitor the effectiveness of past legislative mandates designed to
increase public participation and fairness.
o Consider a legislative proposal to promote transparency and simplify the local
government tax rate setting process.
o Consider requiring voter approval for city and county tax revenue increases
of more than four percent.
•
Issue 2: Property Appraisal Values
o Consider proposing a constitutional amendment to reduce the current $15,000
homestead exemption for school property taxes in an amount necessary to offset
the cost of lowering the current ten-percent appraisal cap for residence
homesteads to five percent.
•
Issue 3: Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) Exemptions
o Consider clarifying that CHDOs partnering with for-profit developers to develop
multi-family properties must actually own the property to be eligible for an ad
valorem tax exemption, due to concerns raised by recent legal challenges.
o Alternatively, propose an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would allow
for-profit entities in partnership with CHDOs to develop a multi-family property
and receive an ad valorem tax limitation, even though the CHDO is not the actual
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owner of the property, in exchange for offering extremely affordable rents for
difficult-to-serve populations.
•
Issue 4: Real Property Interests in Oil and Gas
o Continue to have the comptroller’s office prepare the market condition factors
using the forecasted price for crude oil and natural gas, but eliminate the
requirement that the forecasts be based on “revenue estimating methodology” to
enable the comptroller’s office to better focus on incorporating market value
methodology in its estimates.
The full text of the report is available online at
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/commit/c540/c540.InterimReport81.pdf.
WHAT’S YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE OR INTEREST?
JOIN YOUR FAVORITE E-LIST
The TML staff is gathering e-mail addresses from city officials (elected or appointed) who
are willing to provide testimony during the 2011 legislative session, want to be kept “in the
loop” on certain subject matters, or are willing to simply provide their perspective on a
particular legislative matter.
If you would like to participate in this E-List project, simply go to
http://www.tml.org/genform/E-List.asp and fill out the online form. If you have any
questions, please contact JJ Rocha at [email protected] or 512-231-7400.
SIGNIFICANT COMMITTEE ACTION
H.B. 215 (Gallegos), relating to photograph and live lineup identification procedures in criminal
cases. Voted from the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
CITY-RELATED BILLS FILED
H.B. 12 (Solomons) – Immigration: would provide that: (1) a city may not adopt a rule,
order, ordinance, or policy under which the city prohibits the enforcement of state or federal
laws relating to immigration; (2) a city may not prohibit a person employed by or otherwise
under the direction of the city from: (a) inquiring into the immigration status of a person who
is arrested or lawfully detained; (b) sending information to, or receiving information from,
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or United States Immigration and
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Customs Enforcement, or exchanging that information with another federal, state, or local
governmental entity; (c) assisting a federal immigration officer as needed; or (d) permitting a
federal immigration officer to conduct enforcement activities at a municipal jail; (3) a city
may not receive state grant funds if it adopts a rule, order, ordinance, or policy prohibiting
the enforcement of state or federal laws relating to immigration, or prohibits of enforcement
of the laws by consistent action; (4) the attorney general may file a petition for a writ of
mandamus or other appropriate equitable relief to compel a city to comply with (1), above.
(Companion bill is S.B. 11 by Williams.)
H.B. 251 (Hilderbran) – Wild Animals: would allow a city to sue for an injunction against
an individual who owns a wild animal and who does not follow the requirements of the
Health and Safety Code.
H.B. 253 (Hilderbran) – School Attendance Officer: would: (1) provide for the
enforcement of compulsory public school attendance requirements, ensure reports of abuse
or neglect, ensure reports of births, and provide for the prosecution of bigamy; and (2)
authorize a peace officer who serves as an attendance officer to make a home visit or
otherwise contact the parent of a student who is the subject of an ongoing investigation of
abuse or neglect and who is in violation of compulsory school attendance requirements.
H.B. 1384 (Kleinschmidt) – Property Tax: would make land used for supporting outdoor
education eligible for appraisal as open-space land for property tax purposes.
H.B. 1388 (Hopson) – Tree Preservation: would prohibit a city from regulating the
planting, clearing, or harvesting of trees or vegetation or other uses of trees or vegetation on
a particular tract of land in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. (Companion bill is S.B. 732
by Nichols.)
H.B. 1389 (Hopson) – Dangerous Dogs: would increase the penalty for a dog owner whose
dog kills a person to a felony of the first degree if the individual killed is under 15 years of
age or older than 65 years of age.
H.B. 1391 (Deshotel) – Access to Driver’s License Information: would provide that a
person who is certified, or otherwise authorized, to take or analyze a breath specimen is not
prohibited from accessing or using electronically readable information derived from a
driver’s license, commercial driver’s license, or personal identification certificate.
H.B. 1395 (Parker) – Personal Watercraft and Boats: would: (1) prohibit a person under
13 years of age from operating a personal watercraft; (2) prohibit a person under 13 years of
age from operating a motorboat powered by a motor with a manufacturer’s rating of more
than 15 horsepower on public waters; (3) provide that a person born on or after September 1,
1993, and operating a vessel powered by a motor with a manufacturer’s rating of more than
15 horsepower on public water is required to take a boater education course, as well as
modify other requirements as to persons who are required to take a boater education course;
(4) exempt from the boater education course requirement a person who is supervised by a
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person at least 18 years of age, a customer of a business engaged in renting, showing,
demonstrating or testing boats, and a person exempt by rule of the Parks and Wildlife
Commission; and (5) authorize the commission to establish a boater education deferral
program.
H.B. 1400 (Elkins) – Public Improvement Districts: would, among other things, provide
that costs of improvements in a public improvement district may be paid or reimbursed by
any combination of certain methods if the improvements are dedicated, conveyed, leased, or
otherwise provided to a city, county, or related entity for the benefit of the city, county, or
related entity. (Companion bill is S.B. 412 by West.)
H.B. 1401 (Laubenberg) – Local Option Elections: would provide that, if a city annexes
area on or after the date a local option liquor election petition is submitted, the city may hold
the election only if the petition has enough signatures after including the voters in the
annexed area.
H.B. 1402 (Guillen) – Law Enforcement: would provide that certain licensed law
enforcement officers are not subject to provisions of law that authorize a licensing authority
to suspend or revoke a license, disqualify a person from receiving a license, or deny a person
to sit for a licensing examination on the ground that the person has been convicted of certain
criminal offenses.
H.B. 1406 (Riddle) – Blood Specimens: would provide, in relation to individuals who take
a blood specimen from a vehicle operator to test for alcohol concentration or other
intoxicating substances, that: (1) only a physician, qualified technician, registered or licensed
nurse, and certain emergency medical technicians may take a blood specimen; (2) emergency
medical technicians may take a blood specimen only if authorized by the medical director for
the entity that employs the technician and in accordance with a protocol developed by the
medical director; (3) a medical director can develop a protocol that allows an emergency
medical technician to refuse to: (a) go to the location of a person from whom a peace officer
requests or orders the taking of a blood specimen; (b) take a blood specimen if it will impair
or interfere with the performance of patient care or other duties; and (c) provide the
equipment or supplies necessary to take a blood specimen; and (4) if an emergency medical
technician takes a blood specimen, a peace officer must observe the taking and then
immediately take possession of the specimen.
H.B. 1412 (Chisum) – Elections: would: (1) require the voter registrar of each county and
the secretary of state to provide notice of voter identification requirements and to educate
voters about the requirements through certain programs by publishing notice on certain
websites; (2) require a voter to present to an election officer at the polling place a voter
registration certificate and an acceptable form of identification; (3) provide that, if a voter
does not present acceptable identification, the voter shall be accepted for provisional voting
only; (4) modify the types of acceptable voter identification documents; (5) make an offense
under the bill a second degree felony or a state jail felony if the person is convicted of
attempt; (6) provide that a voter who presents a voter registration certificate indicating that
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the voter is currently registered in the precinct, but whose name is not on the precinct list of
registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the voter’s identity can be verified from the
proof presented; and (7) provide that a provisional ballot may be accepted only if: (a) the
voter presents acceptable proof of identification at the time the ballot is cast; or (b) the voter
submits a copy of the identification to the voter registrar by personal delivery or by mail for
examination by the early voting ballot board not later than the sixth business day after the
date of the election.
H.B. 1419 (Hughes) – Elections: would prohibit the use of an electronic voting machine in
an election unless the machine: (1) has been certified or otherwise approved by means of
qualification testing by a nationally recognized test laboratory; (2) meets certain voluntary
standards developed and adopted by the Federal Election Commission, the Election
Assistance Commission, or the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and (3)
creates a contemporaneous auditable paper record copy of each electronic ballot that allows a
voter to confirm the choices the voter made through both a visual and a non-visual method.
Additionally, the bill would require an election authority using electronic voting machines to:
(1) submit, at the request of the secretary of state, complete documentation relating to all
hardware, software, and firmware components for the system, as well as all documents
relating to the federal qualification process; (2) submit a physical security plan for the system
to the secretary of state not later than 90 days before a system using electronic voting
machines will be used in an election; (3) submit a list of all changes and modifications to the
system, a training plan, and a communication plan explaining how election officers at each
polling place will communicate on election day to the secretary of state not later than 46 days
before a system using electronic voting machines will be used in an election; and (4) provide
notice of the penalties for tampering with an electronic voting machine in each language used
at a polling place at which an electronic voting machine is used for voting.
H.B. 1425 (Garza) – Graffiti: would provide that a city may – but is not required to – first
offer to remove graffiti for free prior to requiring the property owner to remove the graffiti.
(Companion bill is H.B. 1089 by Martinez Fischer.)
H.B. 1433 (Strama) – Property Tax: would extend the charitable organization property tax
exemption to include organizations that provide access to affordable financial products and
services for low-income individuals, provided the organization is a certified community
development financial institution and is exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501
of the Internal Revenue Code.
H.B. 1435 (Elkins) – Property Tax: would provide that: (1) a taxing unit may not be made
a party to a suit to compel the appraisal review board to order a change in an appraisal roll;
(2) the movant in a suit to compel an appraisal review board to order a change in an appraisal
roll must mail notice of a hearing to the collector for each taxing unit that imposes taxes on
the property at issue; and (3) a taxing unit that imposes taxes on the property at issue may
intervene in a suit filed to compel an appraisal review board to order a change in an appraisal
roll for the limited purpose of determining whether the property owner has forfeited a
remedy due to the nonpayment of taxes.
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H.B. 1436 (Price) – Elections: would add public junior college districts to the current list of
entities with which a school district must hold a joint election. (Companion bill is S.B. 729
by Seliger.)
H.B. 1438 (Lewis) – Property Tax: would allow a city to serve notice of delinquent
property taxes to a domestic or foreign limited liability company whose right to transact
business in the state was forfeited by the comptroller, or on a limited liability company that
was involuntarily terminated or had its registration revoked. (Companion bill is S.B. 582 by
Harris.)
H.B. 1451 (Thompson) – Dog and Cat Breeders: would: (1) provide for the licensing and
regulation of commercial dog and cat breeders by the Texas Department of Licensing and
Regulation; (2) authorize the department to contract with third-party inspectors, including
local law enforcement agencies and local animal control agencies, to enforce or assist in the
inspection of, investigation of, and enforcement against commercial dog and cat breeders; (3)
authorize the department to establish training requirements, registration procedures, and
policies governing third-party inspectors; (4) require that a person inspecting or investigating
a dog or cat breeder notify a local law enforcement or local animal control agency not later
than 24 hours after discovering evidence of animal cruelty or neglect during an inspection or
investigation; and (5) not affect the applicability of an ordinance or other legal requirement
of a city or prevent a city from prohibiting or further regulating the possession, breeding, or
selling of dogs or cats.
H.B. 1454 (Murphy) – Hotel Occupancy Tax: would define “price” for purposes of the
amount paid for a hotel room as the retail price paid by a person for right to use or posses the
room, including any booking, handling, or similar fee or charge paid by or on behalf of the
person.
H.B. 1455 (Kolkhorst) – Law Enforcement: would allow a law enforcement agency,
including a city, to: (1) release an undocumented immigrant into the office of a United States
senator or United States representative; and (2) maintain a record of each released
undocumented immigrant who is not transferred to the United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
H.B. 1457 (Fletcher) – Law Enforcement: would: (1) make various changes to the law
regarding the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications for law enforcement
purposes; (2) provide that in order to be eligible to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic
communication in a circumstance that is not an immediate life-threatening situation, a
designated law enforcement agency must adopt a written policy and submit the policy to the
director of the Department of Public Safety for approval; (3) require that, if the director
approves the policy described in (2), above, chief law enforcement officers, including police
chiefs, would submit to the director a written list of peace officers authorized to possess,
install, monitor, or operate wire, oral, or electronic communications interception equipment
in a non-life-threatening situation; (4) authorize the department to conduct audits of law
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enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the written policy described in (2), above;
and (5) require that a peace officer is authorized to operate or monitor the interception of a
wire, oral, or electronic communication in a non-life-threatening situation only if the officer
completes at least 16 hours of related training. (Companion bill is S.B. 687 by Huffman.)
H.B. 1458 (Harless) – Elections: would: (1) require the voter registrar of each county and
the secretary of state to provide notice of voter identification requirements and to educate
voters about the requirements through certain programs by publishing notice on certain
websites; (2) require a voter to present to an election officer at the polling place a voter
registration certificate and an acceptable form of identification; (3) provide that, if a voter
does not present acceptable identification, the voter shall be accepted for provisional voting
only; (4) modify the types of acceptable voter identification documents; (5) make an offense
under the bill a second degree felony or a state jail felony if the person is convicted of
attempt; (6) provide that a voter who presents a voter registration certificate indicating that
the voter is currently registered in the precinct, but whose name is not on the precinct list of
registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the voter’s identity can be verified from the
proof presented; and (7) provide that a provisional ballot may be accepted only if: (a) the
voter presents acceptable proof of identification at the time the ballot is cast; or (b) the voter
submits a copy of the identification to the voter registrar by personal delivery or by mail for
examination by the early voting ballot board not later than the sixth business day after the
date of the election.
H.B. 1466 (Hernandez Luna) – Immigration: would authorize a young person who is not
a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and who has been abused, neglected, or
abandoned to petition a court for a declaration that declares the child as a “special
immigrant” under federal law.
H.B. 1470 (Miles) – Law Enforcement Complaints: would: (1) create a Texas State
Civilian Complaint Review Board that would investigate written complaints against peace
officers filed with the board; (2) require the board to send substantiated complaints to the
employer, including a city, of a peace officer to take disciplinary action; and (3) require the
board to send the complaint to the district attorney if the city does not take disciplinary action
against the officer.
H.B. 1471 (Miles) – Official Oppression: would increase the penalty prescribed for official
oppression in certain circumstances.
H.B. 1472 (Miles) – Public Information Act: would provide that: (1) a complaint filed
against a fire fighter or police officer alleging conduct constituting official oppression must
be retained by the city as long as the fire fighter or police officer at issue remains employed
by the city; and (2) such a complaint may not be withheld from disclosure under the Public
Information Act.
H.B. 1474 (Alonzo) – Immigration: would provide that a city may not require a landlord
to: (1) refuse to lease to a prospective tenant or renew the lease of a tenant solely on the basis
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of the immigration status of the tenant or a member of the tenant’s family; or (2) inquire as to
the immigration status of a tenant or prospective tenant or a member of the tenant’s family.
H.B. 1476 (Riddle) – Emergency Medical Services: would revoke the license of any
emergency medical services personnel who has been convicted or had a deferred disposition
for certain serious offenses.
H.B. 1485 (D. Patrick) – Electric Utility Rates: would add school districts and charter
schools to the current list of entities that are entitled to a discounted rate for electric service
provided by an electric utility or a municipally owned utility. (Companion bill is S.B. 504 by
Davis.)
H.B. 1503 (White) – Elections: would provide that only a TCLEOSE-licensed peace officer
is eligible for appointment as a special peace officer at a polling place.
H.B. 1507 (Christian) – Magistrates: would allow any magistrate in a county with a
population of less than 100,000 to issue certain types of search warrants.
H.B. 1519 (Isaac) – Traffic Fine Revenue: would provide that, in each fiscal year, a city
having a population of less than 1,000 (as opposed to 5,000 in current law) may retain, from
fines collected for Rules of the Road violations, an amount equal to 30 percent of the city’s
revenue for the preceding fiscal year from all sources, and shall send to the comptroller any
remainder portion of a fine collected that exceeds one dollar.
H.B. 1526 (D. Miller) – Automobile Theft: would make the Automobile Burglary and
Theft Authority ensure that all grants issued by the authority help increase recovery and
clearance rate of vehicle burglaries and theft.
H.B. 1531 (Ritter) – Property Tax: would exempt from property taxes land that is leased to
a person to be used as a school.
H.B. 1533 (Eiland) – Elections: would provide that: (1) in conjunction with the Department
of Public Safety, the secretary of state shall adopt rules to establish a process by which the
issuance of a driver’s license or personal identification card by the department is the sole
means of voter identification; (2) an election officer serving an early voting polling place is a
deputy voter registrar and has the same authority as a regular deputy registrar; (3) a person
who would be eligible to vote in an election, but for the requirement to be a registered voter,
shall be accepted during early voting if the person submits a voter registration application
and acceptable proof of residence.
H.B. 1537 (Eiland) – Law Enforcement: would: (1) allow a person with knowledge of the
commission of a crime to report it to any attorney who prosecutes criminal cases, including a
city prosecuting attorney; and (2) allow the criminal attorney, including a city prosecuting
attorney, to refer the matter to the police or the appropriate court.
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H.B. 1541 (McClendon) – Law Enforcement: would change the way the state Automobile
Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority administers and allocates grants to help prevent and
solve automobile theft offenses by providing that the authority shall: (1) develop and use
standard performance measures for each category of grants provided by the authority in order
to assess grantee success in achieving the purposes of this article; and (2) ensure that grants
are used to help increase: (a) the recovery rate of stolen motor vehicles; (b) the clearance
rate of motor vehicle burglaries and thefts; and (c) the number of persons arrested for motor
vehicle burglary and theft. The bill would also require the authority to allocate grant funds
primarily based on the number of motor vehicles stolen in, or the motor vehicle burglary or
theft rate across, the state rather than based on geographic distribution.
H.B. 1543 (Schwertner) – Property Tax: would eliminate the stipulation that the surviving
spouse of an elderly or disabled individual must be disabled in order to qualify for a property
tax freeze.
H.B. 1545 (Lewis) – Elections: would provide that the governing body of a political
subdivision, other than a county, that holds its general election for officers on a date other
than the November uniform election date may, not later than December 31, 2012, change the
date on which it holds its general election for officers to the November uniform election date.
H.B. 1552 (Madden) – Sex Offenders: would, among several other provisions: (1) require
a city police department designated as the primary registration authority for certain sex
offenders to use a required monitoring system to verify the authenticity of any
geographically verifiable information contained in the offender’s registration form; and (2)
require the manufacturer or vendor of a monitoring system to provide training to a city police
department on the equipment.
H.B. 1553 (Larson) – Immigration: would provide that a city that receives appropriated
money from the state to provide a health care, educational, welfare, correctional, or other
service to an individual must: (1) identify the individual’s country of citizenship before
providing the service; (2) determine the cost to the state of providing the service if the
individual is a citizen of a foreign country; and (3) submit to the comptroller a report that
contains this information. A city that does not submit a report in accordance with the
comptroller’s rules is not eligible to receive any disbursement from the state comptroller.
H.B. 1556 (Burnam) – Oil and Gas Drilling: would prohibit the issuance of an oil and gas
drilling permit for a site within 1,200 feet of a public school.
H.B. 1558 (Reynolds) – Air Quality Permitting: would require an applicant for certain
new facility or expansion of facility permits to, depending on whether the facility is located
in a community with certain percentages of minority inhabitants or inhabitants below the
federal poverty level: (1) submit an environmental justice report to the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality (TCEQ); (2) file a public participation plan with the TCEQ, (3) if
within city limits, consult with the mayor to evaluate the need for a community
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environmental benefit agreement in order to mitigate adverse effects on the community; and
(4) participate in a public hearing. (Companion bill is S.B. 549 by Ellis.)
H.B. 1559 (S. Davis) – Records Retention: would: (1) prohibit a court from destroying a
court document filed with, presented to, or produced by the court before 1951; and (2)
authorize the Supreme Court of Texas to create rules for the retention of such documents.
H.B. 1560 (Scott) – Enterprise Zones: would allow a county commissioners court to
nominate a project or activity of a qualified business as an enterprise project if the business is
located both in the county and in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a city primarily located in
another county.
H.B. 1561 (Orr) – Red Light Cameras: would: (1) prohibit a city from adopting an
ordinance to implement a photographic traffic signal enforcement system unless the city
holds an election and a majority of the voters approve the proposition; and (2) require a city
that currently has a photographic traffic signal enforcement ordinance to hold a referendum
election no later than November 8, 2011, and if a majority of voters do not approve the
proposition, allow the city to continue to operate the system until any related administration
and enforcement contract expires.
H.B. 1563 (Flynn) – Local Option Elections: would, among other things, extend the period
of time between certain local option elections to legalize or prohibit the sale of alcoholic
beverages from one to three years.
H.B. 1571 (S. Miller) – Motorcycles: would allow the operation and movement of
motorcycles between lanes of traffic moving in the same direction during periods of traffic
congestion if certain conditions are met.
H.B. 1576 (Garza) – Property Tax: would provide that either an opinion by an
independent auditor and licensed certified public accountant included in an audit, or a
determination of tax-exempt status by the United States Internal Revenue Service of a
community housing development organization or other organization constructing or
rehabilitating low-income housing, is prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the opinion
or determination for purposes of determining tax exempt status.
H.B. 1593 (Isaac) – Elections: would require the inclusion of a space for a candidate’s email address on an official application for a place on the ballot
H.B. 1594 (Isaac) – Traffic Citations: would allow a city of less than 5,000 to retain all
traffic fine revenue (current law provides that such a city is limited to 30 percent of the
previous year’s revenue) if less than ten-percent of traffic citations issued by the city’s police
officers are for driving five miles per hour or less above the posted speed limit.
H.B. 1595 (Isaac) – Firearm Discharge: would: (1) prohibit a governmental unit, including
a city, from bringing suit against a sport shooting range for the lawful discharge of firearms
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on the sport shooting range; (2) prohibit a city from regulating the discharge of a firearm at a
sport shooting range; and (3) allow a city to enforce an ordinance or regulation through
injunctive relief against a sport shooting range under certain circumstances. (Companion
bill is S.B. 766 by Estes.)
H.B. 1596 (Isaac) – Elections: would eliminate as acceptable proof of identification for
voting: (1) official mail addressed to a person by name from a governmental entity; and (2) a
copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other
government document that shows a person’s name and address.
H.B. 1600 (Rodriguez) – Property Tax: would: (1) amend the definition of “qualified openspace land” to include land that has been devoted principally to agricultural use or to
production of timber or forest products for three of the preceding five years (instead of five
of the preceding seven years, as current law provides); (2) provide that in determining
whether agricultural use meets the degree of intensity generally accepted in an area, a chief
appraiser shall distinguish between land in an area that is incorporated and land in an area
that is unincorporated; and (3) before February 1, require the chief appraiser to deliver an
application form, including a brief explanation of the requirements for obtaining an appraisal,
to each person whose land was appraised as “qualified open-space land” during the
preceding year.
H.B. 1609 (Gonzales) – Driver Responsibility Program: would repeal the state driver
responsibility program. (Companion bills are S.B. 624 by Whitmire and H.B. 299 by
Berman.)
H.B. 1616 (Geren) – Campaign Reports: would provide that campaign reports required to
be filed under the Election Code must list the following amounts received during the
reporting period: (1) any credit, interest, rebate, refund, reimbursement, or return of a deposit
fee resulting from the use of a political contribution or an asset purchased with a political
contribution; (2) any proceeds of the sale of an asset or investment purchased with a political
contribution; and (3) any other gain received from a political contribution.
H.B. 1619 (Orr) – Emergency Services Districts: would make various changes to the
administration of emergency services districts, including training requirements for board
members and a removal procedure whereby the county commissioners may remove a board
member.
H.B. 1622 (Menendez) – Graffiti: would change the definition of “gang activity” under
nuisance abatement laws by expanding the type of graffiti that is considered gang activity.
H.B. 1626 (Flynn) – Pseudoephedrine: would provide that a political subdivision may
adopt an ordinance, rule, or regulation authorizing or requiring a business establishment in
that political subdivision that engages in over-the-counter sales of products containing
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine to use an electronic reporting database
in addition to any other reporting or recordkeeping required by state law.
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H.B. 1627 (Flynn) – Elections: would allow a city to appoint as alternate presiding election
judge of an election precinct a qualified voter that lives anywhere in the city limits if the city
cannot find an eligible qualified voter of the election precinct to appoint.
H.B. 1628 (Larson) – Sales Tax: would repeal the state law prohibiting the state
comptroller from crediting to the Parks and Wildlife Department or the Texas Historical
Commission any amount of taxes imposed on the sale of sporting goods in excess of the
amounts appropriated to the department or commission, respectively.
H.B. 1634 (Bonnen) – Unfunded Mandates: would: (1) establish an unfunded mandates
interagency work group to consist of the state auditor, director of the Legislative Budget
Board, the comptroller, a senator, and a member of the house of representatives; (2) provide
that the work group publish and keep updated an advisory list of mandates for which the
legislature has not provided reimbursement; (3) provide that a political subdivision must only
comply with a mandate for which the legislature has provided reimbursement and allow a
political subdivision to act in reliance on the advisory list of unfunded mandates published by
the work group; and (4) repeal Government Code Section 320.004, which provides for the
review of unfunded mandates.
H.B. 1640 (Dutton) – Law Enforcement: would expand the definition of the crime of
official oppression to include excessive force; and (2) make excessive force by a peace
officer a third degree felony.
H.B. 1643 (Zerwas) – Development Agreements: would amend the current law relating to
development agreements (which includes by reference non-annexation agreements for
agriculture-exempt property) to: (1) provide that a city may make a written contract with an
owner of land that is located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city; and (2) provide that
the contract may include only those lawful terms and conditions that the city and the land
owner agree to, including among other things: (a) a guarantee of the continuation of the
extraterritorial status of the land and its immunity from annexation for any period up to 45
years (i.e., the bill would delete the 15-year term limit in current law); and (b) providing that
the total duration of the contract may not exceed 45 years.
H.B. 1647 (Gallego) – Municipal Court: would, among other things: (1) require either
party in a criminal case before a municipal court to disclose, as soon as practicable after
receiving a timely request from the other party, most evidence pertaining to a criminal case
to the other party’s attorney; (2) require the court to permit an attorney representing the
parties to make copies of the evidence; (3) permit the city to assert exceptions to required
disclosure that is believed to be confidential by law; (4) require a municipal prosecutor to
supplement or amend this information as needed; (5) require a defendant who intends to use
an alibi defense to file a good faith notice of intent to raise the defense with the court; (6)
permit a court to enter a protective order restricting a specific disclosure or permit an in
camera review of the documents; and (7) create sanctions for violation of the disclosure
requirements.
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H.B. 1649 (Marquez) – County Development Authority: would: (1) expand county
authority with regard to building code enforcement and fees in the unincorporated area of the
county; and (2) provide that an electric, gas, water, or sewer service utility may not serve or
connect new residential construction in that area unless the utility receives a certificate issued
by the commissioners court that states that the new residential construction meets all
applicable county building codes. (Companion bill is S.B. 861 by Rodriguez.)
H.B. 1650 (Hopson) – Purchasing: would provide, among other things, that a
governmental entity making purchases of building materials shall give preference to
materials offered by resident bidders if the building materials meet state specifications
regarding quantity and quality and the cost of the building materials is equal to or less than
the cost of other similar materials that are offered by a nonresident bidder.
H.B. 1652 (Alonzo) – Collective Bargaining: would: (1) give fire fighters and police
officers the right to organize and bargain collectively without an election to adopt the
provisions of Local Government Code Chapter 174 (the collective bargaining chapter); (2)
repeal the adoption procedure for collective bargaining provided for in the collective
bargaining chapter; (3) require arbitration if a request for arbitration is made under the
collective bargaining chapter; and (4) repeal the procedures for collective bargaining for
cities over 50,000 that are required to adopt collective bargaining.
H.B. 1665 (King) – Defense Base Authorities: would provide that, on receipt of an
application for a permit for a proposed structure in an area located within eight miles of the
boundary line of a defense base, the defense community reviewing the application shall
notify the defense base authorities concerning the compatibility of the proposed structure
with base operations.
H.J.R. 99 (Ritter) – Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to permit the
legislature to exempt from property taxes real property sold to a person for use as a school.
S.B. 11 (Williams) – Immigration: this bill is the same as H.B. 12, above.)
S.B. 646 (Nichols) – Texas Forest Service: would: (1) allow the Texas Forest Service (TFS)
to provide incident management training to local fire personnel to develop the all-hazard
response capability of the state; (2) allow the director of the TFS to establish guidelines for
volunteer fire departments to assist TFS with wildfires when local firefighting resources are
exhausted; (3) allow TFS to compensate volunteer firefighters if resources are available; (4)
require TFS to enact a wildfire protection plan; (5) require TFS to review the frequency, size,
and severity of past wildfires or future wildfires when determining funding to volunteer fire
departments; and (6) allow TFS to designate a portion of the volunteer fire department
assistance fund to be used by local volunteer fire departments to be federal matching grant
requirements.
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S.B. 649 (Hinojosa) – Affordable Housing: would continue the existence of the Texas State
Affordable Housing Corporation for 12 years.
S.B. 729 (Seliger) – Elections: this bill is the same as H.B. 1436, above.
S.B. 732 (Nichols) – Tree Preservation: this bill is the same as H.B. 1388, above.
S.B. 745 (Davis) – Saltwater Pipelines: would allow the Texas Railroad Commission to
regulate saltwater pipelines.
S.B. 756 (Seliger) – Water Transport: would: (1) prohibit a person, including a city, from
transporting surface water or groundwater more than seventy-five miles from the water’s
source; and (2) authorize the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to assess an
administrative penalty against a person who violates the prohibition on transport.
S.B. 758 (Deuell) – Sales Tax: would require the state comptroller, upon request, to provide
to a city information relating to the amount of sales tax paid to the city during the preceding
calendar year by each entity doing business in the city who remits annual sales tax payments
of more than $500 to the comptroller.
S.B. 760 (West) – Interlocal Agreements: would allow an interlocal contract between a
city and another city or county to be for a specified term of years.
S.B. 763 (Ellis) – Undocumented Persons: would create the offense of unlawful transport
of an undocumented person.
S.B. 766 (Estes) – Discharge of Firearms: this bill is the same as H.B. 1595, above.
S.B. 771 (Davis) – Swimming Pool Alarms: would: (1) require residential swimming pools
to have an alarm that indicates when a gate is left open when the pool is constructed or
remodeled; and (2) limit the enforceability of city ordinances that are less stringent on the
issue of residential swimming pool alarms than state law.
S.B. 774 (Zaffirini) – Disabled Peace Officers: would require the governing board of an
institution of higher education to exempt a student from the payment of tuition and fees for a
course for which space is available if, among other things, the student is permanently
disabled as the result of an injury suffered during the performance of a duty as a peace
officer and is unable to continue employment as a peace officer.
S.B. 779 (Whitmire) – Animal Cruelty: would: (1) create a registration system similar to
that in place for sex offenders for those convicted of certain animal cruelty offenses,
including a requirement that such offenders register with the city police department where
they live; (2) create a procedure by which a peace officer may check certain identifying
information against a state database to determine if a person is required to register under this
system; and (3) authorize a police department to release to the public certain information
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regarding a person required to register under this program and limit the police department’s
liability for such a release.
S.B. 806 (Hinojosa) – Historically Underutilized Businesses: would provide that a veteran
with a service-connected disability is eligible to be listed as a historically underutilized
business by the state. (Companion bill is H.B. 888 by Guillen.)
S.B. 808 (Seliger) – Security Breach: would increase the penalty for the offense of breach
of computer security if the breach involves a government owned computer facility or a
critical infrastructure facility.
S.B. 812 (Zaffirini) – Texas Municipal Retirement System: would modify the
reemployment provisions related to retirement under the Texas Municipal Retirement
System.
S.B. 823 (Carona) – Municipal Court: would require a municipal prosecutor to complete
at least six hours of training, including training on mental illness and substance abuse.
S.B. 825 (Lucio) – Affordable Housing: would require the Texas Department of Housing
and Community Affairs to establish an Office of Rural Community and Small Municipality
Housing Initiatives in order to provide training, establish pilot projects, and fund housing
initiatives that impact low-income housing in rural areas.
S.B. 826 (Lucio) – Rural Economic Development: would establish grant, loan, and
training programs designed to promote economic development and business innovation in
rural areas.
S.B. 829 (Patrick) – Professional Services: would provide that: (1) a governmental entity,
including a city, may not provide through its officers or employees a commercially available
service (e.g., the practice of engineering or architecture, construction services, or
construction management services) for an improvement to real property that is not owned or
leased by the entity; and (2) a governmental entity, including a city with a population of
50,001 or more, that provides through its officers or employees a commercially available
service for an improvement to real property owned or leased by the entity shall provide and
make available to the public an accounting of the cost of performing that service.
(Companion bill is H.B. 611 by Murphy.)
S.B. 838 (Patrick) – Driving While Intoxicated: would make the offense of driving while
intoxicated a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown in trial that the person had an alcohol
concentration level of 0.15 or higher.
S.B. 843 (Patrick) – Failure to Identify: would provide that a person commits the offense
of failure to identify if the person intentionally refuses to give the person’s name, address, or
date of birth to a peace officer who has lawfully detained the person and requested the
information.
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S.B. 844 (Patrick) – Escape from Custody: would provide that a person commits the
offense of escape from custody if the person escapes from custody when the person is
lawfully detained for an offense.
S.B. 849 (Duncan) – Elections: would, among other things: (1) eliminate the current
provision of state law that requires the secretary of state to either prescribe the terms that a
county elections administrator must accept, or instruct the county elections administrator to
decline to enter into a contract with a city, if a city and county are unable to initially reach an
agreement to furnish election services; (2) provide that an election watcher may not be
accepted for service if the watcher has possession of a device capable of recording images or
sound unless the watcher agrees to disable or deactivate the device; (3) provide that the
custodian of keys to early voting ballot boxes must retain possession of the keys until
delivered to the presiding judge of the central counting station; (4) require that a plan for
counting votes cast on an electronic voting system include a process for comparing the
number of voters who signed the combination form with the number of votes cast for the
entire election; (5) require a city to post notice of dates of the filing period for an application
for a place on the ballot not later than the 30th day before: (a) the first day on which a
candidate may file an application; or (b) the last day on which a candidate may file the
application, if the election code does not designate a first day on which the candidate may
file the application: (6) provide that a withdrawal from a election that is not made in writing
and signed by the candidate, or is not timely filed with the appropriate authority or agent of
an authority, has no legal effect and is not considered filed; and (7) require a notice relating
to a local option liquor election that is published in a newspaper to include: (a) the individual
or entity that is applying for the petition to gather signatures for a local option liquor
election; (b) the type of local option liquor election; (c) the name of the political subdivision
in which the petition will be circulated; and (d) the name and title of the person with whom
the application will be filed.
S.B. 854 (Duncan) – Electric Transmission Lines: would provide that, in addition to the
notices provided by current law, the Public Utility Commission by rule shall require an
applicant for an electric transmission line to provide notice by certified mail to each owner of
land that would be affected by the line.
S.B. 861 (Rodriguez) – County Development Authority: this bill is the same as H.B.
1649, above.
S.B. 862 (Rodriguez) – Noise: would: (1) create more stringent daytime noise level
requirements for the offense of disorderly conduct; and (2) specifically outline defenses to
prosecution for a noise-related disorderly conduct offense, including compliance with city
ordinances.
S.J.R. 25 (Hinojosa) – Bonds: would amend the Texas Constitution to provide for the
issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board.
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S.J.R. 26 (West) – Interlocal Agreements: would allow a city to enter into a multiyear
interlocal contract with another city or county without having to meet interest and sinking
fund requirements, even if such contract creates a debt.
CITY OFFICIALS TESTIFY
When the legislature is in session, nothing compares to the effectiveness of city officials
testifying at the Capitol. City officials who take their time to travel to Austin to speak out on
important city issues should be applauded by us all.
Among the city officials who recently testified in front of legislative committees are the
following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chris Bratton, Police Chief, Elgin
Gary Tiddle, Police Department, Dallas
Jessica Sloman, Police Department, Houston
John Chancellor, Police Chief, Shenandoah
William McManus, Police Chief, San Antonio
James Jones, Police Captain, Houston
Jerry R. Allen, City Councilmember, Dallas
While TML monitors most hearings, we won’t catch the testimony of every city official. If
we missed your testimony or the testimony of another official in your city, please contact us
at the following e-mail address and we will include your name in the next edition of the TML
Legislative Update: [email protected].
TML member cities may use the material herein for any purpose.
No other person or entity may reproduce, duplicate, or distribute any part
of this document without the written authorization of the
Texas Municipal League.
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