HBA-MPA, KSM H.B. 379 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 379 By: Williams Land & Resources Management 3/10/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, Chapter 43 (Municipal Annexation), Local Government Code, authorizes a home-rule municipality to annex an area within its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), subject to certain procedural rules, without the approval of the area's residents. Residents of such areas are unable to incorporate or withdraw from the ETJ without the municipality's permission. H.B. 379 prohibits a municipality with a population of 1.6 million or more from annexing an area in its ETJ without the approval of a majority of the area's residents. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 43, Local Government Code, by adding Section 43.0215, as follows: Sec. 43.0215. VOTER APPROVAL OF ANNEXATION REQUIRED IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. Specifies that this section applies only to a municipality with a population of 1.6 million or more. Prohibits a municipality from annexing an area for full or limited purposes unless an election is held and a majority of the qualified voters of the area to be annexed approve the annexation. Provides that this section does not apply to an annexation of an area if no qualified voters reside in the area, if the annexation is authorized by or subject to another section of this chapter, other than Section 43.021 (Authority of Home-Rule Municipality to Annex Area and Take Other Actions Regarding Boundaries), or if the annexation is initiated by the municipality in response to a petition under Section 42.041 (Municipal Incorporation in Extraterritorial Jurisdiction). Requires the municipality to pay for the election costs. SECTION 2. Provides that the addition of Section 43.0215 applies only to an annexation for which a first hearing notice is published on or after September 1, 1999, and that if a first hearing notice is published before September 1, 1999, the prior law is continued in effect. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.