HBA-CBW H.B. 2215 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2215
By: Crabb
Land & Resource Management
4/2/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, municipalities may annex an area in their
extraterritorial jurisdiction without the consent of the area's residents.
There is concern that some municipalities are annexing areas for their tax
bases and other resources despite opposition by the residents of these
annexed areas.  There are also concerns regarding the lack of voter
approval needed for a municipality to annex an area and some
municipalities' ability to provide acceptable services to the residents of
annexed areas.  House Bill 2215 allows for the deannexation of a tract of a
contiguous territory that was annexed without an election on or after
December 1, 1996, by a municipality with a population of more than 1.5
million if certain conditions are met. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2215 amends the Local Government Code to require a county to
hold an election on disannexation of a tract from a municipality if the
county clerk receives a petition asking for an election signed by at least
10 percent of the registered voters who reside in the tract and requires
the county clerk to determine the validity of the petition not later than
the 30th day after the date the petition is received. The bill applies to a
tract of contiguous territory that is annexed on or after December 1, 1996,
by a municipality with a population of more than 1.5 million and in which
an election approving the annexation has not been held. 

The bill sets forth provisions regarding determining  the validity of the
petition filed and requires the county judge to order an election if a
determination on the validity of the petition is  not made.  The bill
authorizes a registered voter residing in the tract to vote and requires
the municipality that annexed the tract to pay for such an election. The
bill sets forth provisions regarding the preparation of the ballot.  If a
majority of the votes cast favor the proposition,  the bill provides that
the tract is disannexed from the municipality and that any municipal
utility district (MUD) or other special district (district) that served the
tract prior to annexation is reestablished on the date of the canvass of
the election.  The bill sets forth provisions regarding the reestablishment
of the directors of a  MUD or a district. If less than a majority of the
votes cast favor the proposition, the bill provides that the tract remains
a part of the municipality and prohibits another election to disannex the
tract  from being held. The bill prohibits a municipality from reannexing
any portion of a tract that is disannexed unless the reannexation is
approved at an election conducted by the municipality in the area to be
annexed and prohibits reannexation from occurring unless a majority of the
votes cast in the area approves such an action.  

The bill requires that an arbitration panel (panel)  be appointed not later
than the 10th day after the date a disannexation occurs and sets forth the
composition of the panel. The bill requires the panel to conduct an
accounting of all expenses the municipality, each MUD, and district
incurred during the annexation and disannexation process. Within a
specified period, the bill requires the panel to render a decision on
whether the municipality, MUD, or district is entitled to compensation from
the other. The bill provides that a  decision of the panel is reviewable in
the district court of the county under the substantial evidence rule and
authorizes the municipality or an affected district to file an original
action for an accounting in the district court of the county in which the
tract is located. The bill sets forth provisions regarding a tract located
in more than one county and provides that if an election is called in more
than one county, the county judge in which the majority of the area of the
tract is located is required to combine the election returns to determine
if the disannexation is approved in the tract as whole. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.