HBA-AMW H.B. 3422 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3422
By: Krusee
Land & Resource Management
3/21/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Municipalities have the authority to regulate land use to protect the
health, safety, and welfare of the public. Many municipalities have passed
land development ordinances that have sometimes caused school districts to
incur substantial costs in complying with these land development standards.
Current law contains procedures for negotiating which land development
standards school districts must comply with for each municipality, but
issues have been raised concerning the costs and results of negotiating
these agreements. House Bill 3422 provides that a school district is exempt
from all municipal land development standards, except for certain municipal
fire, safety, health, and building code ordinances and clarifies the
standards for land development agreements between a municipality and a
school district. 

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 3422 amends the Local Government Code to provide that a school
district is exempt from all municipal land development standards, except
for requirements regarding compliance with certain municipal fire, safety,
health, and building code ordinances, and is only required to comply with
land development standards included in an agreement between the school
district and the municipality (agreement).  The bill does not prohibit a
municipality from providing funds in connection with any work that would
bring school district property into compliance with a land development
standard.  The bill provides that provisions regarding an agreement apply
to agreements between a school district and a municipality, rather than
between school districts and any municipality which has annexed territory
for limited purposes.   

The bill requires a school district and a municipality, when entering into
an agreement, to balance the need of the school district to provide
economical public schools and the obligation of the municipality to
regulate land use to promote the public health, safety, and welfare.  The
bill authorizes, rather than requires, the agreement to include a provision
exempting the district from all land development ordinances in cases where
the district is adding temporary or permanent classroom buildings on an
existing school campus.  The bill adds permanent buildings to the types of
classroom buildings included in the provision.   

The bill provides that an independent arbitrator appointed when a
municipality and school district fail to reach an agreement must comply
with the provisions regarding an agreement in resolving the differences.
The bill provides that land development standards include subdivision and
platting requirements, restrictions on temporary or permanent classroom
buildings, building material restrictions, exterior facade restrictions,
equipment location and cover restrictions, and limitations on parking.  The
bill specifies that municipal ordinances or regulations relating to
aesthetics, maintaining property values, or zoning do not apply to school
districts. 



 EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.