HBA-DMH H.B. 862 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 862 By: Dutton Civil Practices 3/6/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a district, county, or city attorney, or a citizen is authorized to sue to enjoin the use of property being used in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance. Any person who uses or is about to use a premises for purposes deemed a public nuisance may be made a defendant in such a suit to abate the public nuisance. At times, local authorities have been reluctant to pursue citizen complaints regarding public nuisances, and some citizens feel their complaints do not receive the necessary attention. House Bill 862 authorizes a resident of a municipality to bring suit directly against the municipality to force it to remedy the public nuisance. 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 862 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to authorize a resident of a municipality to bring a suit to require the municipality to take remedial action against a public nuisance that is occurring in the municipality. The bill authorizes the suit to be brought only in a county in which the nuisance occurs. If the court determines that the alleged nuisance is a public nuisance and a threat to the public health or welfare of the residents of the municipality, the bill authorizes the court to order the municipality to: _warn any person who uses or is about to use the premises for the purposes constituting the nuisance that the use constitutes a public nuisance; _investigate whether the municipality should bring a suit to abate the nuisance; _purchase property on which a use that constitutes the public nuisance has occurred; or _exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire the property on which a use that constitutes the public nuisance has occurred. The bill provides that the court must find that the acquisition of the property by the municipality serves a public purpose of the municipality before purchasing property or exercising the power of eminent domain. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.