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HB 14 (Harris, Cody) Relating to third-party review of plats and property development plans, permits, and similar documents, and the inspection of an improvement related to such a document.

  • Allows developers to hire a 3rd party to review or inspect if a local government doesn’t act on them within 15 days
  • Review is to be done in accordance with local regulations & reviewer is required to report to the local government within 15 days of completion
  • The city cannot request a waiver of the deadlines and certain appeals are allowed 
  • HB 14 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s Desk

HB 471 (Patterson) Relating to the entitlement to and claims for benefits for certain first responders and other employees related to illness and injury.

  • Requires a county or municipality to provide full paid leave of absence for first responders for at least one year and ensures a first responder shall be reinstated to their same rank after recovering, provided they are able to perform the same essential functions
  • HB 471 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s Desk

HB 586 (Thompson, Ed) Relating to municipal annexation of certain rights-of-way.

  • Authorizes cities to annex certain right-of-ways only if the owner requests the annexation or the city provides written notice to the owner at least 61 days before the annexation and the owner does not submit a written objection
  • HB 586 has been signed by the Governor and is now effective

HB 1750 (Burns) Relating to the applicability of certain city requirements to agricultural operations.

  • Prohibits municipal regulations on agricultural operations outside the corporate boundaries of a city
  • Regulations within a corporate boundary are only effective with clear and convincing evidence of eminent danger due to a laundry list of events
  • HB 1750 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

HB 2127 (Burrows) Relating to state preemption of and the effect of certain state or federal law on certain municipal and county regulations

  • Preempts numerous areas of local regulation and requires local governments to approach state legislature for regulations in those areas
  • Specifically does not apply to certain regulations, including certain regulations on zoning, animals, payday lending, game rooms, massage parlors, public safety, development, and others
  • Establishes a cause of action for injunctive relief when a local government acts on a covered regulation and that action harms or threatens harm; contains a “loser pays” provision
  • No suits may be brought against individuals
  • HB 2127 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s Desk

HB 2956 (Shine) Relating to municipal annexation of an area adjacent to contiguous or connecting railroad rights-of-way

  • Through landowner request, petition, or election, allows a municipality to annex an additional area adjacent to a right-of-way of a railway line, spur, or other railroad property that was contiguous and ran parallel to its boundaries and is contiguous to the initial area being annexed
  • HB 2956 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s Desk

HB 3053 (Dean) Relating to the municipal disannexation of certain areas annexed during a certain period of time

  • Successor to SB 6 in 2017 that required a vote for municipalities of 500,000 or more population to annex; requires an election for areas annexed by these cities between March 3, 2015 and December 1, 2017
  • HB 3053 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s Desk

HB 3699 (Wilson) Relating to municipal regulation of subdivisions and approval of subdivision plans or plats

  • Requiring the publication of a list of all documentation and other information that a municipality requires to be submitted with a plat application
  • Includes language from HB 866 establishing an alternative review process if a city or county does not approve or disapprove an applicant’s plat within 15 days of deadline; applicants can have plats reviewed by city or county personnel with authority, from another local government if approved, or from a licensed engineer
  • HB 3699 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

HB 4082 (Goldman) Relating to the purposes for which a municipality or county may issue an anticipation note or certificate of obligation

  • Specifically defines “public work” for the purposes of local government certificates of obligation
  • Definition includes: a street, road, highway, bridge, sidewalk, or parking structure; a landfill; an airport; a utility system, water supply project, water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, or water or wastewater conveyance facility; a wharf or dock; a flood control and drainage project; a public safety facility, including a police station, fire station, emergency shelter, jail, or juvenile detention facility; a judicial facility; an administrative office building housing the governmental functions of the municipality or county; an animal shelter; a library; or a park or recreation facility
  • Expressly not considered a public work:  facility for professional or semi-professional sports; a stadium, arena, civic center, convention center, or coliseum; or a hotel
  • SB 4082 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 29 (Birdwell) Relating to prohibited governmental entity implementation or enforcement of a vaccine mandate, mask requirement, or private business or school closure to prevent the spread of COVID-19

  • Prohibits the state, local governments, charter schools, and state agencies from implementing, ordering, or otherwise imposing mask mandates, COVID-19 vaccine mandates, or business and school closure mandates
  • SB 29 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 232 (Hinojosa) Relating to the removal from office of an officer of a political subdivision for commission of certain criminal offenses

  • Automatic removal of a person holding an elected or appointed office of a political subdivision upon pleading guilty or nolo contendere to, receiving deferred adjudication for, or being convicted of, one of several qualifying offenses related to public corruption
  • SB 232 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 543 (Blanco) Relating to the conveyance of property by a municipality for the public purpose of economic development

  • Authorizes municipalities with agreements with an entity for the administration of an economic development program to transfer real property or an interest in real property to that entity for consideration
  • The entity must use the property in a manner that primarily promotes a public purpose; public squares or parks are prohibited to transfer, as well as any property acquired by eminent domain or threat of exercise of eminent domain
  • SB 543 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 580 (Zaffirini) Relating to the authority of certain counties to cancel platted subdivisions that have remained undeveloped

  • Allows border county commissioners courts to cancel certain unde6veloped subdivision plats is the property is not subject to an agreement between the county and a municipality authorizing that municipality to regulate subdivision plats in its ETJ
  • SB 580 was signed by the Governor and is effective September 1

SB 736 (Whitmire) Relating to mandatory arbitration for certain municipal fire departments and employee bargaining agents

  • Mandates arbitration to resolve contractual differences between City of Houston and Houston Firefighters 
  • SB 736 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 929 (Parker) Relating to the notice and compensation a municipality must provide before revoking the right to use property for a use that was allowed before the adoption of or change to a zoning regulation or boundary

  • Requires a municipality’s governing body or zoning commission to provide written notice of each public hearing regarding adoption or change to a zoning regulation or boundary 
  • Establishes the compensation that the owner or lessee of property with a nonconforming use is entitled to receive if the nonconforming use is required to cease operation due to being a nonconforming use
  • SB 929 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk 

SB 1017 (Birdwell) Relating to the authority of a political subdivision to regulate an energy source or engine

  • Prevents local governments from adopting or enforcing regulations limiting access to or use of an energy source or restricting use, sale, or lease of an engine base on fuel source
  • Contains exceptions to allow for certain regulations, such as regulations for idling motor vehicles or only applying to engines owned by the local government and included in the state implementation plan
  • SB 1017 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 1420 (Birdwell) Relating to municipal and county hotel occupancy taxes.

  • Omnibus local hotel occupancy tax bill; seeks to address these myriad issues by revising the annual hotel occupancy tax reporting requirements, updating various Tax Code definitions applicable to the use of hotel occupancy tax revenue, implementing a claw back mechanism for hotel and convention center projects, and providing for a biennial report to the legislature regarding the status of each such project
  • SB 1420 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 1916 (Parker) Relating to publication of public improvement district service plans and assessments on certain public Internet websites.

  • Cities and counties are required to submit an assessment roll on property within a Public Improvement District within 7 days of levying an assessment or reassessment
  • The assessment roll must state the total assessment levied against each parcel, the amount of the annual assessment, and the amount of applicable periodic installments
  • Similarly, within 7 days of approving, amending, or updating a service plan, the municipality or county is required to post a copy to the web
  • SB 1916 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk

SB 2038 (Bettencourt) Relating to release of an area from a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction by petition or election.

  • Provides for the release of an area from a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction by petition or election; exempts areas within 5 miles of military bases, in applicable industrial districts, or in areas strategic partnership agreements between cities and conservation and reclamation districts
  • SB 2038 was signed by the Governor and is effective September 1

SB 2192 (Hall) Relating to the contents of a petition filed with the Commission for Environmental Quality

  • Pre-petition notice for MUD located outside of the corporate limits of a municipality
  • SB 2192 passed out of both chambers and is now heading to the Governor’s desk