Cole Solid Waste Bill Covers Counties Under 1.3M With 750,000-Plus Cities

The text as introduced · 600 words

By: Cole
H.B. No. 2452

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the provision of solid waste disposal services by

certain counties; authorizing a fee; creating a criminal offense.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 364.011(a-2), Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a commissioners court

may, through a competitive bidding process, contract for the

provision of solid waste collection, handling, storage, and

disposal in an area of the county located within the

extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality if:

(1) the municipality does not provide solid waste

disposal services in that area; and

(2) the county :

(A) has a population of more than 1.5 million and

at least 70 percent of the population resides in a single

municipality ; or

(B) has a population of less than 1.3 million and

contains a municipality with a population of 750,000 or more .

SECTION 2. Section 791.037(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) This section applies only to a county :

(1) with a population of more than 1.7 million in which

more than 70 percent of the population resides in a single

municipality ; or

(2) with a population of less than 1.3 million that

contains a municipality with a population of 750,000 or more .

SECTION 3. Sections 352.082(a) and (c), Local Government

Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) This section applies only to :

(1) the unincorporated area of a county:

(A) [ (1) ] that is adjacent to a county with a

population of 3.3 million or more; and

(B) [ (2) ] in which a planned community is located

that has 20,000 or more acres of land, that was originally

established under the Urban Growth and New Community Development

Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. Section 4501 et seq.), and that is subject to

restrictive covenants containing ad valorem or annual variable

budget based assessments on real property ; or

(2) the unincorporated area of a county:

(A) with a population of less than 1.3 million

that contains a municipality with a population of 750,000 or more;

and

(B) that offers solid waste disposal services to

persons in its territory .

(c) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally

or knowingly burns household refuse outdoors on a lot that is

either :

(1) located in the unincorporated area of a county

described by Subsection (a)(1) and:

(A) located in a neighborhood; or

(B) [ (2) ] smaller than five acres ; or

(2) located in the unincorporated area of a county

described by Subsection (a)(2), if the commissioners court of the

county has established a mandatory program under Section 364.034,

Health and Safety Code, that benefits the lot .

SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An

offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed

by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former

law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this

section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this

Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.