Hayes Bill Makes Cities Serve Annexed Land Or Lose It

The text as introduced · 588 words

By: Hayes
H.B. No. 950

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the provision of municipal services to land annexed by a

municipality for full purposes.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 43, Local Government Code,

is amended by adding Section 43.006 to read as follows:

Sec. 43.006. PROVISION OF FULL MUNICIPAL SERVICES;

DISANNEXATION. (a) In this section, "full municipal services"

means a municipality's provision of each of the following to

annexed land to allow the full development of the land consistent

with existing zoning regulations, a development agreement entered

into under Section 212.172, or rights that have accrued for a

project under this chapter or Chapter 245:

(1) the provision of police protection;

(2) the provision of fire protection, including fire

hydrants;

(3) the provision of emergency medical services;

(4) the provision of solid waste collection, other

than those services that a municipality is not required to provide

under Section 43.056(o) to an area subject to that section;

(5) the construction, operation, and maintenance of

water and wastewater facilities;

(6) the construction, operation, and maintenance of

roads and streets, including road and street lighting; and

(7) the construction, operation, and maintenance of

any other facility, building, or service to be owned by the

municipality and completed at the time of annexation.

(b) This section applies to annexed land regardless of

whether the land was annexed with the landowner's consent.

(c) For land annexed by a municipality for full purposes

before September 1, 2025, the municipality must provide, at its

cost, full municipal services to the land not later than September

1, 2029. For land annexed by a municipality for full purposes after

September 1, 2025, the municipality must provide, at its cost, full

municipal services to the land not later than the fourth

anniversary of the annexation date.

(d) A municipality may not:

(1) charge a fee to a person for all or part of the

municipality's cost to provide full municipal services to annexed

land;

(2) adopt or enforce an ordinance, rule, or other

measure, or enter into an agreement, that requires a person to fund

a service necessary for the municipality to:

(A) provide full municipal services;

(B) construct an improvement necessary to

provide full municipal services; or

(C) dedicate land necessary to provide full

municipal services; or

(3) require a person to waive a right under this

section.

(e) If a municipality violates this section, an affected

landowner may bring an action seeking disannexation of the owner's

land from the municipality. In the action:

(1) the municipality has the burden of proving by

clear and convincing evidence that the municipality fully complied

with this section, and the court may not use a deferential standard;

and

(2) if the time period for providing full municipal

services under Subsection (c) has passed and the annexed land that

is the subject of the action has not been provided with full

municipal services:

(A) an irrebuttable presumption exists that the

municipality has failed to comply with this section; and

(B) the court shall order disannexation of the

land.

(f) The action described by Subsection (e) is in addition to

the enforcement provisions provided by Section 43.908.

SECTION 2. 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.