HBA-NLM H.B. 3745 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3745 By: Wilson Land & Resource Management 3/29/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The City of Houston has recently annexed two communities. H.B. 3745 creates a new section in the Local Government Code to establish procedures and provisions for the disannexation of certain areas. This bill provides for the disannexation of territory that has been annexed by a municipality with a population of more than 1.6 million and in which an election approving the annexation has not been held, regardless of when the annexation occurred. 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. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter G, Chapter 43, Local Government Code, by adding Section 43.148, as follows: Sec. 43.148. DISANNEXATION OF CERTAIN AREAS. (a) Applies this section to territory that has been annexed by a municipality with a population of more than 1.6 million and in which an election approving the annexation has not been held, regardless of when the annexation occurred. (b) Requires the county in which the tract is located to hold an election on disannexation of the tract from the municipality if the county clerk receives a petition asking for an election signed by at least 10 percent of the registered voters who reside in the tract. Requires the county clerk to determine the validity of the petition under Chapter 277 (Petition Prescribed by Law Outside Code), Election Code, not later than the 30th day after the date the petition is received. Prohibits a petition to hold an election under this section from being submitted after the fourth anniversary of the date of the annexation of the tract. (c) Requires the county judge to order the election to be held on the first uniform election date that occurs at least 45 days after the earlier of the date the county clerk determines the petition is valid, or the time for making a determination under Subsection (b) expires, if the county clerk determines that a petition filed under Subsection (b) is valid or if the county clerk fails to make a determination within the time prescribed by that subsection. (d) Authorizes only a registered voter residing in the tract to vote in the election. Requires the municipality that annexed the tract to pay for the cost of holding the election. (e) Requires the ballots at the election to be prepared to permit voting for or against the following proposition: "The disannexation of (name of tract) from the City of (name of city) and the reestablishment of any municipal utility district or other special districts serving (name of tract)." Requires the county to designate the name of the tract based on a name commonly used in the region to identify the tract. (f) Provides that the tract is disannexed from the municipality and any municipal utility district or other special district that served the tract on the date the tract was annexed and that was abolished as a result of the annexation is reestablished on the date of the canvass of the election, if a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition. Provides that the officers of a reestablished district who were serving on the date the tract was annexed are the officers of the reestablished district. Requires the officer to serve until the officer's successor is qualified, and requires a successor to be elected or appointed in a timely manner in accordance with the law governing the district, if an officer's term has expired. (g) Provides that if less than a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition, the tract remains a part of the municipality and prohibits another election to disannex the tract from being held under this section. (h) Prohibits the municipality from reannexing any portion of a tract that is disannexed under this section unless the reannexation is approved at an election conducted by the municipality in the area to be annexed. Prohibits the reannexation from occurring unless a majority of the votes cast in the area approve the reannexation. (i) Requires an arbitration panel to be appointed not later than the 10th day after the date a disannexation occurs under this section. Specifies that the panel is composed of certain persons. (j) Requires the arbitration panel to conduct certain accounting procedures. Requires the arbitration panel to render a decision on whether the municipality or special districts are entitled to compensation from the other, not later than the 120th day after the date of disannexation. (k) Provides that a decision of the arbitration panel is reviewable in the district court of the county under the substantial evidence rule. Authorizes the municipality or an affected district to file an original action for an accounting under Subsection (j) in the district court of the county in which the tract is located, if the arbitrators are unable to reach a majority decision. (l) Applies Chapter 171 (General Arbitration), Civil Practice and Remedies Code, to an arbitration under this section, except as otherwise provided by this section. (m) Provides that in this section a tract of land is considered to be located in the county in which a majority of the area of the tract is located. (n) Provides that if the tract is located in more than one county, the county clerk of the county in which a majority of the area of the tract is located is required to conduct the verification procedure described by Subsection (b), and the county judge of each county in which the tract is located is required under Subsection (c), to call an election to be held in the part of the tract that is located in the county in which the county judge serves. (o) Requires the county judge of the county in which a majority of the area of the tract is located, if an election is called under Subsection (n) in more than one county, to combine the election returns after the election returns are canvassed in each county, to determine if the disannexation is approved in the tract as a whole. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.