HBA-CMT C.S.H.B. 1912 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1912 By: Capelo Urban Affairs 4/17/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, cities are becoming more aware of the need to provide citizens who have mobility impairments with access improvements. The federal government has further directed the attention of cities to access improvements through the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. One of the largest issues facing cities in Texas is the question of accessibility of sidewalks and streets. This involves not only adequate sidewalks, but very specifically defined curb cuts at intersections. A number of cities across the state have been cited for failure to provide adequate access. C.S.H.B. 1912 authorizes the governing body of a municipality to add a $1 fee per month to each bill from a municipality-owned utility system which may only be used by the municipality for construction and maintenance of street and sidewalk accessibility improvements and accessible municipal park maintenance and construction to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 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 C.S.H.B. 1912 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a municipality each year by ordinance to add a fee for a period not to exceed one year to the utility bills issued by a municipality owned utility system containing one or more utilities. The fee may not exceed $1 each month, is to be paid at an interval determined by the governing body of the municipality, and is required to be described on the bill as a "city ADA fee." The municipality is required to deposit the collected fee in a special account that may be used by the municipality only to construct and maintain accessible street and sidewalk improvements to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and to construct and maintain accessible municipal parks and municipal park improvements. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1912 modifies the original bill by restricting the fee from lasting for a period in excess of one year, and authorizing the fee to be added each year to the utility bill issued by certain municipality owned utility systems. The substitute requires the fee to be described on the bill as a "city ADA fee." The substitute adds that the fee is authorized to be used for the construction and maintenance of accessible municipal parks and municipal park improvements.