HBA-LJP H.B. 2017 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2017
By: Green
Land & Resource Management
3/28/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Texas faces a challenge of balancing the competing interests of residents
in unincorporated areas with the interests of annexing municipalities.
Under current law, a municipality is required to allow all qualified voters
residing in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) to vote
on a proposition relating to an adoption of or change to an ordinance or
charter provision that would apply to the municipality's ETJ or a
nonbinding referendum that, if binding, would apply to the municipality's
ETJ.  However, the residents cannot vote for the officials who make an
application of an adoption, change, or referendum.  House Bill 2017 allows
residents who live inside a municipality's ETJ to either vote for local
officials or vote for each ordinance and authorizes the residents to be
removed from the ETJ if the residents are not permitted to vote. 

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

House Bill 2017 amends the Local Government Code to require the
municipality to allow all qualified voters residing in the municipality's
extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) to vote on an adoption of or change to
an ordinance or charter provision that would apply to the municipality's
ETJ or a nonbinding referendum that, if binding, would apply to the
municipality's ETJ.  The bill provides that the adoption of or change to an
ordinance may not apply in the ETJ of a municipality unless a majority of
the votes in the ETJ favor at an election the adoption or change to the
charter or ordinance.  The ETJ of a municipality is removed from the
municipality if the voters in the ETJ are not permitted to vote in a
general or special election regarding the adoption or change to the charter
or ordinance.  An area removed from a municipality's ETJ is prohibited from
being included again in the municipality's ETJ unless a majority of the
voters in the area voting in an election held for that purpose consent to
be included in the municipality's ETJ.  These provisions apply only to a
municipality that has extended regulation of subdivision and property
development rules or other law to its ETJ.  The above provisions do not
apply to an area of the municipality's ETJ if the voters of the area were
permitted to vote in the three elections for members of the governing body
of the municipality that immediately preceded the date an election would be
held. 

The bill provides that the adoption of or change to an ordinance or
charter does not apply to an area that is located in a municipality's ETJ
and is located in a county other than a county in which 80 percent or more
of the population of the municipality resides, unless a majority of the
voters in the area voting in an election held for that purpose favor the
adoption of or change to the ordinance or charter. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.