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


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2017
By: Green
Land & Resource Management
5/3/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



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.  C.S.H.B. 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

C.S.H.B. 2017 amends the Local Government Code to require a 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 or
charter may not apply in the ETJ of a municipality unless a majority of the
votes in the ETJ favor at an election the adoption of or change to the
charter or ordinance.  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.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2017 amends the original to remove the provision that the
extraterritorial jurisdiction (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 of or change to a
charter or ordinance or a referendum that  would apply to the ETJ.  The
substitute also removes the prohibition on an area that is removed from a
municipality's ETJ 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.