HBA-CBW C.S.H.B. 2117 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2117 By: Walker Land & Resource Management 4/16/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, municipalities are not required to hold public hearings or provide notice before adopting a moratorium ordinance. Such an ordinance is imposed by the city council of a municipality and bans property development, which may cause property values to increase and housing construction to slow down. C.S.H.B. 2117 prohibits a municipality from adopting a moratorium on property development unless the municipality complies with certain notice and hearing procedures and makes written findings. 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. 2117 amends the Local Government Code to prohibit a municipality from adopting a moratorium on residential property development unless the municipality complies with certain notice and hearing procedures and makes written findings providing justification for the moratorium. The bill sets forth procedures regarding notice, hearing, and written findings. The bill provides that a moratorium expires on the 120th day after the date the moratorium is adopted unless the municipality extends the moratorium under specified conditions and provides that a municipality proposing an extension of a moratorium must publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality not later than the 15th day before the date of the hearing. The bill provides that a moratorium does not affect the rights acquired under provisions regarding local permits. The bill prohibits a moratorium from being placed on new development for the purpose of awaiting the completion of all or any part of the process necessary to develop, adopt, or update land use assumptions or a capital improvements plan. 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. 2117 differs from the original bill by providing that the Act applies only to a moratorium imposed on property development affecting only residential property. The substitute provides that notice of a public hearing must be published by a municipality on the fourth day, rather than on the 15th day, before the date of the hearing. The substitute provides that, beginning on the fifth business day after the date a notice is published, a temporary moratorium takes effect and authorizes a municipality to stop accepting applications for permits, authorizations, and approvals necessary for the subdivisions of, site planning of, or construction on real property during the period of the temporary moratorium. Within 12 days after the date of the first public hearing, the substitute requires the municipality to make a final determination on the imposition of a moratorium and provides that readings of an ordinance must be separated by at least four days, rather than seven days. The substitute prohibits an ordinance imposing a moratorium from being adopted, and the temporary moratorium imposed expires, if the municipality fails to adopt an ordinance imposing a moratorium. The substitute provides that a municipality proposing an extension of a moratorium must publish notice not later than the 15th day, rather than the 30th day, before the date of the public hearing on the proposed extension. The substitute removes the provision authorizing a landowner aggrieved by a municipality's adoption of a moratorium to file an action in district court to contest the adoption of the moratorium.