HBA-CBW H.B. 2215 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2215 By: Crabb Land & Resource Management 4/2/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, municipalities may annex an area in their extraterritorial jurisdiction without the consent of the area's residents. There is concern that some municipalities are annexing areas for their tax bases and other resources despite opposition by the residents of these annexed areas. There are also concerns regarding the lack of voter approval needed for a municipality to annex an area and some municipalities' ability to provide acceptable services to the residents of annexed areas. House Bill 2215 allows for the deannexation of a tract of a contiguous territory that was annexed without an election on or after December 1, 1996, by a municipality with a population of more than 1.5 million if certain conditions are met. 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 2215 amends the Local Government Code to require a county to hold an election on disannexation of a tract from a 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 and requires the county clerk to determine the validity of the petition not later than the 30th day after the date the petition is received. The bill applies to a tract of contiguous territory that is annexed on or after December 1, 1996, by a municipality with a population of more than 1.5 million and in which an election approving the annexation has not been held. The bill sets forth provisions regarding determining the validity of the petition filed and requires the county judge to order an election if a determination on the validity of the petition is not made. The bill authorizes a registered voter residing in the tract to vote and requires the municipality that annexed the tract to pay for such an election. The bill sets forth provisions regarding the preparation of the ballot. If a majority of the votes cast favor the proposition, the bill provides that the tract is disannexed from the municipality and that any municipal utility district (MUD) or other special district (district) that served the tract prior to annexation is reestablished on the date of the canvass of the election. The bill sets forth provisions regarding the reestablishment of the directors of a MUD or a district. If less than a majority of the votes cast favor the proposition, the bill provides that the tract remains a part of the municipality and prohibits another election to disannex the tract from being held. The bill prohibits a municipality from reannexing any portion of a tract that is disannexed unless the reannexation is approved at an election conducted by the municipality in the area to be annexed and prohibits reannexation from occurring unless a majority of the votes cast in the area approves such an action. The bill requires that an arbitration panel (panel) be appointed not later than the 10th day after the date a disannexation occurs and sets forth the composition of the panel. The bill requires the panel to conduct an accounting of all expenses the municipality, each MUD, and district incurred during the annexation and disannexation process. Within a specified period, the bill requires the panel to render a decision on whether the municipality, MUD, or district is entitled to compensation from the other. The bill provides that a decision of the panel is reviewable in the district court of the county under the substantial evidence rule and authorizes the municipality or an affected district to file an original action for an accounting in the district court of the county in which the tract is located. The bill sets forth provisions regarding a tract located in more than one county and provides that if an election is called in more than one county, the county judge in which the majority of the area of the tract is located is required to combine the election returns to determine if the disannexation is approved in the tract as whole. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.