HBA-CBW C.S.H.B. 2340 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2340 By: Salinas Land & Resource Management 4/30/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Counties are finding it difficult to provide the infrastructure, including water, sewer service, roads, and fire and police protection to persons purchasing parcels of land within subdivisions exempt from county subdivision platting requirements. Land sold through the Veterans' Land Board program (program) is exempted from platting requirements for subdivisions if all of the lots of the subdivision are sold to veterans through the program. The exemption may have created a loophole for developers to subdivide tracts of land, market them to veterans, and then sell the subdivided tracts of land to non-veterans. C.S.H.B. 2340 excepts any subdivided tract of land owned by the veterans' land fund from plat requirements unless the subdivision lays out part of the tract as streets, alleys, squares, parks, or other parts for public use or use by certain purchases or owners. 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. 2340 amends the Local Government Code to except a subdivision of any tract of land owned by the veterans' land fund from county subdivision platting requirements unless the subdivision lays out a part of the tract as streets, alleys, squares, parks, or other parts for public use or use by certain purchasers or owners. The bill repeals the provision prohibiting a county from requiring the owner of a tract of land located outside the limits of a municipality to have a plat of the subdivision of a tract prepared if all the lots are sold to veterans through the Veterans' Land Board program. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2340 differs from the original bill to restore current law regarding the prohibition on a county from requiring the owner of a tract of land located outside the limits of a municipality who divides the tract to have a plat of the subdivision prepared if all the lots are more than 10 acres.