HBA-KDB C.S.H.B. 2762 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2762 By: Brown, Betty Land & Resource Management 4/23/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, municipalities plan and provide the proper development of infrastructure for new subdivisions. A municipality has the authority to adopt subdivision regulations, enforce a major thoroughfare plan, establish right-of-way widths adequate for major thoroughfares, establish set-back limits, contract with a developer to install public infrastructure without bidding, and require new developments to get a certificate of plat compliance before hooking-up utility connections to new residences. However, urban counties do not have the authority for such infrastructure planning. C.S.H.B. 2762 authorizes certain urban counties to plan and provide infrastructure for subdivisions. 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. 2762 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the commissioners court of a county, by an order adopted and entered in the minutes of the court, and after notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county: _to adopt rules governing plats and subdivisions of land within the unincorporated area of the county; _to require the width of a right-of-way on a street or major thoroughfare to be not more than 120 feet; _to require the width of a right-of-way on a street or major thoroughfare be more than 120 feet, if the requirement is consistent with a transportation plan adopted by the metropolitan planning organization of the region; _to adopt reasonable standards for minimum lot frontages on county roads and in relation to curves in the road, establish building and set-back lines, and impose utility connection requirements. The bill prohibits the commissioners court from regulating, unless authorized by state law: the use of any building or property for business, industrial, residential, or other purposes; the bulk, height, or number of buildings constructed on a particular tract of land; the size of a building that can be constructed on a particular tract of land; or the number of residential units that can be built per acre of land. The bill authorizes the commissioners court to contract with a developer of a subdivision or land in the unincorporated area of the county to construct public improvements, not including a building, related to the development. The bill requires a developer to construct public improvements and requires the county to participate in the cost of the improvements. The contract must establish the limit of participation by the county at a level not to exceed 30 percent of the total contract price. The bill provides that the contract may allow participation by the county at a level not to exceed 100 percent of the total cost for any oversizing of improvements required by the county. The county is liable only for the agreed payment of its share, which is required to be determined in advance either as a lump sum or as a factor or percentage of the total actual cost as determined by an order of the commissioners court. The bill authorizes the county to include additional safeguards against undue loading of cost, collusion, or fraud in an order adopted by the commissioners court. The developer must execute a performance bond for the construction of the public improvements to ensure completion of the project. The bond must be executed by a corporate surety in accordance with provisions relating to public work performance and payment bonds. This bill applies only to a subdivision of land that is subject to county regulations for general subdivision platting requirements and platting requirements in a county near an international border. The bill applies only to a subdivision of land that is located in a county that has a population of 150,000 or more and is adjacent to an international border, has a population of 700,000 or more, or is adjacent to a county that has a population of 700,000 or more and is within the same metropolitan statistical area, as designated by the United States Census Bureau, as that adjacent county. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2762 modifies the original bill by setting forth provisions regarding lot frontages and the connection of utilities and by decreasing from 150 feet to 120 feet the width of a right-of-way on a street or major thoroughfare required by the commissioners court. The substitute requires the width of a right-ofway on a street or major thoroughfare be more than 120 feet if the requirement is consistent with a transportation plan adopted by the metropolitan planning organization of the region. The substitute removes the provision that authorizes the commissioners court to impose impact fees. The substitute sets forth certain prohibitions on the authority of a commissioners court to regulate development. The substitute removes the provision that requires the commissioners court by order to authorize payment under the contract as a fixed amount or as a factor or percentage of the total cost. The substitute removes the provision that authorizes the county to inspect the developer's books and other records related to the construction of public improvements. The substitute differs from the original bill by providing that the Act applies to a subdivision of land that is subject to county regulations for subdivision platting requirements in general or for subdivision platting requirements in a county near an international border. The original provided that the Act only applies to a subdivision of land that is subject to county regulations for general subdivision platting requirements. The substitute provides that the Act applies only to a subdivision of land that is located in a county that has a population of 150,000 or more and is adjacent to an international border, has a population of 700,000 or more, or is adjacent to a county that has a population of 700,000 or more and is within the same metropolitan statistical area as that adjacent county, as designated by the United States Census Bureau. The original provided that the Act only applied to a subdivision of land located in a county that has a population of 100,000 or more or adjacent to a county that has a population of 100,000 or more and is within the same metropolitan statistical area, as designated by the United States Census Bureau, as that adjacent county.