HBA-CBW, JEK H.B. 973 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 973 By: Madden Land & Resource Management 3/28/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, before a municipality institutes an annexation proceeding, the governing body of the municipality must conduct two public hearings at which persons interested in the annexation are given the opportunity to be heard. At least one of the hearings must be held in the area proposed for annexation if a suitable site is reasonably available and more than 10 percent of the adults who are permanent residents of the area file a written protest of the annexation with the secretary of the municipality within 10 days after the date of the publication of the notice. However, the current law does not prohibit two annexation proceedings from occurring on the same day in which case many affected persons may not be able to have their voices heard. House Bill 973 provides that a municipality, in conducting annexation proceedings, must conduct two public hearings on two separate days within a prescribed time period. 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 973 amends the Local Government Code to provide that the governing body of a municipality must conduct two public hearings on two separate days within a prescribed time period before it is authorized to institute annexation proceedings. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.