Relating to disannexation of certain areas of a municipality for failure to provide services.

89(R) HB 2494 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

89R23154 MP-F

By: Craddick, Darby, King, Patterson

H.B. No. 2494

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2494:

By: Gates

C.S.H.B. No. 2494

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to disannexation of certain areas of a municipality for

failure to provide services.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 43.141, Local Government Code, is

amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), and (f) and adding

Subsections (g) and (h) to read as follows:

(a) A majority of the
property owners
[
qualified voters
] of

an [
annexed
] area
, including one or more lots, tracts, or parcels,

or a portion of a lot, tract, or parcel,
may petition the governing

body of the municipality to disannex the area if the municipality

fails or refuses to provide
the
services
described under Subsection

(b)(1) or (3)
or to cause
those
services to be provided to the area:

(1) if the area was annexed under Subchapter C-1,

within the period specified by Section 43.056 or by the service plan

prepared for the area under that section; [
or
]

(2) if the area was annexed under Subchapter C-3, C-4,

or C-5, within the period specified by the written agreement under

Section 43.0672 or the resolution under Section 43.0682 or 43.0692,

as applicable
; or

(3)

notwithstanding Section 43.0505, if the area did

not become part of the municipality in compliance with and under

Subchapter C
.

(b) If the governing body fails or refuses to disannex the

area within 60 days after the date of the receipt of the petition,

any one or more of the signers of the petition may bring a cause of

action in a district court of the county in which the area is

principally located to request that the area be disannexed. On the

filing of an answer by the governing body, and on application of

either party, the case shall be advanced and heard without further

delay in accordance with
rules for expedited actions under
the

Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court shall enter an

order disannexing the area
and award attorney's fees to the signers

of the petition
if the court finds that a valid petition was filed

with the municipality and that the municipality [
failed to
]:

(1)
failed to
perform its obligations in accordance

with:

(A) the service plan under Section 43.056;

(B) the written agreement entered into under

Section 43.0672; or

(C) the resolution adopted under Section 43.0682

or 43.0692, as applicable; [
or
]

(2)
failed to
perform in good faith
; or

(3)

has not connected the majority of the properties

in the area covered by the petition, regardless of whether the area

was annexed by the municipality, to the municipality's water and

wastewater systems, if any other area in the municipality is

connected to the municipality's water and wastewater systems
.

(d) The petition for disannexation must:

(1) be written;

(2) request the disannexation;

(3) be signed in ink or indelible pencil by the

appropriate
property owners
[
voters
];

(4) [
be signed by each voter as that person's name

appears on the most recent official list of registered voters;

[
(5)
] contain a note made by each
property owner

[
voter
] stating the person's residence address [
and the precinct

number and voter registration number that appear on the person's

voter registration certificate
];

(5)
[
(6)
] describe the area to be disannexed and have

a plat
, survey,
or other likeness of the area attached; and

(6)
[
(7)
] be presented to the secretary of the

municipality.

(f)
For an area annexed under this chapter, before
[
Before
]

the petition is circulated among the
property owners
[
voters
],

notice of the petition must be given by posting a copy of the

petition for 10 days in three public places in the [
annexed
] area

and by publishing a copy of the petition once in a newspaper of

general circulation serving the area before the 15th day before the

date the petition is first circulated. Proof of the posting and

publication must be made by attaching to the petition presented to

the secretary:

(1) the sworn affidavit of any
property owner
[
voter
]

who signed the petition, stating the places and dates of the

posting; and

(2) the sworn affidavit of the publisher of the

newspaper in which the notice was published, stating the name of the

newspaper and the issue and date of publication.

(g)

If an area described by Subsection (a)(3) is disannexed

in accordance with this section, the landowners of the area are not

eligible for a refund of taxes or fees for the area under Section

43.148.

(h)

The disannexation of an area under this section may not

include land that comprises the bed of a navigable waterway.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.