Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout(P2) City of Port Arthur Legislative Wrap-Up(714457726.5)2025 Texas Legislative Wrap-up Regular and Special Sessions 1 2025 Texas Legislative Wrap-up Regular and Special Sessions 2 2025 Regular Session Adopted Legislation 2025 Special Sessions Questions Overview 3 3 2025 Legislation Filed 4 Record Number of Bills Filed (9000+) 1200+ bills passed & sent to the Governor 250+ bills passed with city impact 4 Funding for Water Infrastructure Movement to Take ETJ’s from Cities that Would Impact Industrial Development Agreements Highway Construction from Port Arthur to Sabine Pass Authority to Increase or Decrease Property Tax; Replacing Property Tax with Sales Tax Taking Away Zoning Authority Ability of Cities to Lobby the State Further Decreasing Cities’ Power to Effectively Implement Code Enforcement Decreasing Home Rule Authority City of Port Arthur Priority Legislation 5 5 S.B. 7 Water Infrastructure Funding - improves funding for water and wastewater projects in Texas and expands the types of projects that are eligible for funding. Most notably, if voters pass H.J.R. 7 in November S.B. 7 would dedicate $1 billion in sales tax revenues to the Texas Water Fund, with up to $20 billion toward water infrastructure projects over the next two decades. The rest of the bill is effective September 1, 2025. S.B. 7 adds the following additional projects that are eligible for funding from the New Water Supply Fund: (1) water and wastewater reuse projects; (2) acquisition of water or water rights originating from outside Texas; (3) reservoir projects for which: (a) the required land has already been acquired; (b) a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill material has been issued by the United States Secretary of the Army under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (c) a permit for the storage, taking, or diversion of state water has been issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ); and (4) the development of infrastructure to transport water or integrate water into a water supply system, other than groundwater produced from a well in Texas that is not already part of a project eligible for funding from the Texas Water Fund. Important to cities the bill requires the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to ensure that a portion of the money transferred from the Texas Water Fund is used for water and wastewater infrastructure projects, including projects to rehabilitate or replace deficient or deteriorating infrastructure, prioritized by risk or need for financial assistance, including grants, for: (1) rural political subdivisions; and (2) cities with a population of less than 150,000; over $1.5 billion appropriated for the TWDB to use for water infrastructure and supply projects and grants. Adopted Legislation of Interest 6 6 S.B. 480 Water Infrastructure funding - provides that a local government may contract with another local government, the state, or the federal government to jointly participate in research or planning activities related to water resources. S.B. 1261 Water Infrastructure Funding - gives cities more flexible tools to finance water projects in the State Water Plan. Allows cities to issue long-term bonds or other obligations to: (1) finance those water projects; (2) refund obligations, other indebtedness, or contractual obligations of the city issued or incurred in connection with an eligible project; and (3) pay the costs of issuance or delivery of the obligations. The obligations can be up to 50 years in length and cannot be secured wholly or partially with property taxes. S.B. 1261 does not Before the city issues or incurs an obligation, the city must submit a record of the proceedings authorizing the obligation and any contract providing revenue or security pledge for the payment of the obligation to the attorney general (AG) for review. If the AG finds that the proceedings conform to the bill and the Texas Constitution, then the AG shall approve it and deliver to the comptroller a copy of the AG’s legal opinion stating that approval and the record of proceedings. Once the AG approves, then the city may issue the obligation. If an obligation’s proceedings are approved by the AG and registered by the comptroller, then the obligation and any related contract are incontestable in a court or other forum. Furthermore, the obligation and any related contract are valid, binding, and enforceable according to their terms. The bill also provides that the projects eligible for the more flexible financing also qualify as projects for the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas, the Texas Water Resources Fund, and the Texas Water Development Fund II. Adopted Legislation of Interest 7 7 H.B. 2512  Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Release - provides that a resident may only file a petition for release of an area from the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) if the resident resides in the area subject to the release; f a city receives a petition for release, the city shall provide notice of the petition to the residents and landowners of the area described by the petition not later than the seventh business day after the date of receipt; before an area is released from a city’s ETJ by election, a landowner in the area to be released must be provided the opportunity to have their property remain within the city’s ETJ; a city’s written consent is not required to reduce the city’s ETJ as necessary to comply with release by petition or election. The bill maintains the exemption that it does not apply to any area that is subject to a Strategic Partnership Agreement (Effective September 1, 2025.) H.B. 223 (Capriglione/Middleton) – Lobbying Procurement - provides that an expenditure by a city to procure lobbying, government relations, or similar services intended to influence state or federal lawmakers on behalf of a city may not be classified as a personal, professional, or planning service for competitive procurement purposes. (Effective September 1, 2025.) H.B. 762/ S.B. 2237 Severance Pay - restricts severance payments to local government employees and contractors to 20 weeks of pay (Effective September 1, 2025.)   H.B. 3053 Local Gun Buyback Programs - prohibits a city or county from adopting or enforcing an ordinance, order, or other measure in which the city or county organizes, sponsors, or participates in a program that purchases or offers to purchase firearms with the intent to remove firearms from circulation, reduce the number of firearms owned by civilians, or allow individuals to sell firearms without fear of criminal prosecution. (Effective September 1, 2025.) Adopted Legislation of Interest 8 8  H.B. 1522 Open Meetings Notice - changes the current requirement of 72 hours notice of a meeting in the Texas Open Meetings Act to a three-business-day notice requirement.  S.B. 1173  Competitive Bidding Threshold - increases the competitive bidding limits for city purchases from $50,000 to $100,000; (Effective September 1, 2025.) H.B. 5238 Disrupting a Meeting - creates a criminal offense for obstructing or interfering with a public meeting, procession, or gathering by electronic disturbance, including hacking, of any virtual component of the meeting, procession, or gathering. (Effective September 1, 2025.) H.B. 4506  Notice for Zoning Changes - allows the city to provide electronic delivery of zoning notices by e-mail or text message if the recipient elects to receive notice electronically; and the city establishes an online portal on the city’s website through which a notice recipient may elect to receive notice electronically and manage their preferences (Immediate effect) H.B. 148  Appraisal District Boards – requires members of Appraisal District Boards to complete at least 8 hours of training program before the beginning of each term of office of the member and the training must be provided by an accredited institution of higher learning (Effective September 1, 2025.)  Adopted Legislation of Interest 9 9 S.B. 1035 Agricultural Operations - allows a person aggrieved by a political subdivision’s enforcement of a nuisance action or other governmental requirement on certain agricultural operations to bring an action against the political subdivision to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief to block the enforcement of the government requirement and allow for the recovery of court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees if they prevail. (Immediate Effect)  S.B. 1948 Agricultural Facility Regulation - prohibits a city from adopting or enforcing an ordinance or other measure that requires the installation of a fire protection sprinkler system in an agricultural pole barn; a nonresidential farm building; (3) a cotton gin; a cottonseed storage building; a grain storage facility; a livestock market; or a commercial feed mill. (Effective September 1, 2025.)  S.B. 541 Cottage Food Production Deregulation - provides that a city, may not require a cottage food production operation to obtain any type of license or permit or pay any fee to produce or sell certain foods directly to a consumer or vendor; or employ or continue to employ a person who knowingly requires or attempts to require a cottage food production operation to obtain a license or permit in violation of this law (Effective September 1, 2025.)  H.B. 4163 Agricultural Operations - provides that a city may not impose a governmental requirement that directly or indirectly requires the owner or lessee of an agricultural operation to mow, bale, shred, or hoe material on the right-of-way of a portion of a public road that is adjacent to an agricultural operation. (Effective September 1, 2025. S.B. 599  Regulation of Child-Care Facilities - prohibits a political subdivision from adopting or enforcing an ordinance, order, or other measure that requires a group day-care home or family home licensed, registered, or listed in state law to comply with health and safety standards that exceed those set forth in statute or by rule of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. (Immediate Effect) Adopted Legislation of Interest 10 10 H.B. 30  Disaster Property Tax - repeals the provision authorizing cities to adopt a property tax rate that exceeds the voter-approval tax rate without holding an election in the year following the year in which a disaster occurs; and provides that if any part of a taxing unit is located in an area declared to be a disaster area by the governor or the president of the United States and at least one person is granted a property tax exemption for qualified property damaged by a disaster,  the governing body of a taxing unit other than a school district or a special taxing unit may direct the designated officer or employee to calculate the voter-approval tax rate of the taxing unit as the lesser of the voter-approval tax rate calculated in the manner provided for a special taxing unit; or the voter-approval tax rate calculated according to a specific formula using a “disaster relief rate” that accounts for the total amount of a taxing unit’s share of the costs associated with certain services provided during a disaster, including debris or wreckage removal and essential assistance efforts. (Effective January 1, 2026.)   H.B. 5057 - requires a city to provide notice in a newspaper and on the city’s website, applies when a city renews or amends an existing contract in a manner that grants a solid waste management service provider an exclusive right to provide certain additional solid waste services that were not contained in the contract before the renewal or amendment. notice requirements do not apply to an annexed area if the city included solid waste collection services in the list of services that would be provided in a services agreement or a resolution of the services to be provided to an annexed area. S.B. 1883  Impact Fees - imposes a new restriction on how often a city may increase the amount of an impact fee, prohibiting any increase for three years following the date the fee was originally adopted or most recently increased, whichever is later. This three-year limitation applies only to increases adopted on or after the bill’s effective date, meaning previously adopted fees are not retroactively restricted. Additionally, the bill raises the voting threshold required to adopt an impact fee. Previously, approval required a simple majority vote, but an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all members of the city council will be required to impose an impact fee on or after September 1st. Adopted Legislation of Interest 11 11 The Governor called a Special Session of the Legislature which began on July 21 The first Special Session adjourned on August 15 The second Special Session was called on August 15 and ended September 4 Special session items were the same with the addition of youth camp safety Special Sessions 12 12 Special Session Issues include the following: Flood Warning Systems Ban Taxpayer Funded Lobbying *Youth Camp Regulations Flood Emergency Communications Protect Human Trafficking Victims Relief Funding for Hill Country Floods Police Personnel Records Natural Disaster Preparation & Recovery Protect Women’s Spaces Eliminate STAAR Test Attorney General Election Powers Cut Property Taxes Redistricting Protect Children from TJC Title Theft and Deed Fraud Regulate Hemp Derived Products Water Project Incentives Protect Unborn Children State Judicial Department Special Session 13 13 HB 1 - Youth Camp Preparedness Requires overnight youth camps to develop and submit emergency preparedness plans to the Department of State Health Services. Camps must conduct safety training with campers, install flood and weather warning systems, and notify parents if the camp is located in a designated floodplain.  HB 4 - Congressional Redistricting Governor Abbott signed HB 4 on August 29, giving final approval to the new Texas Congressional map. HB 7 - Prohibiting Abortion Inducing Drugs Prohibits the manufacture, distribution, delivery, or provision of abortion-inducing drugs in Texas. The law expands criminal and civil liability for individuals and entities engaged in such activities. HB – 8 Phasing out the STAAR Test Replaces the STAAR test with three shorter tests to be administered throughout the school year. HB 20 - Reducing Fraudulent Solicitations and Theft during a Disaster Directs the Secretary of State to oversee a program under which local governments may designate authorized nonprofits or financial institutions to receive disaster-related donations. The measure seeks to prevent fraudulent solicitations and scams that often arise in the aftermath of natural disasters. Special Session 14 14 HB 25 - Authorizing Over-the-Counter Ivermectin Authorizes the sale of ivermectin from a pharmacist without a prescription.  SB 1 - Youth Camp Safety Prohibits the licensing of youth camps with cabins located in floodplains. The law also requires evacuation routes to be posted in all cabins and obligates camp administrators to evacuate campers whenever the National Weather Service issues a flood or flash flood warning. SB 3 - Establishing a Grant Program for Outdoor Warning Sirens in Flood Prone Areas Creates a grant program within the Office of the Governor to fund the installation, maintenance, and operation of outdoor warning sirens in flood-prone communities.  SB 5 – Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Appropriates $200 million from the Economic Stabilization Fund or “Rainy Day Fund” to provide  the state match for federal disaster response funding. The legislation also allocates $50 million to assist local governments in purchasing flood warning sirens and rain gauges and $28 million to improve weather forecasting SB 14 – Water Conservation and Reuse Projects Incentivizes the adoption of water-efficient infrastructure in new developments. Requires political subdivisions to provide credits against water and wastewater impact fees for facilities or systems that achieve measurable water conservation or savings.  Special Session 15 15 SB 54 – Repealing Same Day Voter Registration Repeals a provision enacted in SB 2217 during the 89th Regular Session that would have allowed a voter’s registration to take effect immediately upon a registrar’s receipt of an in-county change of address. By eliminating this provision, SB 54 prohibits same-day voter registration in Texas.  SB 12 - Allowing the Attorney General to Prosecute Criminal Offenses related to Election Law Extends prosecutorial jurisdiction to the Texas Attorney General to pursue criminal election offenses. SB 8 – Protecting Women’s Spaces Requires state and local government entities to designate multi-occupancy bathrooms and other private facilities exclusively by sex and to take every reasonable step to enforce compliance. The law further directs the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to house inmates based on biological sex and requires that female family violence shelters provide services exclusively to women. Special Session 16 16 Questions? 17 17