Bill Text: TX HB5336 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled


Bill Title: Relating to the powers and duties of Port Freeport; limiting the authority of certain municipalities to regulate land use by Port Freeport; and the creation of a reinvestment zone containing property owned by Port Freeport.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-13 - Effective immediately [HB5336 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB5336-Enrolled.html
 
 
  H.B. No. 5336
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the powers and duties of Port Freeport; limiting the
  authority of certain municipalities to regulate land use by Port
  Freeport; and the creation of a reinvestment zone containing
  property owned by Port Freeport.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 5002, Special District Local Laws Code,
  is amended by adding Subchapters D and E to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER D. POWERS AND DUTIES
         Sec. 5002.151.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  “Port use” means any use permitted or allowed,
  with or without a special use permit, in the following zoning
  districts under the zoning ordinance, or any additional use
  subsequently permitted or allowed in the following zoning districts
  under an amendment to the zoning ordinance:
                     (A)  a zoning district designated as DT, C-1, C-2,
  C-3, or W-1; or
                     (B)  a zoning district designated as “IN," other
  than heavy industrial or other heavy industrial uses as defined in
  the zoning ordinance.
               (2)  “Port zone” means:
                     (A)  the lands within the protected zone that are
  located both south of West Eighth Street and east of Cherry Street;
  and
                     (B)  all lands east of Farm-to-Market Road 1495
  that are included within the Plat and Dedication of the Freeport
  Townsite recorded in Volume 2, at Page 95 of the Brazoria County
  Real Property Records.
               (3)  "Protected zone” means the portion of the
  corporate limits of the City of Freeport as they exist on September
  1, 2023, that lies:
                     (A)  within the enclosed space bounded by
  beginning at the intersection of State Highway 36 and the center of
  the Brazos River, then north along the center of the Brazos River to
  the intersection of the center of the Brazos River and the center of
  the DOW fresh water canal, then north and east along the center of
  the DOW fresh water canal to the intersection of the center of the
  DOW fresh water canal and Farm-to-Market Road 1495, then south
  along Farm-to-Market Road 1495 to the intersection of
  Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and State Highway 36, and then west along
  State Highway 36 to the intersection of State Highway 36 and the
  center of the Brazos River;
                     (B)  within Brazoria County 2020 United States
  Census tract 664501 blocks 2027, 2032, and 2034;
                     (C)  within the enclosed space bounded by
  beginning at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and the
  Intracoastal Waterway, then west along the Intracoastal Waterway to
  the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Brazos River,
  then south along the Brazos River to the Gulf of Mexico, then east
  along the Gulf of Mexico to the intersection of a line extending
  from the southern terminus of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 due south to
  the intersection with the Gulf of Mexico, and then due north to the
  intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and the Intracoastal
  Waterway;
                     (D)  adjacent to the old Brazos River channel and
  inside the floodgate, which is zoned as a W-1 District under the
  zoning ordinance, and bounded by Farm-to-Market Road 1495 on the
  west;
                     (E)  within the portion of Brazoria County 2020
  United States Census tract 664200 blocks 2059, 2060, and 2061 that
  lies within 3,500 feet of the centerline of State Highway 332;
                     (F)  within the 13.316 acre tract of land
  described in that certain Deed recorded in Volume 11199, at Page 471
  of the Brazoria County Real Property Records; or
                     (G)  within the 56.751 acre tract of land
  described in that certain Deed of Exchange recorded in Volume
  86286, at Page 927 of the Brazoria County Real Property Records.
               (4)  "Zoning ordinance" means Chapter 155, Code of
  Ordinances, of the City of Freeport, Texas in effect on January 1,
  2023.
         Sec. 5002.152.  POWERS REGARDING PORTS AND FACILITIES.
  Except as provided by Section 5002.153, the district may:
               (1)  acquire by gift, purchase, or eminent domain and
  own land adjacent or accessible by road, rail, or water to navigable
  water and ports developed by the district that is necessary for the
  development and operation of the navigable water or ports within
  the district or necessary for or in aid of the development of
  industries and businesses on that land; and
               (2)  construct, extend, improve, repair, maintain, and
  reconstruct, cause to be constructed, extended, improved,
  repaired, maintained, and reconstructed, and own, rent, lease, use,
  and operate any facility of any kind necessary or convenient to the
  exercise of the rights, powers, privileges, and functions granted
  by this chapter.
         Sec. 5002.153.  LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION AND USE OF REAL
  PROPERTY WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES.
  After the effective date of the Act enacting this section, the
  district shall not:
               (1)  acquire by gift, purchase, or condemnation any
  real property located within the protected zone unless:
                     (A)  the acquisition is of a residential lot or
  lots for which no change in the permitted use will be sought by the
  district; or
                     (B)  the acquisition is submitted to the qualified
  voters of the municipality within which the real property is
  located at an election held on a uniform election date and is
  approved by a majority of the votes received at the election;
               (2)  use any property owned or acquired by the district
  in the port zone for anything other than a port use; or
               (3)  use any property owned or acquired by the district
  in the protected zone that is not in the port zone for anything
  other than a use permitted under the zoning ordinance unless the use
  is approved by the governing body of the municipality in which the
  land is located.
         Sec. 5002.154.  CALLING ELECTION. The governing body of a
  municipality shall call an election under Section 5002.153(1)(B) to
  be held on the next uniform election date within 30 days of the
  municipality’s receipt from the district of a written request for
  the election and the description of all property subject to the
  election.
         Sec. 5002.155.  REPLATTING OF LAND. (a) The district may
  replat land owned by the district in accordance with Subchapter A,
  Chapter 212, Local Government Code, for the purpose of combining
  previously platted lots for development.
         (b)  The municipal authority responsible for approving the
  plat shall approve a replat requested by the district for the
  purposes set forth in this section within 60 days following receipt
  of the application for replat.
         (c)  The provisions of Subsection (b) do not apply to the
  replatting of land by the district if the replat creates or proposes
  municipally owned or municipally maintained public right-of-way or
  municipally owned or municipally maintained water, wastewater, or
  stormwater infrastructure within the property being platted.
  SUBCHAPTER E. RELATIONSHIP WITH MUNICIPALITIES
         Sec. 5002.201.  DISTRICT PROPERTY SUBJECT TO MUNICIPAL
  JURISDICTION. (a) This section applies only to property:
               (1)  owned or leased by the district; and
               (2)  located in:
                     (A)  the district; and
                     (B)  the boundaries or extraterritorial
  jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of less than
  20,000 that is wholly located in the district and whose corporate
  limits border the Gulf of Mexico.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), the district has
  exclusive land use jurisdiction over property to which this section
  applies.
         (c)  This section does not apply to an ordinance, rule, or
  other measure adopted by a municipality that:
               (1)  applies only to property within the boundaries of
  the municipality;
               (2)  regulates only the safety of the operations of the
  municipality or reasonable aesthetics, including regulations
  governing fire and emergency response, traffic, light, or noise;
               (3)  is commercially reasonable; and
               (4)  does not effectively prohibit development and
  operation of industries and businesses on property owned or leased
  by the district that are built in accordance with building codes
  adopted by the district that meet or exceed the building codes
  adopted by the local municipality.
         (d)  A municipality may conduct inspections to verify
  compliance with Subsection (c) if the inspections are conducted in
  a timely manner, and any differences in interpretation of
  applicable codes are determined in favor of the district.
         (e)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), a municipality may
  not adopt or enforce an ordinance, rule, or other measure that
  prohibits or restricts:
               (1)  the acquisition or leasing of property to which
  this section applies for a purpose described by Section 5002.152;
  or
               (2)  the development of industries and businesses on
  property to which this section applies.
         Sec. 5002.202.  MUNICIPAL CONSENT NOT REQUIRED. Municipal
  consent is not required for the district to exercise a power or duty
  under this chapter.
         Sec. 5002.203.  DESIGNATION OF REINVESTMENT ZONE.
  Notwithstanding Subchapter B, Chapter 312, Tax Code, the district
  may submit a written request to the commissioners court of a county
  in which a property owned by the district is located for the
  commissioners court to designate the property as a reinvestment
  zone or area for the purposes of Chapter 312, Tax Code. The
  commissioners court may designate the property as a reinvestment
  zone or area if the commissioners court finds the criteria set forth
  in Section 312.202, Tax Code, are met for the property as if a
  municipality in which the property is located were creating the
  zone.
         Sec. 5002.204.  ENFORCEMENT OF SUBCHAPTERS. (a) The
  provisions of Subchapters D and E may be enforced only through
  mandamus or declaratory or injunctive relief. A political
  subdivision's immunity from suit is waived in regard to an action
  under this subchapter.
         (b)  A court may award court costs and reasonable and
  necessary attorney's fees to the prevailing party in an action
  under this subchapter.
         Sec. 5002.205.  EFFECT OF INVALIDITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.
  (a) This section applies only to a municipality with a population
  of more than 5,000 that is wholly located in the district and to
  property:
               (1)  owned or leased by the district;
               (2)  located in the district and within seven miles of
  the Gulf of Mexico; and
               (3)  located in the corporate limits or
  extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality that is subject to
  this section.
         (b)  If enforcement of any part of Section 5002.201 is ever
  permanently enjoined or held to be invalid or to violate the
  requirements of the Texas Constitution by a final, non-appealable
  order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, other than
  pursuant to an action initiated by the district, then:
               (1)  all of Section 5002.201 will be automatically
  enjoined from enforcement; and
               (2)  the authority of a municipality subject to this
  section to regulate property subject to this section under Chapter
  211 or 212, Local Government Code, or any local code or ordinance
  shall be expressly preempted and Chapter 232, Local Government
  Code, shall exclusively apply to such property.
         (c)  If enforcement of any part of Section 5002.153 or
  5002.154 is ever permanently enjoined or held to be invalid or to
  violate the requirements of the Texas Constitution by a final,
  non-appealable order or judgment of a court of competent
  jurisdiction, other than pursuant to an action initiated by a
  municipality, then Section 5002.201 will be automatically enjoined
  from enforcement.
         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, 2023.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 5336 was passed by the House on May 9,
  2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 11, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 5336 on May 25, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 139, Nays 0,
  1 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 5336 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 21, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays
  2.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor       
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