Bill Text: TX HB7 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to municipal regulation of the removal of trees on private property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 7-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-08-16 - Effective on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HB7 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB7-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to municipal regulation of the removal of trees on private property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 7-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-08-16 - Effective on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [HB7 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB7-Comm_Sub.html
By: Phelan, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Kolkhorst) | H.B. No. 7 | |
(In the Senate - Received from the House July 31, 2017; | ||
August 1, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on | ||
Business & Commerce; August 8, 2017, reported adversely, with | ||
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, | ||
Nays 4; August 8, 2017, sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 7 | By: Campbell |
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relating to municipal regulation of the removal of trees or | ||
vegetation on private property. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 212.003(a), Local Government Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The governing body of a municipality by ordinance may | ||
extend to the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality the | ||
application of municipal ordinances adopted under Section 212.002 | ||
and other municipal ordinances relating to access to public roads | ||
or the pumping, extraction, and use of groundwater by persons other | ||
than retail public utilities, as defined by Section 13.002, Water | ||
Code, for the purpose of preventing the use of or contact with | ||
groundwater that presents an actual or potential threat to human | ||
health. However, unless otherwise authorized by state law, in its | ||
extraterritorial jurisdiction a municipality shall not regulate: | ||
(1) the use of any building or property for business, | ||
industrial, residential, or other purposes; | ||
(2) the bulk, height, or number of buildings | ||
constructed on a particular tract of land; | ||
(3) the size of a building that can be constructed on a | ||
particular tract of land, including without limitation any | ||
restriction on the ratio of building floor space to the land square | ||
footage; | ||
(4) the number of residential units that can be built | ||
per acre of land; [ |
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(5) the size, type, or method of construction of a | ||
water or wastewater facility that can be constructed to serve a | ||
developed tract of land if: | ||
(A) the facility meets the minimum standards | ||
established for water or wastewater facilities by state and federal | ||
regulatory entities; and | ||
(B) the developed tract of land is: | ||
(i) located in a county with a population of | ||
2.8 million or more; and | ||
(ii) served by: | ||
(a) on-site septic systems | ||
constructed before September 1, 2001, that fail to provide adequate | ||
services; or | ||
(b) on-site water wells constructed | ||
before September 1, 2001, that fail to provide an adequate supply of | ||
safe drinking water; or | ||
(6) the ability of an owner of property that has been | ||
platted to remove a tree or vegetation on the owner's property, | ||
except as necessary to mitigate tree-borne diseases as recommended | ||
by the Texas A&M Forest Service, including by: | ||
(A) requiring the owner to file an affidavit or | ||
notice before removing the tree or vegetation; or | ||
(B) imposing a tree mitigation fee. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 212, Local Government | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 212.905 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 212.905. REGULATION OF TREE REMOVAL. (a) In this | ||
section: | ||
(1) "Residential structure" means: | ||
(A) a manufactured home as that term is defined | ||
by Section 1201.003, Occupations Code; | ||
(B) a detached one-family or two-family | ||
dwelling, including the accessory structures of the dwelling; | ||
(C) a multiple single-family dwelling that is not | ||
more than three stories in height with a separate means of entry for | ||
each dwelling, including the accessory structures of the dwelling; | ||
or | ||
(D) any other multifamily structure. | ||
(2) "Tree mitigation fee" means a fee or charge | ||
imposed by a municipality in connection with the removal of a tree | ||
from private property. | ||
(b) A municipality that imposes a tree mitigation fee for | ||
tree removal on a person's property must allow that person to apply | ||
for a credit for tree planting under this section to offset the | ||
amount of the fee. | ||
(c) An application for a credit under Subsection (b) must be | ||
in the form and manner prescribed by the municipality. To qualify | ||
for a credit under this section, a tree must be: | ||
(1) planted on property: | ||
(A) for which the tree mitigation fee was | ||
assessed; or | ||
(B) mutually agreed upon by the municipality and | ||
the person; and | ||
(2) at least two inches in diameter at the point on the | ||
trunk 4.5 feet above ground. | ||
(d) For purposes of Subsection (c)(1)(B), the municipality | ||
and the person may consult with an academic organization, state | ||
agency, or nonprofit organization to identify an area for which | ||
tree planting will best address the science-based benefits of trees | ||
and other reforestation needs of the municipality. | ||
(e) The amount of a credit provided to a person under this | ||
section must be applied in the same manner as the tree mitigation | ||
fee assessed against the person and: | ||
(1) equal to the amount of the tree mitigation fee | ||
assessed against the person if the property is an existing | ||
one-family or two-family dwelling that is the person's residence; | ||
(2) at least 50 percent of the amount of the tree | ||
mitigation fee assessed against the person if: | ||
(A) the property is a residential structure that | ||
is not occupied by the person; and | ||
(B) the person is constructing or renovating the | ||
residential structure for sale as a residential structure and not | ||
for use as the person's residence; or | ||
(3) at least 40 percent of the amount of the tree | ||
mitigation fee assessed against the person if: | ||
(A) the property is not a residential structure; | ||
or | ||
(B) the person is constructing or intends to | ||
construct a structure on the property that is not a residential | ||
structure. | ||
(f) As long as the municipality meets the requirement to | ||
provide a person a credit under Subsection (b), this section does | ||
not affect the ability of or require a municipality to determine: | ||
(1) the type of trees that must be planted to receive a | ||
credit under this section, except as provided by Subsection (c); | ||
(2) the requirements for tree removal and | ||
corresponding tree mitigation fees, if applicable; | ||
(3) the requirements for tree-planting methods and | ||
best management practices to ensure that the tree grows to the | ||
anticipated height at maturity; or | ||
(4) the amount of a tree mitigation fee, except that a | ||
tree mitigation fee may not exceed $400. | ||
(g) A municipality may not impose a tree mitigation fee for | ||
the removal of a tree that: | ||
(1) is diseased or dead; or | ||
(2) poses an imminent or immediate threat to persons | ||
or property. | ||
(h) A municipality may not prohibit the removal of a tree | ||
that: | ||
(1) is less than 24 inches in diameter at the point on | ||
the trunk 4.5 feet above the ground; | ||
(2) is diseased or dead; or | ||
(3) poses an imminent or immediate threat to persons | ||
or property. | ||
(i) This section does not apply to property within five | ||
miles of a federal military base in active use as of December 1, | ||
2017. | ||
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
a tree mitigation fee assessed by a municipality on or after the | ||
effective date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect December 1, 2017. | ||
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