Government
BY ANNA MANESS
24 bills officials are following this legislative session
Bill Stages
With the 89th Texas legislative session underway, Georgetown officials are tracking several bills that, if passed, could affect the city. Ahead of the session, council members adopted a legislative agenda that Georgetown residents put together. The agenda is centered on three pillars: preserving local control, planning for growth and preserving a high quality of life. During a board workshop, Intergovernmental Relations Manager Leah Clark discussed bills most pertinent to the three themes in the city’s legislative agenda.
Once a bill is introduced, it moves through seven steps before becoming a law.
Stage 1 Filed
Stage 2 Out of Senate Committee
Stage 3 Voted on by Senate
Stage 4 Out of House Committee
Stage 5 Voted on by House
Stage 6 Governor Action
Stage 7 Bill becomes law
NOTE: BILL STAGES WERE CHECKED AS OF APRIL 14 SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
1 Preserving local control Clark said several bills could affect Georgetown’s ability to preserve local control. According to the presentation, those proposed bills and their
Senate Bill 673 • restricts a city’s ability to regulate accessory dwelling units by prohibiting city parking regulations and limiting city height regulations • allows for between 125,000 and 1 million additional multifamily units to be built in Georgetown; removes the city’s ability to collect impact fees Senate Bill 840 Senate Bill 844 • changes the threshold of affected landowners required to trigger a zoning hearing Senate Bill 854 • mandates municipalities must allow multifamily and mixed-use developments on religious land Senate Bill 1237 • provides a tax exemption for certain property owned by charitable organizations for residents 62 years of age Senate Bill 1509 • prohibits city regulations within extraterritorial jurisdictions. Preserving a high quality of life 2 Planning for growth Clark discussed six bills that could affect the city’s ability to plan for growth. According to city documents, the proposed bills and their implications are:
Senate Bill 542 & House Bill 517 • prevents a homeowners association from fining someone for having brown grass during a declared drought 3 At the Capitol Georgetown officials have met with local officials’ offices several times to discuss specific issues such as the city’s density and water projects, Clark said. As of Feb. 24, every bill request listed in the council-adopted legislative task force agenda has been filed, she said. Those draft requests include:
Senate Bill 19, SB 239 & SB 1252 • prohibits public funds to hire lobbyists
Clark said some organizations believe SB 1209 is a better way for people to understand what they’re voting for and if they’re voting for tax rate increases. It aims to create a uniform election date—specifically the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, per city documents. House Bill 2977 • allows applicants and landowners to seek third- party reviews and inspections if the regulatory authority city does not act within 15 days House Bill 2736 • requires two-thirds of voters to approve a tax rate increase or bond election, and the vote must be held during a November election Senate Bill 1209 • moves all general, special and runoff elections to the first Tuesday in November instead of the current Saturday elections in May House Bill 2683 • creates a statewide framework for food truck regulations
Senate Bill 616 & House Bill 1618 • refiles an Aquifer Storage and Recovery bill
Senate Bill 1290 • requires package plants—or small wastewater treatment facilities—to have backup power generation Senate Bill 1496 & House Bill 3241 • authorizes municipalities to receive tax revenue from a hotel and convention center project and to pledge tax revenue for the payment of obligations related to the project Senate Bill 1586 • ensures improved security and reliability for package plants before permit approval “SB 1290 and SB 1586 are both by Sen. [Charles] Schwertner, and they are really trying to get around this idea of how we can make package plants less detrimental to the people around them,” Clark said.
SB 1237 | SB 1509 | SB 422 | HB 1480 HB 1909
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
SB 542 | HB 517 | HB 1618 | SB 1290 | SB 1496 HB 3241 | SB 1586
SB 239 | HB 2683 | HB 2736 | HB 2977
SB 844 | SB 854
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
SB 19 | SB 1252 | SB 1209
SB 673 | SB 840
SB 616
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
SOURCE: STATE OF TEXAS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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GEORGETOWN EDITION
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