Sec. 43.056. PROVISION OF SERVICES TO ANNEXED AREA. (a) Before the first day of the 10th month after the month in which the inventory is prepared as provided by Section 43.053, the municipality proposing the annexation shall complete a service plan that provides for the extension of full municipal services to the area to be annexed. The municipality shall provide the services by any of the methods by which it extends the services to any other area of the municipality.
(b) The service plan, which must be completed in the period provided by Subsection (a) before the annexation, must include a program under which the municipality will provide full municipal services in the annexed area no later than 2-1/2 years after the effective date of the annexation, in accordance with Subsection (e), unless certain services cannot reasonably be provided within that period and the municipality proposes a schedule for providing those services, and must include a list of all services required by this section to be provided under the plan. If the municipality proposes a schedule to extend the period for providing certain services, the schedule must provide for the provision of full municipal services no later than 4-1/2 years after the effective date of the annexation. However, under the program if the municipality provides any of the following services within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, the municipality must provide those services in the area proposed for annexation on the effective date of the annexation of the area:
(1) police protection;
(2) fire protection;
(3) emergency medical services;
(4) solid waste collection, except as provided by Subsection (o);
(5) operation and maintenance of water and wastewater facilities in the annexed area that are not within the service area of another water or wastewater utility;
(6) operation and maintenance of roads and streets, including road and street lighting;
(7) operation and maintenance of parks, playgrounds, and swimming pools; and
(8) operation and maintenance of any other publicly owned facility, building, or service.
(c) For purposes of this section, "full municipal services" means services provided by the annexing municipality within its full-purpose boundaries, including water and wastewater services and excluding gas or electrical service.
(d) A municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more may provide all or part of the municipal services required under the service plan by contracting with service providers. If the municipality owns a water and wastewater utility, the municipality shall, subject to this section, extend water and wastewater service to any annexed area not within the service area of another water or wastewater utility. If the municipality annexes territory included within the boundaries of a municipal utility district or a water control and improvement district, the municipality shall comply with applicable state law relating to annexation of territory within a municipal utility district or a water control and improvement district. The service plan shall summarize the service extension policies of the municipal water and wastewater utility.
(e) The service plan must also include a program under which the municipality will initiate after the effective date of the annexation the acquisition or construction of capital improvements necessary for providing municipal services adequate to serve the area. The construction shall be substantially completed within the period provided in the service plan. The service plan may be amended to extend the period for construction if the construction is proceeding with all deliberate speed. The acquisition or construction of the facilities shall be accomplished by purchase, lease, or other contract or by the municipality succeeding to the powers, duties, assets, and obligations of a conservation and reclamation district as authorized or required by law. The construction of the facilities shall be accomplished in a continuous process and shall be completed as soon as reasonably possible, consistent with generally accepted local engineering and architectural standards and practices. However, the municipality does not violate this subsection if the construction process is interrupted for any reason by circumstances beyond the direct control of the municipality. The requirement that construction of capital improvements must be substantially completed within the period provided in the service plan does not apply to a development project or proposed development project within an annexed area if the annexation of the area was initiated by petition or request of the owners of land in the annexed area and the municipality and the landowners have subsequently agreed in writing that the development project within that area, because of its size or projected manner of development by the developer, is not reasonably expected to be completed within that period.
(f) A service plan may not:
(1) require the creation of another political subdivision;
(2) require a landowner in the area to fund the capital improvements necessary to provide municipal services in a manner inconsistent with Chapter 395 unless otherwise agreed to by the landowner;
(3) provide services in the area in a manner that would have the effect of reducing by more than a negligible amount the level of fire and police protection and emergency medical services provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation;
(4) provide services in the area in a manner that would have the effect of reducing by more than a negligible amount the level of fire and police protection and emergency medical services provided within the area before annexation; or
(5) cause a reduction in fire and police protection and emergency medical services within the area to be annexed below that of areas within the corporate boundaries of the municipality with similar topography, land use, and population density.
(g) If the annexed area had a lower level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance than the level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, a service plan must provide the annexed area with a level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance that is comparable to the level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance available in other parts of the municipality with topography, land use, and population density similar to those reasonably contemplated or projected in the area. If the annexed area had a level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance equal to the level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, a service plan must maintain that same level of services, infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance. Except as provided by this subsection, if the annexed area had a level of services superior to the level of services provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, a service plan must provide the annexed area with a level of services that is comparable to the level of services available in other parts of the municipality with topography, land use, and population density similar to those reasonably contemplated or projected in the area. If the annexed area had a level of services for operating and maintaining the infrastructure of the area, including the facilities described by Subsections (b)(5)-(8), superior to the level of services provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, a service plan must provide for the operation and maintenance of the infrastructure of the annexed area at a level of services that is equal or superior to that level of services.
(h) A municipality with a population of 1.6 million or more may not impose a fee in the annexed area, over and above ad valorem taxes and fees imposed within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, to maintain the level of services that existed in the area before annexation. This subsection does not prohibit the municipality from imposing a fee for a service in the area annexed if the same fee is imposed within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation.
(i) If only a part of the area to be annexed is actually annexed, the governing body shall direct the department to prepare a revised service plan for that part.
(j) The proposed service plan must be made available for public inspection and explained to the inhabitants of the area at the public hearings held under Section 43.0561. The plan may be amended through negotiation at the hearings, but the provision of any service may not be deleted. On completion of the public hearings, the service plan shall be attached to the ordinance annexing the area and approved as part of the ordinance.
(k) On approval by the governing body, the service plan is a contractual obligation that is not subject to amendment or repeal except that if the governing body determines at the public hearings required by this subsection that changed conditions or subsequent occurrences make the service plan unworkable or obsolete, the governing body may amend the service plan to conform to the changed conditions or subsequent occurrences. An amended service plan must provide for services that are comparable to or better than those established in the service plan before amendment. Before any amendment is adopted, the governing body must provide an opportunity for interested persons to be heard at public hearings called and held in the manner provided by Section 43.0561.
(l) A service plan is valid for 10 years. Renewal of the service plan is at the discretion of the municipality. A person residing or owning land in an annexed area in a municipality with a population of 1.6 million or more may enforce a service plan by petitioning the municipality for a change in policy or procedures to ensure compliance with the service plan. If the municipality fails to take action with regard to the petition, the petitioner may request arbitration of the dispute under Section 43.0565. A person residing or owning land in an annexed area in a municipality with a population of less than 1.6 million may enforce a service plan by applying for a writ of mandamus not later than the second anniversary of the date the person knew or should have known that the municipality was not complying with the service plan. If a writ of mandamus is applied for, the municipality has the burden of proving that the services have been provided in accordance with the service plan in question. If a court issues a writ under this subsection, the court:
(1) must provide the municipality the option of disannexing the area within a reasonable period specified by the court;
(2) may require the municipality to comply with the service plan in question before a reasonable date specified by the court if the municipality does not disannex the area within the period prescribed by the court under Subdivision (1);
(3) may require the municipality to refund to the landowners of the annexed area money collected by the municipality from those landowners for services to the area that were not provided;
(4) may assess a civil penalty against the municipality, to be paid to the state in an amount as justice may require, for the period in which the municipality is not in compliance with the service plan;
(5) may require the parties to participate in mediation; and
(6) may require the municipality to pay the person's costs and reasonable attorney's fees in bringing the action for the writ.
(m) This section does not require that a uniform level of full municipal services be provided to each area of the municipality if different characteristics of topography, land use, and population density constitute a sufficient basis for providing different levels of service. Any disputes regarding the level of services provided under this subsection are resolved in the same manner provided by Subsection (l). Nothing in this subsection modifies the requirement under Subsection (g) for a service plan to provide a level of services in an annexed area that is equal or superior to the level of services provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation. To the extent of any conflict between this subsection and Subsection (g), Subsection (g) prevails.
(n) Before the second anniversary of the date an area is included within the corporate boundaries of a municipality by annexation, the municipality may not:
(1) prohibit the collection of solid waste in the area by a privately owned solid waste management service provider; or
(2) impose a fee for solid waste management services on a person who continues to use the services of a privately owned solid waste management service provider.
(o) A municipality is not required to provide solid waste collection services under Subsection (b) to a person who continues to use the services of a privately owned solid waste management service provider as provided by Subsection (n).
(p) This subsection applies only to a municipality in a county with a population of more than one million and less than 1.5 million. For a municipality that has adopted Chapter 143 and directly employs firefighters, a service plan that includes the provision of services to an area that, at the time the service plan is adopted, is located in the territory of an emergency services district:
(1) must require the municipality's fire department to provide initial response to the annexed territory that is equivalent to that provided to other areas within the corporate boundaries of the municipality with similar topography, land use, and population density;
(2) may not provide for municipal fire services to the annexed area solely or primarily by means of an automatic aid or mutual aid agreement with the affected emergency services district or other third-party provider of services; and
(3) may authorize the emergency services district to provide supplemental fire and emergency medical services to the annexed area by means of an automatic aid or mutual aid agreement.
(q) This chapter does not affect the obligation of a municipality that has adopted Chapter 143 to provide police, fire, or emergency medical services within the municipality's corporate boundaries by means of personnel classified in accordance with that chapter.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 3(f), eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 822, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 3, Sec. 4.011, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 969, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 1062, Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 1995; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1167, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1185 (H.B. 610), Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2007.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1363 (S.B. 1596), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2013.
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