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Texas Transportation Code - Section 254.014. Determination Of Damages And Assessments; Action Of Commissioners Court

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Transportation Code > Texas Transportation Code - Section 254.014. Determination Of Damages And Assessments; Action Of Commissioners Court

§ 254.014. DETERMINATION OF DAMAGES AND ASSESSMENTS;  
ACTION OF COMMISSIONERS COURT.  (a) After giving the required 
notice and conducting a meeting at which all interested persons 
have been heard, the jury of view shall:
		(1)  consider all of the partial estimates and the 
surveyor's total cost estimate;
		(2)  draw parallel lines one mile on each side of the 
ditch;  and           
		(3)  apportion to each parcel of real property abutting 
or within the parallel lines and to the owner of each parcel a 
proportional share of one-half of the total expense of the ditch, 
considering the relative amount of benefit to the property derived 
from the ditch.
	(b)  The jury shall determine the damages due to any property 
owner whose property is crossed by any spur, branch, or lateral 
ditch constructed by order of the commissioners court.  Before the 
ditch may be opened, the damages must be paid by an order of the 
court out of the money set aside for the ditch.
	(c)  The jury shall make a sworn report to the court, signed 
by at least three jurors, as soon as practicable after its meeting.  
The report must include:
		(1)  an accurate description of each tract of property 
assessed, with the number of acres and the names of the owners;  and
		(2)  the amount assessed against each tract and its 
owners.                 
	(d)  The jury shall return the surveyor's report and records 
to the county clerk.  The county clerk shall file the jury's report 
and the surveyor's report and records.  The reports and records are 
public information after filing.
	(e)  The commissioners court shall approve or reject the 
jury's report at its next regular or called term.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    

Last modified: August 10, 2007