Sec. 43.023. AUTHORITY OF GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY WITH POPULATION OF MORE THAN 5,000 TO ANNEX AREA ON PETITION AND ELECTION OF AREA VOTERS. (a) A general-law municipality with a population of more than 5,000 may annex, as provided by this section, an area that is contiguous to the municipality and that is not more than one mile in width.
(b) The inhabitants of the area may petition the municipality to order an election in the area at which the qualified voters of the area may vote on the question of whether the area should become a part of the municipality. The petition must:
(1) describe the area by metes and bounds;
(2) be accompanied by a plat of the area;
(3) be signed by 100, or more, or by a majority of the qualified voters of the area; and
(4) be filed with the secretary or clerk of the municipality.
(c) After the petition is filed, the governing body of the municipality by ordinance may order the election. In the ordinance, the governing body shall specify the date of the election and each voting place, appoint the election officers, and prescribe the form of the ballot.
(d) Notice of the election must be given by posting a copy of the ordinance, certified by the secretary or clerk of the municipality in three public places in the area for the 10 days preceding the date of the election. The notice must be published as required by Chapter 4, Election Code.
(e) The election must be held in the manner prescribed for general municipal elections. The municipality shall pay the cost of the election.
(f) The governing body, by an order entered in its minutes, shall declare the election result. The order is conclusive of the municipality's authority to annex the area. If the result of the election establishes that a majority are in favor of becoming part of the municipality, the governing body by ordinance may annex the area.
(g) On the effective date of the ordinance, the area becomes a part of the municipality and the inhabitants of the area are entitled to the rights and privileges of the other citizens of the municipality and are bound by the acts and ordinances adopted by the municipality.
(h) To contest an annexation proceeding held under this section, a contestant must file written notice and a written statement of the grounds for the contest with the secretary or clerk of the municipality within 60 days after the effective date of the ordinance annexing the area. If a contest is not filed in that manner before the expiration of that period, it is conclusively presumed that the election and the results of the election are valid, final, and binding on all courts.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
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