SB1844

Who may petition: a majority of property owners in the proposed area—including one or more lots, tracts or parcels, or part of one—may petition for disannexation, meaning removal from the city. Existing routes based on unmet annexation service-plan, agreement or resolution obligations remain. The new route requires that some part of the area be adjacent to a navigable waterway and that the area did not become part of the city in compliance with and under Local Government Code Chapter 43, Subchapter C. It is not a general exit option for any dissatisfied landowner. Final law, Section 43.141(a).

Water-and-wastewater test: for that new category, the court ground is that the city has not connected a majority of the properties covered by the petition to its water and wastewater systems while another area in the city is connected to those systems. The provision can apply whether or not the area was annexed. Existing grounds concerning failure to perform service obligations or failure to perform in good faith remain. Final law, subsection (b).

Process and remedies: if the city does not disannex within 60 days after receiving the petition, one or more signers may sue in district court in the county where the area is principally located. After the city answers and either party applies, the case proceeds without further delay under expedited-action rules. A court finding a valid petition and a qualifying failure must order disannexation and award attorney’s fees to the petition signers. The existing ban on reannexation for 10 years remains; it was not created by this bill. Final law, subsection (b); Existing Section 43.141(c).

Paperwork and limits: the written petition must request removal, carry property-owner signatures in ink or indelible pencil and residence addresses, describe the area with a plat, survey or other likeness, and go to the city secretary. For an area annexed under Chapter 43, advance notice still requires posting in three public places for 10 days and newspaper publication before the 15th day before circulation, with the required affidavits. Land removed under the new waterway route cannot receive the tax-and-fee refund under Section 43.148. No disannexation under this section may include the bed of a navigable waterway, and the section does not apply to land in an area previously designated an industrial district under Section 42.044. Final law, subsections (d) and (f)–(i).

What changed: the introduced version retained a voter-based petition and proposed a broader new service-failure ground. The Senate substitute changed it to property owners, specified parcels and petition paperwork, narrowed the new service test to water and wastewater connections, and added the refund and waterway-bed limits. Senator Paxton’s one indexed floor amendment, adopted May 6, further limited the new category to areas beside navigable waterways, tied the new connection test to that category, and excluded previously designated industrial districts. Those changes all survived into the final law; the House made no further changes. Introduced; Senate substitute; Adopted Paxton amendment; Senate-passed; House committee; Final law; Version index; Amendment index.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Qualifying property owners gain control over petitioning and a potential court remedy for unmet service obligations. Cities may face litigation, attorney-fee awards and loss of territory if the statutory conditions are proved. Residents who do not own property no longer determine this petition threshold as qualified voters. Owners using the new waterway route give up the specified tax-and-fee refund; success and financial savings are not guaranteed. Final law.

The May 12 fiscal note anticipates no state fiscal implication and no significant local-government fiscal implication. Earlier March 28 and April 27 notes reached the same conclusion. These estimates do not put a dollar figure on an individual lawsuit, attorney-fee award or change in a particular city’s tax base. The act makes no appropriation. Engrossed fiscal note; Introduced fiscal note; Substitute fiscal note; Final law.