HB3793 - Relating to procedures for a commissioners court to close, abandon, or vacate certain county roads.

      By: McLaughlin (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 3793          (In the Senate - Received from the House May 19, 2025;   May 19, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Economic   Development; May 25, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable   Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0;   May 25, 2025, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3793 By:  Sparks     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT     relating to procedures for a commissioners court to close, abandon,   or vacate certain county roads.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 251.058, Transportation Code, is amended   by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-2) and (b-3)   to read as follows:          (b)   Except as provided by Subsection (b-3), title [ Title ] to   a public road or portion of a public road that is closed, abandoned,   and vacated to the center line of the road vests on the date the   order is signed by the county judge in the owner of the property   that abuts the portion of the road being closed, abandoned, and   vacated. A copy of the order shall be filed in the deed records of   the county and serves as the official instrument of conveyance from   the county to the owner of the abutting property. The order shall:                (1)  include the name of each property owner who   receives a conveyance under this section;                (2)  include the dimensions of the property being   conveyed to each property owner;                (3)  be indexed in the deed records of the county in a   manner that describes:                      (A)  the county conveying the property as grantor;   and                      (B)  the property owner receiving the conveyance   as grantee; and                (4)  if a public utility or common carrier that has the   right of eminent domain is using the property being conveyed for a   right-of-way or easement purpose, state that the title to the   property is subject to the right-of-way or easement and the   continued use by the public utility or common carrier of utility   infrastructure in existence on the date the order is signed.           (b-2)  Subsection (b-3) applies only to a county road that:                 (1)  is located wholly or partially:                       (A)     outside the corporate limits of a   municipality; and                       (B)     in a county located on the Texas-Mexico   border that has a population of less than 300,000 and contains a   municipality with a population of 200,000 or more; and                 (2)     abuts single family residential lots in a planned   residential subdivision that is located wholly in the corporate   limits of a municipality.           (b-3)     Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a commissioners court   that closes, abandons, or vacates a county road to which this   subsection applies:                 (1)     is not required to comply with the procedure   established under Subsection (b) if the commissioners court finds   that conveying the county road to any abutting property's owner   will create a public nuisance or safety hazard; and                 (2)  on a finding described by Subdivision (1), may:                       (A)     petition the municipality to annex the county   road; or                       (B)     use the county road for any public purpose   not related to motorized vehicle traffic, including as a hiking and   biking trail or as a linear park.          SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.     * * * * *