HB3897 - Relating to territory in an emergency services district that is annexed by a municipality.

  89R10443 MCF-F     By: Bell of Montgomery, Patterson H.B. No. 3897       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to territory in an emergency services district that is   annexed by a municipality.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 775.022, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to   read as follows:          (a)  If a municipality completes all other procedures   necessary to annex territory in a district , including the   preparation of a service plan if required by Section 43.056, Local   Government Code, [ and if ] the municipality intends to remove the   territory from the district , and the municipality is capable at the   time of the removal of being [ be ] the sole provider of emergency   services to the territory by the use of municipal personnel or by   some method other than by use of the district, the municipality   shall send written notice of those facts , and the completed service   plan, if applicable, to the board not later than the 30th day after   completing the necessary procedures .  The municipality must send   the notice to the secretary of the board by certified mail, return   receipt requested. The territory remains part of the district and   does not become part of the municipality until the secretary of the   board receives the notice and the board by resolution disannexes   the territory from the district .   If the board determines that the   municipal services planned to be provided in the territory will not   meet or exceed the level of service provided by the district in the   territory, the board shall adopt that determination in a resolution   and may not by resolution disannex the territory from the district.     If the board determines that municipal services planned to be   provided in the territory will meet or exceed the level of service   provided by the district in the territory at the time of   disannexation [ On receipt of the notice ], the board shall by   resolution disannex the territory from the district, notify the   appraisal district to [ immediately ] change its records to show that   the territory has been disannexed from the district , and [ shall ]   cease to provide further services to the residents of that   territory. This subsection does not require a municipality to   remove from a district territory the municipality has annexed.   For   the purposes of this subsection, "level of service" for fire and   emergency medical protection means the location, deployment, and   response time of fire suppression or medical resources originally   dispatched to a structural or wildland fire or emergency medical   incident.           (a-1)     A board is considered to have approved a disannexation   of territory under Subsection (a) if the board fails to provide to   the municipality a resolution disapproving or approving the   disannexation before the 30th day after the date the board receives   the notice under Subsection (a) from the municipality.          SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.