Loading...
R-91-1594 - 4/11/1991RESOLUTION NO. X59 4 /_. WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Texas faces numerous challenges in this 72nd Session, and WHEREAS, it is important that our representatives should be informed about the position of the City Council of the City of Round Rock on certain issues, and WHEREAS, the City Council and staff may be called upon to give testimony on certain issues, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS That the attached legislative program represents the City Council's position on that particular body of legislation. RESOLVED this 1 1 day of April, 1991. ATTEST: LAND, City Secretary �e� MIKE ROBINSON, Mayor City of Round Rock, Texas CITY OF ROUND ROCK LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM 72nd SESSION OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE CITY OF ROUND ROCK LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM 72nd SESSION OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE The attached summaries of various bills is the Legislative Program of the City of Round Rock. The bills are grouped under three major categories: 1. Taxation, Finance and Economic Development 2. Utilities, Land Use, Parks, and the Environment 3. Personnel, Police, Fire and General Government All bills listed are considered to have the support of the City Council unless it is specifically noted. TAXATION. FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT S.B. 1044 (Montford) - Tax Abatement: would provide that information provided to a taxing unit in connection with a request for tax abatement is confidential even after an abatement agreement is executed. H.B. 458 (Schoolcraft) - Industrial Development: would amend the Development Corporation Act to provide that only cities with populations less than 25,000 located in a county with less than 500,000 population can adopt the one -half cent sales tax for economic development. (OPPOSE) H.B. 651 (Fleuriet) - Hotel /Motel Tax: would require a purchaser of a hotel or motel to withhold from the seller an amount of the purchase price sufficient to pay any delinquent hotel /motel taxes owed to the city in which the hotel /motel is situated. H.B. 689 (Craddick) - Industrial Development: would allow cities to adopt a 1/8,1/4, 3/8, or 1/2 cent sales tax for economic development. H.B. 989 (R. Cuellar) - Municipal Bonds: would expand the sources of revenue from which cities can pay the principal and interest on certain bonds. H.B. 1103 (Counts) - Industrial Development: would allow eligible cities to adopt either a 1/4 -cent or 1/2 -cent sales tax for economic development purposes. H.B. 1104 (Cook) - In D would expand the list of purposes for which a city can use the 1/2 -cent sales tax adopted for economic development, to include land, buildings, equipment, facilities, and improvements for recreational, cultural, historical, and educational endeavors. H.B. 1338 (F. Hill) - Property Tax: would change the calculation of the property tax rate for which a public hearing must be held -- the public rate -- to remove the effect of increases in debt service payments already approved by the voters. H.B. 1500 (Shelley) - Open Space Land: would provide that an "open space" property tax exemption can be granted for land situated within a city only if the landowner is engaged principally in agricultural production. H.B. 1859 (Vowell) - Freeport Exemption: would broaden the definition of property which is eligible for the so- called "freeport" property tax exemption. UTILITIES. LAND USE, PARKS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT S.S. 472 (Haley) - Permits: would repeal Chapter 481, Subchapter I of the Government Code. (Note: Subchapter I provides that the approval or disapproval of any permit application shall be considered by a city solely on the basis of any ordinances or regulations in effect at the time the original permit application is filed. It goes on to provide that if a series of permits is required for a project, the ordinances and regulations in effect at the time that the original permit application is filed shall be the sole basis for considering subsequent permits required for completion of the projects.) H.B. 476 (June11) - Water Quality: would require the Texas Water Commission to quantify and publish the costs and benefits of water quality standards and discharge permit conditions and to consider such costs and benefits. H.B. 527 (R. Lewis) - Water Permits: would provide that when considering applications to take, divert, or store water, the Texas Water Commission shall consider the benefits to (as well as the impact on) wildlife habitats, and shall consider public need for the projects, the increased costs for any habitat protections required by the Commission, and the effects of those increased costs on the public welfare. H.B. 1079 (McCollough) - County Road Districts: would allow county commissioners to refinance road district bonds by issuing alternative refunding bonds or certificates of assessment. H.B. 1087 (Linebarger) - Family Homes; would prevent cities from prohibiting the location of family homes as defined in Section 42.002(9) of the Human Resources Code. H.B. 1138 (H. Cuellar) - Subdivisions: would require a subdivision plat for land outside city limits which is being subdivided or on which building lots, streets, alleys, squares, parks or other features are being laid out. H.B. 1213 (Gibson) - Signs: would allow in areas where such signs are currently prohibited, directional signs for a business or residence. H.B. 1573 (Oliviera) - Local Parks; would increase the cigarette tax and would use the resulting revenue to increase spending on local parks. H.B. 1825 (Martinez) - Replatting: would require that notice of a requested replat in a city's ETJ must be sent to property owners within 500 feet (as opposed to the current 200 feet) of the property to be replatted, and would provide that a replat protest must be signed by at least 20 percent of the notified owners. S B 110 (Lyon) - Police /Fire /Discipline would apply to all police officers and fire fighters except those covered by the state fire /police civil service statute, those covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and those covered by municipal civil service charter provisions. In short, the bill would extend some civil service provisions to all police officers and fire fighters. Although the bill provides that no disciplinary action would be taken without good cause, there are a number of bad provisions: SB PERSONNEL, POLICE, FIRE, GENERAL GOVERNMENT 1. The bill would create a property right to every position currently held by every police officer and fire fighter in the state. 2. The bill, along with many others being pushed by fire and police associations, would effectively establish fire and police civil service systems in all cities of the state -- piece by piece — despite the fact that current law allows cities over 210,000 in population to adopt civil service -- if they choose — by local referendum. 3. Many cities already provide for grievance procedures by council action or in a city charter. S.B. 110 would invalidate those grievance procedures. (OPPOSE) - Public Offi ial Lia • i i would provide that: a. commencement of an action or a settlement of a claim against a municipal employee or officer bars any action involving the same subject matter by the claimant against the city itself, and vice - versa . b. except for actions arising under the U.S. Constitution, a local government official's liability for personal injury, death, or deprivation of right, privilege, or immunity is limited to $100,000 if: (1) the damages are the result of an action taken in the course and scope of work, and (2) the local government provides indemnity or insurance coverage for up to $100,000. PERSONNEL, POLICE, FIRE, GENERAL GOVERNMENT S.B. 263 (Brown) - Vehicular Pursuits: would provide that neither units of government nor peace officers are liable for damages done by a vehicle which is being pursued by a peace officer, if certain procedures are followed. (The companion bill is H.B. 1012 by McCollough.) S.B. 1363 (Armbrister) - Unfunded Mandates: would provide that the cost of most mandates placed on local governments by the state must be reimbursed by the state. H.B. 416 (Carona) - Assault on a Municipal Employee: would provide that assault on a municipal employee or officer who is authorized to issue citations or serve process of a municipal court is a first degree felony. H.B. 417 (Wolens) - Absentee Voting: would provide for the physical set -up of temporary branch absentee polling places and would provide for the exclusion of bystanders from such polling places. H.B. 862 (Eckels) - Property Disposition: would (1) allow a city to designate any person to perform the property disposition duties now assigned by law to the purchasing agent; (2) allow a city to dispose of the property by means other than selling the property; (3) ease the administrative burdens of receiving, storing, and securing the property; (4) decrease property holding periods; and (5) clarify the rights and responsibilities of various participants in the disposition process. H.B. 914 (Goodman) - Competitive Bidding: would amend the competitive bidding statues to provide that: (1) competitive bidding procedures must be used only for purchases of more than $25,000, regardless of city size; and (2) cities must provide notice of the time and place that bids will be opened (as opposed to the time and place that a contract will be let, as under current law). H.B. 963 (Grusendorf) - Rights -of -Way: would clarify state law to provide that no person or corporation can use a public right -of -way without permission and without paying a reasonable fee. H.B. 969 (Gibson) - Venue: would provide that a legal action brought against a city must be brought in the county in which that city is situated. H.B. 1033 (R. Lewis) Peace Officer Performance Evaluations: would provide that a city may evaluate a peace officer on the basis of arrests, citations issued, and /or disposition of those arrest and citations, even though no specific number of arrests or citations may be required. H.S. 1697 (Denton) - Open Records: would redefine "litigation" to exclude controversies under Article 6252 -13a, the Administrative Procedures and Texas DATE: April 9, 1991 SUBJECT: City Council Meeting, April 11, 1991 ITEM: 9.A. Consider a resolution concerning Legislative Priorities. STAFF RESOURCE PERSON: Joe Vining The attached resolution is our statement of support and, in some cases, opposition to a small but important group of bills.