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03/05/2007-CC-Agenda Packet-Regular
AGENDA • ONDAY, MARCH 5,2007 1I P.M. 201 BOLIVAR 1. Call Meeting to Order, Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance. CONSENT AGENDA 2. a) Approve Minutes: February 20, 2007 "Minutes b) Disbursements 3. Citizen's Input: Citizens are allowed 3 minutes to speak. The City Council is unable to respond to or to discuss any issues that are brought up during this section. 4. Consider and Possible Action on Approving Audit for Fiscal Year End 2005/2006. A. Budget Amendments 5. Conduct First Public Hearing to Consider Proposed Annexation of the following Properties: ABSTRACT 801, WM MASON SURVEY, TRACT 31, BEING 74.184 ACRES 6. Consider and Possible Action on Resolution R# 03-06-07 For Adoption of Thoroughfare Map. 7. Possible List of Future Agenda Items. Pursuant to the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, one or more of the above items may be considered in executive session closed to the publac. Any final action, decision or vote on such matter will be made in open session following the conclusion of the executive session. I, the undersigned authority, do hereby certify#liatthis Notice of Meeting was posted on the bulletin board, at the City Hall of the City of Sanger, Texas, ace con enie t and readily accessible o,the,�gneral public at all times, and said Notice was posted on the following date and time: at ' U p.m. and shall remain posted until meeting is adjourned. IC Rosalie Chavez, City Secretary City of Sanger, Texas, T This notice was removed from the official. bulletin board onat by This facility is wheelchair accessible and accessible parking spaces are available. Requests for accommodations or interpretive services must be made 48 hours prior to this meeting. Please contact the City Secretary's office at (940) 45 8-793 0 for further information. 1 FEBRUARY ,I l0 PRESENT: Mayor Joe Higgs, Councilman Andy Garza, Councilman Glenn Ervin, Councilman Robert Patton, Councilman Mike Walker MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilman Mike James ®THERS PRESENT: City Manager Jack Smith, City Secretary/Assistant City Manager Rose Chavez, Police Chief Curtis Amyx, Water/Wastewater Superintendent Eddie Branham, Fire Chief David Pennington, Maintenance Supervisor Kristian Lindberg, Jerry Jenkins, C.G. McNeill, Woodrow Barton, Joe Falls, Eddie Lane, Merrie Lou Abney, Ken Wilson, Russell Martin, Bill Fuller, Cora Harner, Max Lindsay, Rod Zielke, Lindall Mitchell 1. Mayor Joe Higgs called meeting to order, led Invocation, followed by Councilman Patton leading Pledge of Allegiance. 1 ,1 2. a) Approve Minutes: February 20, 2007 -Minutes b) Disbursements Councilman Ervin moved to approve consent agenda as presented. Seconded by Councilman Garza. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Citizen's Input: Citizens are allowed 3 minutes to speak. The City Council is unable to respond to or to discuss any issues that are brought up during this section. 4. Consider and Possible Action on Approving Audit for Fiscal Year End 2005/2006. a. Budget Amendments Item tabled for next City Council meeting. 5. Consider and Possible Action on Resolution #R 02-04-07 from Bolivar Masonic Lodge No. 418 for Tax Exemptions. Motion made by Councilman Patton to approve Resolution #R 02-04-07 for Bolivar Masonic Lodge No. 418 for tax exemption status. Seconded by Councilman Et^vin. Motion carried unanimously. 6. Consider and Possible Action on the Final Plat for Bubba's Ranch, Being 5.501 Acres in the R. Bebee Survey, Abstract #29, in the E.T.J. of the City of Sanger. City Manager addressed item and referenced the City Engineer's memo. This property is located on Union Hill Road and the City Engineer recommends approval. The Planning & Zoning board approved it at their regular scheduled meeting. Councilman Ervin moved to approve Final Plat for Bubba's Ranch being 5.501 acres in the R. Bebee survey Abstract #29. Seconded by Councilman Patton. Motion carried unanimously. 7. Conduct Public Hearing Regarding a Specific Use Permit for the Purpose of Building a Municipal Fire Station on Property Legally Described as Abstract 1241 H. Tierwester Survey, Tract 299, Being 3.212 Acres to be Known as Fire Station Addition. Mayor declared public hearing open. No one spoke for or against. Mayor declared public hearing closed. $. Consider and Possible Action Regarding a Specific Use Permit for the Purpose of Building a Municipal Fire Station on Property Legally Described as Abstract 1241 H. Tierwester Survey, Tract 299, Being 3.212 Acres to be Known as Fire Station Addition. Discussed that this is City property. The property is on the south side of McReynolds and butts up to Mr. Falls fence. The specific use permit is to comply with zoning regulations. Councilman Patton made the motion to approve a specific use permit for the purpose of building a municipal lire station. Seconded by Councilman Garza. Motion carried unanimously. 9. Consider and Possible Action on the Preliminary Plat for Fire Station Addition, Being 3.212 Acres in the City of Sanger. Property is Located on Willow Street (McReynolds Road). Motion made by Councilman Patton to approve Preliminary Plat for Fire Station Addition, being 3.212 acres in the City of Sanger, property is located on Willow Street (McReynolds Road). Seconded by Councilman Ervin. Motion carried unanimously. 10. Consider and Possible Action on Ordinance #02-06-07 on Establishing Usage Fees for Parks. Paul Edelman, Chairperson of the Parks Board, addressed the City Council concerning this item. He clarified that on item (b) and ©) in Ordinance #02-06-07 the wording 44per tournament play" should be added. Mr. Edelman emphasized that the members of the Parks Board spend a lot of time researching before they bring any item to the City Council. They met and discussed ACTthe usage fee per child with the Sanger Summer League. They checked with other cities to see what fees they charged before the Parks Board considered any recommendation to the City Council. There was a concern that if they charged this additional fee, the child might not get to play sports. The fee helps offset park expenses as the City continues to grow. It was not the intent of the Board to diminish the ability for any child to be allowed to play any sports. Mr. Edelman continued and later introduced Cora Harner who reported that last year they had 407 players and 8 scholarships were given. This year they had 431 players, 9 scholarships, and two families on payment plans. Ms. Harner indicated when they came to the City Council meeting on January 15, 2007, and the vote was taken the first time on this item, the Sanger Summer League did continue to collect the $10.00 usage fee from all the players. They have these funds and it is important to them to know `vhat the Council is going to do in case they have to refund the 431 families. Councilman Walker advised that at the last City Council meeting that Councilman Garza and himself expressed concerns that they did not want to exclude any children from playing. He expressed that the Parks Board is correct and the City Council should have put the trust and faith in that Board. His concern at that time was whether the $10.00 would be detrimental to families that wanted their children to play sports. Councilman Garza also indicated he appreciated the work the Parks Board is doing. He just thinks the sign up fees the families continue to pay each year for their children keep getting higher and higher and then the additional $10.00 fee he felt was too much. He would personally like to see if the Parks Board would come before Council on what monies that is needed and possibly get the City to offset that cost. He expressed it is a burden to some people, but families do pay the fee so their children can play. Discussion continued with Paul Edelman emphasizing the cost to maintain parks. Councilman Garza emphasized that parks are for the children and if we can't allow them to play without it being burdensome to families, then they are not doing a very good social service. Councilman Ervin moved to adopt Ordinance #02-06-07 with changes to be inserted (b) and ©) as noted - "per tournament play." Seconded by Councilman Walker. Motion carried unanimously. 11. Discussion and Status Report from Waters Consulting Group on Search for New City Manager. �Mel r,n Patton addressed this item rd C is out on the internet and they have had a good response. The salary range posted on the internet was brought to their attention and that it should have come before the City Council for discussion prior to publishing the information. He contacted Chris Hartung of Waters Consulting Group and asked if he would gather information and data with similar growth patterns to cities similar in size and population to Sanger. Mr. Hartung then provided him with data information from similar cities that he obtained from TML and other resources. There were questions on whether to put the maximum salary it for the new City Manager in the advertisement. They didn't want it to be too high or too low; however, the information Mr. Hartung provided is reasonable and appropriate for the skill level they are seeking. Discussion on the information submitted concerning the salary ranges. Councilman Patton expressed that he would like the salary placed back in the advertisement. Councilman Ervin referenced the data report and asked if this is the base salary on what they start with or does it represent what they are making currently. Councilman Patton indicated that it represents the starting base salary and possibly is at a higher level presently. 12. Consider and Possible Action on Duck Creek Bridge Repairs. City Manager referred to the memo from Robert Wood's, City Engineer, that was included in the packet. He indicated that the County has hired an engineering firm, Dannenbaum Engineering Corp. ,which will work on the bridge and everything South down to Clear Creek. The other part of their contract does not include the ditch North to Mr. &Mrs. Looper's house or the water shed to the North. The County will not involve themselves in correcting this problem. The City will utilize the engineer's report so the City can do something once we get the report from Dannenbaum Engineering (County's engineer) before something can be done. Councilman Ervin asked if the memo they had from Mr. Looper has been addressed by the County. City Manager indicated it has not been. Mayor asked City Manager if he could take care of that so that the County would get that information. 13. Consider and Possible Action on Hiring Petty & Associates as a Consultant and/or Appointing Petty 8a Associates to the Committee in Negotiating the Development of the 1,156.97 Acre Tract Owned by Land Advisors, Ltd. and Located in the City (Tomlin tract). Mayor expressed his concern as to the firm's relationship to the Tomlin Group. Since the Tomlin Group has agreed to pay for this service. Councilman Patton indicated if the City Council is going to vote on something that will impact the community for many years to come they need someone with expertise. Councilman Patton gave a brief narrative concerning Mr. Petty's experience when he attended a City Council workshop at the school concerning development districts, Mr. Petty is an interim City Manager at West Lake. He has a consultant business, Petty & Associates. At that meeting, Mr. Petty addressed issues concerning creative financing and discussed the different kinds of taxing districts. Patton indicated he is not for or against and he does not know the answer to the Mayor's question concerning Mr. Petty's involvement with the Tomlin Group. He continued by indicating he does not know if Rebecca or Bob work for them either. Councilman Patton would like for these people who are professionals to sit down and negotiate something that everyone can live with whether it is a yes or a no. When it comes down to an agreement, it will come to the City Council for approval. At that time it will or will not pass. Councilman Patton again emphasized he is not for or against. He is making decisions for people who have approached him. Councilman Patton also emphasized he would like to see the best of Sanger come about. Councilman Patton continued to explain that the City Council does not need to be telling developers "no" all the time. Developers need an opportunity to put their projects on the table. Mayor expressed that he was not indicating that Mr. Petty was not experienced. His concern is that there is already a consultant on the committee. Discussion on the fees for his service and is Tomlin going to agree to pay for Petty's services. Councilman Walker indicated he did not know how Mr. Petty showed up at the meeting at the school, but he seems to be very knowledgeable on both sides of the issue. Discussion as to the role he will have on the committee. Councilman Ervin inquired as to Abernathy Roeder Boyd &Joplin and who found them. Mayor advised he did and that the City Council voted on them. Councilman Ervin asked if Joe Smith recommended him. Mayor indicated he might have mentioned him, but he found him. Discussion as to who invited Mr. Petty. There were concerns as to whom he will represent in his role on this committee. Discussed that Mr. Petty could serve the role as an independent negotiator and to advise him that his primary role is to represent the City only. Discussion continued. Joe Falls advised that if the City needs a study, the City should pay for it and not get any developer to pay these fees. Someone from the audience started to address the Council. Mayor advised that they are not really supposed to let anyone speak unless the item on the agenda is a public hearing. Joe Falls called Point of Order and advised Mayor that any citizen is able to speak on any issue on the agenda if they have a concern. City Manager advised that the City Attorney disagrees with that statement. This is a City Council meeting not a public forum. These men are the City Council and they can exclude anyone, Councilman Ervin moved to hire Petty &Associates as the consultant to the committee in negotiating the development of 1,156.97 acre tract owned by Land Advisors, Ltd. and located in the City. Seconded by Councilman Walker. Motion carried 3-1. Councilman Garza voted no. 14. Consider and Possible Action to Approve the Pre -Development and Professional Services Agreement by and Between the City and the and Advisors, Ltd (11156.97 Acre Tract - Tomlin) and Adopt Resolution R#02-05-07 Authorizing the Mayor to Execute the Same. Councilman Ervin moved to pass Resolution R#02-05-07. Seconded by Councilman Patton. Motion carried %Y 1 Councilman Garza voted no. City Secretary noted the new agreement would be corrected to include Petty �4i Associates on the committee as noted in the agreement that was inserted in the Council packet. 15. Executive Session: Pursuant to Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, Section 551.072 Real Estate. (a) Deliberations regarding Real Property. Mayor convened City Council into Executive Session at 7:56 p.m.. 16. Reconvene: Into Regular Session and Consider Action, if any, on Items Discussed in Executive Session. Mayor reconvened City Council from Executive Session at 8*17 p.m., No action taken. 17. Possible List of Future Agenda Items. (a.) Chief Pennington to give an update on the ambulance service. He explained that when the State came to do the inspection they had nine deficiencies. He anticipates having them corrected and completed by Friday. The turn around for them to get reinspected is about 15-30 days and he anticipates April 6"' as the date to be in service. (b.) Mayor advised that TXDOT has finished the bridge on FM 455; but it didn't make the Railroad Crossing going across the bridge any wider. Mayor inquired if TXDOT could help. City Manager advised not yet; however, as growth continues they will have to eventually widen FM 455. Mayor expressed a concern on possible accidents. (c.) City Manager reported that Atmos will be moving their transfer station equipment out of the Ranger Creek bridge within the next week. (d.) Councilman Walker inquired as to the status on the foot bridge across Loop 238. City Manager advised that Buzz Elison has promised to put the walls bridge in, he just does not know when they will begin. (e.) Cecile Carson, Economic Development Director reported that MPRG will have their presentation to Planning &Zoning on at 15 and then it will come to the City Council by March 19" for City Council approval. Steering Committee will meet again to review before City Council approves. Discussion. Brief update on Downtown Area. Ms, Carson advised that Kelly, Morgan, Allen Nelson Architects have started the layout for downtown improvements. Surveyors will complete their elevation reports within the next two weeks. They will meet with the City staff concerning utilities on the sidewalks. Their goal is to purchase the lights as soon as possible. Ms. Carson advised she will have a film crew here next Tuesday that will do some video spots that will go on the website. This is a free service that was obtained from Texas Municipal League for Economic Development to promote the City and tourism. 18. Meeting adjourned. 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 1 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 00 NON -DEPARTMENTAL BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VLI%BUR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-05600 MOORE MEDICAL CORP. I-INV:9566917-RI 001-00-7535 AMBULANCE & F STAIR CHAIR & STRAP 000000 2,476.00 99-12780 UNIVERSITY COMPUTER STO I-INV:14992 001-00-7540 TIF GRANT EXP NEW COMPUTERS 000000 2,040.00 DEPARTMENT 00 NON -DEPARTMENTAL TOTAL: 4,516.00 ------------------------------............ --------........-------- 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 2 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: N/A NON -DEPARTMENTAL BANK: S999 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VE,._.3R NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-08460 DELL COMPUTERS I-50331 001-00-4624 TECHNOLOGY FE HARD DRIVE 000000 88.99 I-50331 001-00-4624 TECHNOLOGY FE SERVER 000000 2,284.20 DEPARTMENT NON -DEPARTMENTAL TOTAL: 2,373.19 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 3 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 10 MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEn�JR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-11660 COVER ONE I-INV:1123 001-10-5210 OFFICE SUPPLI 3/8/ BINDERS 000000 38.70 99-16110 ABERNATHY,ROEDER,BOYD & I-STMT #5 001-10-5420 CONTRACTUAL S LEGAL FEES 000000 11180,35 99-16720 GOVERNMENT CAPITAL SECU I-50439 001-10-5420 CONTRACTUAL S FINANCIAL ADVISORY 000000 1,400.00 99-16750 BUTCHER, WILLIS, & RATL I-INV:20070041.01-00 001-10-5420 CONTRACTUAL S SANGER RANCH TASK 000000 980.00 DEPARTMENT 10 MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL TOTAL: 3,599.05 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 20 POLICE BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VE.._JR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION 99-00590 CITY OF DENTON I-ACCT 9000803-01 001-20-5375 MINOR EQUIPME ANTENNA KITS 99-01070 GALLS INC. I-INV:5872959501013 001-20-5255 99-01310 LUTTRULL MCNATT I-INV:511046 001-20-5325 I-INV:511057 001-20-5325 I-INV:511065/511066 001-20-5325 I-IV:511043 & 511039 001-20-5325 99-03230 GATEGIAY #18 I-JAN FUEL 001-20-5320 99-14560 C & G WHOLESALE I-INV:25021 & 25022 001-20-5255 GJEARING APPAR UNIFORM SHIRTS PAGE: 4 BANK: SB99 CHECK# AMOUNT 000000 137.43 000000 R & M MOTOR V MOUNT BRACKETS 000000 R & M MOTOR V FLASHER ASSEMBLY/OIL PAN 000000 R & M MOTOR V INGNITION SWITCH/STEP BARS 000000 R G M MOTOR V ENGINE ASSEMBLY 000000 MOTOR VEHICLE O1/23/07-01/31/07 GJEARING APPAR POLICE UNIFORMS DEPARTMENT 20 POLICE 000000 �I/PZ�I�I�7 180.95 223.60 435.21 355.56 2,878008 710.04 1,064.75 TOTAL: 5,985.i2 3/02/2007 8:16 AM PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 22 ANIMAL CONTROL BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEi..,JR NAME ITEM # -------------------------- 99-03230 GATEWAY 418 I-JAN FUEL REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 5 BANK: SB99 G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECKN AMOUNT 001-22-5320 MOTOR VEHICLE O1/23/07-01/31/07 000000 119.56 DEPARTMENT 22 ANIMAL CONTROL TOTAL: 119.56 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 24 FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEn.OR NAME ITEM 4 G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION 99-00520 CASCO INDUSTERIES I-IV:35422 & 35406 001-24-5260 SAFETY EQUIPM 2.5" X 50' HOSE I-IV:35422 & 35406 001-24-5255 WEARING APPAR 6 HELMETS I-IV:35422 & 35406 001-24-5255 WEARING APPAR THROAT PROTECTOR I-IV:35422 & 35406 001-24-5220 POSTAGE THROAT PROTECTOR 99-00640 COMMERCIAL SERVICES I-50436 001-24-5420 CONTRACTUAL S ICE MACHINE RENTAL 99-00790 COUNTY BUILDING CENTER I-INV:10016227 001-24-5310 R & M BUILDIN PLASTIC PALE & STRAPS 99-03230 GATEG7AY #18 I-JAN FUEL 001-24-5320 99-05310 N T F F M A I-50285 001-24-5235 99-10990 BEARDS STORAGES I-50289 001-24-5235 99-16430 PIONEER PRODUCTS, INC I-INV:SI-32277 001-24-5223 99-16790 DWAIN DARNELL I-50284 001-24-5310 MOTOR VEHICLE O1/23/07-01/31/07 DUES & RE GIST DUES DUES & REGIST IYR STORAGE RENT CHEMICAL SUPP HOSE & GEER CLEANER PAGE: 6 BANK: SB99 CHECK# 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 1 1 IIIZIZI 000000 000000 000000 [IIIIIIHIII7 R & M BUILDIN REPAIRS ON FIRE DEPT DOOR 000000 AMOUNT 732.00 156.00 108.00 68.00 100.00 49.75 214.04 25.00 600.00 951.86 143.00 DEPARTMENT 29 FIRE DEPARTMENT TOTAL: 2,642.65 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 7 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 26 MUNICIPAL COURT BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEi��OR NAME ITEM N G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECKff AMOUNT 99-12730 LAW OFFICE STEVE POSTON I-50329 001-26-5425 LEGAL SERVICE COURT APPEARANCE 2/6-13-15/07 000000 900.00 DEPARTMENT 26 MUNICIPAL COURT TOTAL: 900.00 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 8 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 28 ENFORCEMENT/INSPECTION BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VE..�jR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-03230 GATEWAY #18 I-JAN FUEL 001-28-5320 VEHICLE FUEL O1/23/07-01/31/07 000000 79.45 99-12800 PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES I-50489 001-28-5420 CONTRACTUAL S FEB INSPECTIONS 000000 3,220.00 99-13430 PAT DUNLAP I-50490 001-28-5420 CONTRACTUAL S FEB. INSPECTIONS 000000 11085,00 DEPARTMENT 28 ENFORCEMENT/INSPECTION TOTAL: 4,384.45 3/02/2007 8:16 AM PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 30 STREETS BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEi.�JR NAME ITEM # 99-00640 COMMERCIAL SERVICES I-50436 REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 9 BANK: SB99 G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 001-30-5420 CONTRACTUAL S ICE MACHINE RENTAL 99-00790 COUNTY BUILDING CENTER I-10016155 &10016156 001-30-5245 I-10016231 &10016231 001-30-5375 I-50343 001-30-5245 I-50380 001-30-5325 I-INV:10016236 001-30-5250 I-INV:10016289 001-30-5245 I-IV:10016267 & 6228 001-30-5370 OTHER OPERATI LOCKS/SNAP SFlIVEL EYE 000000 MINOR EQUIPME RED & YLW FLAGE/NYLON TWINE 000000 OTHER OPERATI KEY/ANCHOR SLEEVE/NOZZLE 000000 R & M MOTOR V PAINT ROLLERS 000000 MINOR TOOLS ANCHOR SLEEVES/BIT MASONRY 000000 OTHER OPERATI SHOVEL, LHSP 000000 STREETS READY MIX CONCRETE 000000 50.00 77.75 49.95 40.03 7.98 10.95 25.16 284.76 99-01300 JAGOE-PUBLIC CO. I-IV:70203 & 701035 001-30-5370 STREETS HMAC PICK UP 000000 1,899.65 99-02200 ROADRUNNER TRAFFIC SUPP I-INV:32428 001-30-5380 STREET SIGNS MESA DR & SANDSTONE SIGNS 000000 48.54 I-INV:32462 001-30-5380 STREET SIGNS CRISIS CENTER SIGN 000000 38.00 99-03230 GATEWAY #18 I-JAN FUEL 001-30-5320 MOTOR VEHICLE O1/23/07-01/31/07 000000 477.77 99 "�510 IESI I-50457 001-30-5420 CONTRACTUAL S 302 RAILROAD DUMPSTER 000000 81.60 99-12720 MCCOYS BUILDING & SUPPL I-INV:6351455 001-30-5250 MINOR TOOLS 66" STETCHER BAR & WEDGES 000000 173.99 99-15230 CRAFCO TEXAS, INC I-TNV:0021556-IN 001-30-5370 STREETS POLY FLEX 3 000000 1,002.60 99-16340 SUN BELT RENTALS, INC. I-INV:8970230 & 001 001-30-5330 EQUIPMENT REN SUN BELT RENTALS, INC. 000000 95.00 99-16800 NICHOLS OF TEXAS I-50379 001-30-5375 MINOR EQUIPME COUPLER ADAPTORS 000000 138.01 DEPAR^tMENT 30 STREETS TOTAL: 4,501.29 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 10 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 32 PARKS BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEtvliOR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-00520 CASCO INDUSTERIES I-INV:1000419 001-32-5343 BALL FIELD MA IN GROUND HOME PLATE 000000 299.00 99-16740 MID AMERICA SALES ASSOC I-INV:129614-00 001-32-5343 BALL FIELD MA DIGOUT TOOL/BASE PLUG/GAUGE 000000 272.70 I-INV:129614-01 001-32-5343 BALL FIELD MA BASKET FOR DRAGGER 000000 203.90 DEPARTMENT 32 PARKS TOTAL: 775.60 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 11 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 36 VEHICLE MAINTENANCE BANK: S399 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEIN�OR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-00790 COUNTY BUILDING CENTER I-50380 001-36-6020 MECH.SHOP IMP MISC. PLUMBING SUPPLIES 000000 30.75 99-01070 GALLS INC. I-INV:5871096600019 001-36-5245 MECHANIC SHOP LATEX GLOVES/HAND SANITIZER 000000 126.36 99-02440 SNAP -ON TOOLS I-INV:86765 001-36-5375 MINOR EQUIPME POWER STEARING PULLER 000000 58.25 99-08570 PIC INC I-INV:33588 001-36-5245 MECHANIC SHOP HAND CLEANER 000000 55.77 99-12460 SUPREME PARTS WASHERS I-INV:S10806 001-36-5245 MECHANIC SHOP PART WASHER & SOLVENT 000000 75.00 99-12840 TEXAS EMISSIONS PROGRAM I-50392 001-36-5235 DUES & REGIST INSPECTION MACHINE 000000 3.12 DEPARTMENT 36 VEHICLE MAINTENANCE TOTAL: 349.25 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 12 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 42 LIBRARY BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEtv�JR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-02120 QUILL I-INV:4562348 001-42-5210 OFFICE SUPPLI INK/TONER/FLASH DRIVE 000000 195.08 I-INV:4711900 001-42-5210 OFFICE SUPPLI ADDRESS STAMPS 000000 20.98 99-04850 MICRO MARKETING ASSOC. I-INV:230883 001-42-6050 BOOKS BOOKS 000000 19.00 99-10760 BRODART CO I-INV:U136888 99-11530 SANGER AIR & ELECTRIC I-INV:2212007 99-12780 UNIVERSITY COMPUTER STO I-INV:14992 I-INV:15055 99-15250 SUDDENLINK I-50399 99-16770 THOMAS BOUREGT & CO. I-INV:13253 001-42-6050 BOOKS BOOKS 000000 001-42-5310 R & M BUILDIN REPAIR TO HEATING SYSTEM LIBRA 000000 001-42-6040 FURNITURE & F NES^I COMPUTERS 001-42-5270 PROGRAMS AND POWER SUPPLY 000000 000000 001-92-5420 CONTRACTUAL S INTERNET SERVICE FOR LIBRARY 000000 001-42-6050 BOOKS BOOKS 000000 339.65 890.00 345.00 99.00 99.95 138.50 DEPARTMENT 92 LIBRARY TOTRL: 2,047.16 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 13 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 001 GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT: 44 COMMUNITY CENTER BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VENvOR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# 99-00640 COMMERCIAL SERVICES I-50436 001-44-5310 R G M BUILDIN ICE MACHINE RENTAL 000000 DEPARTMENT 94 COMMUNITY CENTER VENDOR SET 001 GENERAL FUND TOTAL: TOTAL: AMOUNT 100.00 100.00 -------------- 32,293.27 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 008 ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENT: 10 Mayor and City Council BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEiN�jR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION 99-11660 COVER ONE I-INV:1123 008-10-5210 OFFICE SUPPLI 3/8/ BINDERS PAGE: 14 BANK: SB99 CHECK# AMOUNT 000000 38.69 DEPARTMENT 10 Mayor and City Council TOTAL: 38.69 --------------------------- 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 15 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 008 ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENT: 19 Data Processing BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VENDOR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-02050 PITNEY BODIES I-50426 008-19-5315 R & M MACHINE POSTAGE MACHINE 000000 185.00 DEPARTMENT 19 Data Processing TOTAL: 185.00 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 16 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 008 ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENT: 36 Vehicle Maintenance BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VENvUR NAME ITEM if G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-00790 COUNTY BUILDING CENTER I-50380 008-36-6020 MECH. SHOP IM MISC. PLUMBING SUPPLIES 000000 30.76 99-01070 GALLS INC. I-INV:5871096600019 008-36-5245 MECHANIC SHOP LATEX GLOVES/HAND SANITIZER 000000 126.37 99-02440 SNAP -ON TOOLS I-INV:86765 008-36-5375 MINOR EQUIPME POWER STEARING PULLER 000000 58.25 99-08570 PIC INC I-INV:33588 008-36-5245 MECHANIC SHOP HAND CLEANER 000000 55.77 99-12460 SUPREME PARTS WASHERS I-INV:S10806 008-36-5245 MECHANIC SHOP PART WASHER & SOLVENT 000000 75.00 99-12840 TEXAS EMISSIONS PROGRAM I-50392 008-36-5235 DUES & REGIST INSPECTION MACHINE 000000 3.12 DEPARTMENT 36 Vehicle Maintenance TOTAL: 349.27 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 008 ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENT: 50 Water BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEn.�jR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION 99-00640 COMMERCIAL SERVICES I-50436 008-50-5310 R & M BUILDIN ICE MACHINE RENTAL 99-00790 COUNTY BUILDING CENTER I-INV:10016238 008-50-5360 R & M OTHER TORCH PROPANE 99-03230 GATE4TAY #18 I-JAN FUEL 99-11670 CHEM-SERV, INC I-INV:056935 99-12410 D&W UTILITY SUPPLY I-INV:612295 I-INV:702133 99-13530 MARCO CHEMICALS, INC. I-50375 I-50375 008-50-5320 MOTOR VEHICLE O1/23/07-01/31/07 008-50-5223 CHEMICAL SUPP FIRE ANT KILLER 008-50-5360 R & M OTHER COUPLINGS/ADAPTERS/CLAMPS 008-50-5250 MINOR TOOLS MULTIQUIP TRASH GRIP 008-50-5223 CHEMICAL SUPP ANT KILLER 008-50-5310 R & M BUILDIN DEODORIZER & CLEANER DEPARTMENT 50 S•]ater PAGE: 17 BANK: SB99 CHECK# AMOUNT 000000 50.00 1 1 IZII17 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 TOTAL: 25.99 271.26 1,159.00 2,528.95 1,273.34 1,808.00 498.00 7,614.59 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 18 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 008 ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENT: 52 Waste Water Collection BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VE.._jR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-13530 MARCO CHEMICALS, INC. I-50375 008-52-5223 CHEMICAL SUPP CHEMICALS 000000 60.00 DEPARTMENT 52 Waste Water Collection TOTAL: 60.00 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 19 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 008 ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENT: 54 Waste Water Treatment BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VEIv.JR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-05510 IESI I-50457 008-54-5420 CONTRACTUAL S 301 JONES DUMPSTER 000000 81.60 99-07750 HOME DEPOT/GECF I-INV:6013619 008-54-5250 MINOR TOOLS HOME DEPOT/GECF 000000 158.23 99-16730 D02 PLANT MAINTENANCE I-INV:2006-76 008-54-5329 R & M SEWER P PLANT MAINTENANCE 000000 3,500.00 DEPARTMENT 54 Waste Glater Treatment TOTAL: 3,739.83 3/02/2007 8:16 AM REGULAR DEPARTMENT PAYMENT REGISTER PAGE: 20 PACKET: 00830 CC 2/05/07 VENDOR SET: 99 FUND 008 ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENT: 58 Electric Department BANK: SB99 BUDGET TO USE: CB -CURRENT BUDGET VE,,..jR NAME ITEM # G/L ACCOUNT NAME DESCRIPTION CHECK# AMOUNT 99-00640 COMMERCIAL SERVICES I-50436 008-58-5420 CONTRACTUAL S ICE MACHINE RENTAL 000000 100.00 99-00790 COUNTY BUILDING CENTER I-INV:10016384 008-58-6020 IMPROVEMENTS PAINT 000000 15.96 99-00920 ELLIOTT ELECTRIC I-INV:019-68216-01 008-58-6020 IMPROVEMENTS 8FT SINGLE PIN LIGHT KIT 000000 58.26 I-INV:19-68149-01 008-58-6020 IMPROVEMENTS DOUBLE LUG CONNECTORS 000000 88.89 99-01310 LUTTRULL MCNATT I-INV:511082 008-58-5235 DUES & REGIST WIPER MOTOR SWITCH 000000 35.78 99-02610 HD SUPPLY, INC I-INV:008 008-58-5250 MINOR TOOLS GATOR AND BATTERIES 000000 11730,00 I-INV:484779-00 008-58-6020 IMPROVEMENTS 1 1/4 PVC CONDUIT 000000 150.00 99-02690 TECHLINE I-INV:1623280 & 281 008-58-6020 I-INV:1623487-00 008-58-6020 I-INV:1623676-00 008-58-6020 I-INV:1623795-00 008-58-6020 5 `30 TEXAS METER & DEVICE I-INV:0069595-IN 008-58-5260 99-03230 GATEWAY #18 I-JAN FUEL 99-13010 ARBORWORKS LLC I-INV:6323 & 6317 IMPROVEMENTS 150 W HPS & LOCKS 000000 IMPROVEMENTS 4' FLORESCENT LAMP 000000 IMPROVEMENTS TECHLINE 000000 IMPROVEMENTS 100W HPS BULBS/CELL CONTROL 000000 SAFETY EQUIPM GLOVES (14) 000000 960.00 87.00 1,395.25 733.80 941.44 008-58-5320 MOTOR VEHICLE O1/23/07-01/31/07 000000 281.93 008-58-5420 CONTRACTUAL S TREE TRIMMIMG 2/17-2/27/07 000000 41327,32 DEPARTMENT 58 Electric Department TOTAL: 10,905.63 VENDOR SET 008 ENTERPRISE FUND TOTAL: 22,892.96 REPORT GRAND TOTAL: 55,186.23 Date: March 1, 2007 To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Rose Chavez, City Secretary/Assistant City Manager Re: Audit Fiscal Year End 2005/2006 Bill Spore, City Auditor, will be reviewing his audit report with City Council for fiscal year end 2005/2006 during the workshop. The action item on the agenda is to approve the audit as required by the Local Government Code. Date: March 1, 2007 To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Rose Chavez, City Secretary/ Assistant City Manager Re: Annexation of Properties This is the first public hearing on these properties. Please see attached material for location of properties. Notice is hereby given that public hearings will be held by the governing body of the City of Sanger, Texas in the Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 201 Bolivar at 7:00 P.M. on March 5, 2007, and at 7:00 P.M. on March 19, 2007 for the purpose of considering annexation into the City limits of the following described property: N DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS All interested citizens and property owners are hereby notified of their right to appear and be heard on the matter Rosalie Chavez City Secretary TRL /g 0 RD W__...... M Date: March 1, 2007 To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Rose Chavez, City Secretary) Assistant City Manager Re: Resolution R# 03-06-07 -Thoroughfare Map Cecile and I discussed this item and we both agreed that by adopting this resolution we would have record of approval of the Thoroughfare Map. Planning & Zoning recommended approval at their scheduled meeting. This resolution has been sent to the City Attorney for review. We should have his approval by Monday night's meeting. RESOLUTION Au. 03-06-07 l j PROVIDINGINSURING THE MOBILITY NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND O. GROWTHFUTURE WHEREAS, the City of Sanger is preparing for the future by creating a Thoroughfare Map for the placement of roads; WHEREAS, the City of Sanger is making an effort to provide transportation needs for existing and future growth; WHEREAS, the City of Sanger has appointed a committee to assist in the process of planning and reviewing said Thoroughfare Map; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Sanger; that the Thoroughfare Map is hereby adopted effective 2007. PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Sanger this day of 2007. Joe Higgs, Mayor ATTEST: Rosalie Chavez, City Secretary r✓ t H4U FM 2164 H4U Funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program would be cut by $735 million to $2.97 billion, a cut of nearly 20 percent. Many Texas cities rely on federal CDBG grants to improve their communities. It's ironic and painful that the President's proposal comes at the same time the Texas governor wants to impose caps on the ability of Texas cities' to generate their own property tax revenue. The combined effect of lost federal money and onerous state property tax revenue caps would very likely be cuts in critical city services. ;D BILLS F] H.B. 4 (Puente) —Water Conservation: would: (1) make a finding that voluntary land stewardship benefits the natural resources and general public of Texas; (2) create a Water Conservation Advisory Council, including a representative of city interests, which would monitor trends and new technologies in water conservation and develop, implement, and monitor water conservation and management awareness programs; (3) require a retail public utility providing service to a population of 3,300 or more to submit a water conservation plan to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for approval; (4) extend use of the Water Loan Assistance Fund to water conservation projects; (5) direct the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to create a statewide water conservation awareness program; (6) require each utility that must submit a water conservation plan to the TCEQ to also submit the plan to the TWDB and update the TWDB on its progress in implementing the plan; and (7) create standards for rainwater harvesting systems. H.B. 1156 (Flores) —Bingo Tax: would cancel the requirement that bingo operators must file reports with cities that receive a share of the bingo tax. _H.B. 1183 Sovereign Immunity: would add radio -controlled flying and related activities to the list of protected activities under the Recreational Use Statute. The effect would be to give a city where such activities take place within a park or on other city land a higher level of protection from liability: immunity except in cases of "willful or wanton" acts or gross negligence. H.B. 1184 (T. King) —Railroad Crossings: would: (1) decrease the amount of time under the Texas Penal Code that a train may block a street, railroad crossing, or public highway from ten minutes to five minutes; and (2) increase the fine for a violation to $1,000 if the obstruction lasts ten minutes or less, with an additional $1,000 fine for each additional five- minute interval. H.B. 1189 (P. King) —Electric Markets: would, in addition to clarifying various consumer protection provisions of current law, provide that, on or before January 1, 2008, an electric utility that is affiliated with power generation companies that own 5,000 megawatts or more of generating capacity in this state, or with retail electric providers that have annual sales of ten million megawatt hours or more of electricity in this state, shall file with the Public 2 Utility Commission an unbundling plan for discontinuing the utility's affiliation with power generation companies or retail electric providers. H.B. 1190 (P. King) — Electric Markets: would. (1) provide that, not later than September 8, 2008, a deregulated electric utility shall take steps to ensure that it does not own or control more than 20 percent of the installed generation capacity in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) or inside an ERCOT zonal boundary or functional market recognized by the Public Utility Commission (PUC); and (2) provide for PUC oversight of the limitation. H.B. 1193 (England) —Municipal Court: would permit any city over 100,000 in population to collect additional fees to pay for a collection program operated by employees of the city. (Current law allows such fees only for cities over 1.9 million in population.) H.B. 1195 (England) —Municipal Court: would permit any city over 125,000 in population to collect additional fees to pay for a collection program operated by employees of the city. (Current law allows such fees only for cities over 1.9 million in population.) H.B. 1196 (Kolkhorst) —Economic Development: would require a city or a 4A/4B economic development corporation to do the following prior to making an economic development grant or subsidy: (1) receive a written statement from the business prospect certifying that the business will not employ undocumented workers or contract with persons who employ undocumented workers; and (2) include a provision •in the economic development agreement to allow recovery of the amount of the subsidy should the business be convicted of employing undocumented workers. H.B. 1202 (P. King) —Electric Markets: would: (1) provide that the Public Utility Commission shall monitor market power associated with the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity to prevent market power abuse; and (2) authorize a private cause of action against a supplier of retail electricity operating in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. H.B. 1205 (Keffer) —Volunteer Firefighters: would: (1) prohibit an employer that has more than two employees from firing an employee because the employee missed or was late to work while responding to an emergency as a volunteer firefighter or volunteer EMS worker; and (2) provide a cause of action that a volunteer emergency responder may use to enforce the prohibition. H.B. 1210 (Jackson) —Property Tax: would permit a city the option to extend, for good cause, the three-year deadline for taxpayers to submit an application for a refund of overpayment or erroneous payment of property taxes. H.B. 1224 (Davis) —Health Benefit Plans: would prohibit a health benefit plan, including a governmental risk pool, from excluding coverage or denying benefits for treatment of autism. H.B. 1237 (Farabee) —Public Information Act: would provide that: (1) information that relates to the home address, home telephone number, a -mail address, social security number, or date of birth of a person licensed to practice law in this state is confidential and may not be disclosed to the public if the person to whom the information relates: (a) chooses to restrict public access to the information; and (b) notifies the governmental body of the person's choice, in writing or electronically, on a form provided by the governmental body; and (2) all documents filed with a county clerk or a district clerk are exempt from the prohibition. (Companion bill is S.B. 514 by Hegar.) H*Be 1242 (P. King) — Crime Stoppers: would make reckless or knowing mismanagement of the funds of a crime stoppers organization a criminal offense. H B 1244 (Kuempeb — Retirement Benefits: would. (1) allow the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) to make a distribution in an amount of up to $3,000 per year to pay qualifying health insurance premiums for a retired public safety officer; (2) allow a TMRS retiree to return to work for a TMRS member city without losing retirement benefits; (3) require a city that is a member of TMRS to continue making retirement contributions for a retiree who immediately returns to work for the city; (4) allow TMRS by rule to limit the increase in a member's average updated service compensation from year to year, (5) change the way TMRS calculates a member's base updated service credit; (6) allow TMRS, after consulting with an actuary, to authorize a city to make additional lump -sum or periodic contributions to the city's account held with TMRS; and (7) make changes to the rate of contribution for a city that elects to increase its service annuity reserves. (The bill would make additional changes; each TMRS member city is encouraged to read and understand the bill's provisions.) H B 1251 Bonnen) —Solid Waste Collection: would provide that a ciiy may not enforce its grant of a franchise for solid waste collection and transportation services within its territory if a person provides the city with written documentation that the person is receiving solid waste disposal services from another entity. (Companion bill is S.B. 594 by Nelson.) H B 1256 (Hilderbran) —Illegal Immigrants: would: (1) allow a peace officer who has reasonable suspicion that a person has violated federal immigration laws to inquire into the person's immigration status and to arrest the person or report the person to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has violated federal immigration laws; (2) prohibit a city official or city ordinance from barring a peace officer from exercising his authority regarding enforcement of immigration laws; and (3) prohibit a city from adopting a policy under which the city's police department does not fully enforce state or federal laws relating to immigration. H B 1258 (West) —Law Enforcement: would increase the criminal penalty for killing or attempting to kill a police animal or injuring or attempting to injure a police animal in a manner that would materially and permanently affect the animal's ability to perform as a police service animal. H.B. 1260 (Martinez) —Fees: would exempt military personnel who are preparing to be deployed to serve in a hostile fire zone from certain fees incurred in arranging their personal affairs, including obtaining copies of marriage certificates and birth certificates or transferring property titles. H B 1262 (Martinez) Data Breaches: would: (1) waive sovereign immunity and allow a suit against any public entity if the entity allows a breach of sensitive computerized data; and (2) hold the entity strictly liable for any breach of sensitive information. El H.B. 1268 (van Arsdale) — Attorneys Fees: would prohibit a city contract from awarding attorney's fees to the city when it prevails in a dispute unless the contract also provides for attorney's fees for the other party if that party prevails. H.B. 1273 (Jackson) — Law Enforcement: would increase the number of cities eligible to have police officers certified in the enforcement of commercial motor vehicle safety rules. (Companion bill is S.B 545 by Carona.) H.B. 1277 (Deshotel) — Unemployment Compensation: would provide that individuals who are only available to work part-time are eligible to receive unemployment benefits. H.B. 1279 (Deshotel) — Motorcycles: would require that traffic signals at intersections that aHow for left turns and that respond to the flow of traffic by being triggered by the presence of vehicles, also be made to react to the presence of motorcycles. H.B. 1294 (Villarreal) —Tax Increment Financing: would permit property tax increment revenues to be spent to acquire, construct, or reconstruct educational facilities. H.B. 1299 (Strama) —Disability Law: would: (1) waive sovereign immunity for a city sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and (2) for such lawsuits, create a limitation on liability for a city of $250,000 for each person and $500,000 for each occurrence. (Companion bill is S.B. 447 by Hinoiosa.) H.B. 1301 (Zedler) —Workers' Compensation: would allow a court to appoint an attorney for a workers' compensation claimant when an insurance carrier initiates a court proceeding, and would allow the attorney to recover fees from the workers' compensation injury fund. (Companion bill is S.B. 287 by Lucio.) H.B. 1304 (Coleman) —Stun Guns: would impose a temporary moratorium on the use of stun guns by any peace officer and on the purchase of stun guns by a law enforcement agency. H.B. 1305 (W. Smith) —Sales Tax: would exempt real estate surveying from sales taxes. H.B. 1315 (Bailey) —Fire Protection: would, in most cases, prohibit a city from placing a person in the chain of command over f re protection personnel unless the person has the appropriate level of certification from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. (Companion bill is S.B. 511 by Deuell.) H.B. 1321 (Farias) —Transportation Projects: would prohibit a state agency or a political subdivision, in connection with a public road, highway, toll road, port, or related infrastructure under its jurisdiction, from: (1) granting an ownership or leasehold interest in the property to a private entity, or (2) permitting all or any part of the property to come under the control of a private entity. H.B. 1325 (Eiland) —Sales Tax: would exempt certain hurricane preparation, supplies from sales taxes when sold in coastal counties between each June 1 and June 12. H B 1327 (Dutton) — Peace Officer Searches: would provide that a peace officer who stops a motor vehicle for any alleged violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic may not search the vehicle unless the peace officer: (1) has probable cause or another legal basis for conducting the search, including conducting a search based on a reasonable and articulable fear for the safety of the peace officer or another person; (2) obtains the written consent of the operator of the vehicle on a state -mandated form; or (3) obtains the oral consent of the operator of the vehicle and ensures that the oral consent is evidenced by an audio and video recording according to state -adopted procedures. JaBo 1353 (Paxton) — Property Tax: would require a city to defend for up to two years the title of land, valued at less than $100,000, that is sold at a property tax foreclosure sale if the previous owner brings suit to invalidate the sale on the grounds that there was insufficient notice of the sale. H B 1355 (Gattis) —Dangerous Dogs: would: (1) hold a dog owner liable if the owner, with criminal negligence, fails to secure the dog and the dog makes an unprovoked attack on a person at a location other than the owner's property and the attack causes serious injury or death; (2) hold a dog owner liable if the owner knows the dog is a "dangerous dog" and the dog makes an unprovoked attack on another that causes serious injury or death at a location other than a secure enclosure where the dog is restrained; (3) provide that owning a dog that participates in an unprovoked attack that causes serious bodily injury is a third degree felony; (4) provide that owning a dog that participates in an unprovoked attack that causes death is a second degree felony; (5) allow concurrent state and municipal prosecution for an attack by a dangerous dog; (5) provide that certain persons, including veterinarians and city employees, who have control of a dangerous dog, are not treated as a dog's owner for purposes of liability; (6) waive the application of the bill to a dog owner if the dog attacks a person who was trying to burglarize or criminally trespass on the owner's property; and (7) repeal civil penalty provisions relating to dangerous dogs. H B 1364 (Anchia) —Electronic Voting Machines: would impose numerous additional requirements on the use of mandated electronic voting machines, including the following: 1. mandate that an electronic voting machine provide a practical and effective means for voters with physical disabilities to cast a secret ballot, including a provisional ballot. 2. allow the casting of provisional votes on a direct recording electronic voting machine only if the: (a) voting system segregates provisional votes from other votes on the precinct returns; (b) precinct returns indicate the number of provisional ballots cast but do not include actual provisional votes in the unofficial totals from the precinct; (c) central counting station reports indicate the number of provisional ballots cast but do not include the actual provisional votes in the unofficial totals; and (d) voting system provides a method for the provisional ballots cast to be accepted and added to the election results by the early voting ballot board or central counting station personnel. 3. provide that, immediately after receiving a voting system from a vendor, the general custodian of election records shall perform certain tests to verify the accuracy of the system. 0 4. provide that not later than 48 hours before voting begins on a voting system, the general custodian of election records shall conduct a logic and accuracy test that is open to the public. 5. the general custodian of election records (along with a two -person testing board created by the custodian) shall sign a written statement attesting to: (a) the qualification of each direct recording electronic voting machine that was successfully tested; and (b) any problems discovered. 6. require the general custodian of election records to create and maintain an inventory of all electronic information storage media and develop a procedure for tracking the custody of each electronic information storage medium from its storage location, through election coding and the election process, to its final post -election disposition and return to storage. 7. provide that the general custodian of election records shall create a recovery plan to be followed if a breach in security procedures is indicated. 8. provide that the general custodian of election records shall secure access control keys or passwords to voting system equipment. 9. prohibit a voting system from being connected to any external communications network, including the Internet. 10. provide that the general custodian of election records shall create a contingency plan for addressing direct recording electronic voting machine failure. 11. prohibit a direct recording electronic voting machine deployed for early voting from being deployed on election day. H.B. 1368 (Hochberg) —Nuisances: would: (1) eliminate the provision allowing a property owner to post bond in order to forestall the abatement of a nuisance; and (2) allow a city to discontinue utility services, revoke certificates of occupancy, or block the entrances to property determined to be a nuisance if the property owner violates a temporary injunction involving the nuisance. H.B. 1380 (McCall) — Municipal Courts: would require that money in the municipal court building security fund be used only for security personnel, services, and items related to buildings that house municipal court operations. H.B. 1391 (Turner) —Fire Protection: would: (1) require a city or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), by rule or ordinance, to adopt public safety standards for water service in residential areas, including standards for maintaining sufficient water pressure for fire hydrants; and (2) give to the TCEQ the power to review the actions taken by a city regarding the standards. H.B. 1399 (Martinez Fischer) —Commercial Driver's License: would allow deferred disposition or driver safety course dismissal for a holder of a commercial driver's license for a traffic offense if the defendant was not driving a commercial motor vehicle at the time of the offense. H.B. 1404 (Dutton) — Property Tax: would: (1) entitle certain neighboring property owners who have maintained a foreclosed property the first right to purchase the tax- foreclosed property at a tax sale; and (2) require a city tax collector to send written notice to all contiguous property owners of their potential right to purchase prior to each tax sale. H.B. 1409 (R. Cook) — Eminent Domain: would: (1) provide that a condemnation petition must state that the entity made a bona fide good faith effort to acquire the property by voluntary purchase or lease; (2) provide that the judge of a court in which a condemnation petition is filed or to which an eminent domain case is assigned shall deny the right to condemn unless the entity proves to the court that the entity has met the good faith requirement and other requirements; (3) provide that a property owner does not waive a defense to condemnation by appropriating earnest money deposited with the court; (4) provide that if a court finally determines that a condemnor who has taken possession of property pending litigation did not have the right to condemn the property, the court shall order the property owner to return the amount appropriated by the property owner that exceeds the total amount awarded to the property owner; (5) provide that adequate compensation may not be determined to be an amount that is less than the sum of the fair market value of the property acquired by the condemnor and any decrease in the market value of any part of the owner's other property that is not acquired by the condemnor, (6) modify the method of calculating a condemnation award (such as providing that if the special commissioners can reasonably infer that the purpose for which the entity intends to use the property will generate revenue, the special commissioners shall admit and consider evidence on the expected value of the property for the purpose for which the property is being acquired as evidence for assessing damages to a property owner from condemnation); (7) provide that if the special commissioners award greater damages than the condemnor offered to pay before the proceedings began or if the decision of the commissioners is appealed and a court awards greater damages than the commissioners awarded, the condemnor shall pay all costs of defending the suit against the condemning entity's exercise of eminent domain, including any reasonable attorney's fees and expert fees incurred by the property owner; and (8) impose additional court fees to institute a condemnation action. H.B. 1434 (Rose) —Sales Tax: would create two, month -long sales tax holidays for the purchase of college textbooks. H.B. 1436 (Rose) —Health Benefits: would require certain health benefit plans, including a governmental risk pool, to: (1) provide coverage for the diagnosis of eating disorders; (2) provide coverage for not less than 60 days of inpatient and 60 days of outpatient treatment in each calendar year for eating disorders; and (3) provide coverage for eating disorders in the same way that coverage is provided for a physical illness and serious mental illness. S.B. 482 (Fraser) —Electric Markets: this bill is the same as H.B. 1189 by P. King, above. S.B. 483 (Fraser) —Electric Markets: this bill is the same as H.B. 1190 by P. King, above. S.B. 490 (Ellis) —Sales Tax: would exempt from sales taxes the purchase of certain energy efficient products that are priced at $1,500 or less and that are bought for personal use. S.B. 493 (Duncan) —Elections Administrators: would: (1) create the position of joint elections administrator in a single county if the commissioners court and thegoverning body of one or more other political subdivisions located in that county separately adopt a written order creating the position: (2) create the position of joint elections administrator for multiple counties if the commissioners courts of two or more adjacent counties and, if applicable, the governing body of one or more other political subdivisions located in either county separately adopt a written order creating the position; (3) provide that a political subdivision may not adopt a written order creating the position of joint elections administrator unless a county in which the political subdivision is wholly or partly located adopts a written order creating the position; (4) require participating political subdivisions to create a joint elections commission consisting o£ (a) from each county that has adopted an order to have its elections conducted by the joint elections administrator, the county judge, county clerk, county tax assessor - collector, and the county chair of each political party that made nominations by primary election for the most recent general election for state and county officers; and (b) a representative from each participating entity other than a county; (5) provide that the joint elections commission appoints the joint elections administrator; (6) provide that the employment of the joint elections administrator may be terminated at any time for good and sufficient cause; (7) provide that the participating entities shall share the cost of the operating expenses of the administrator's office, subject to certain restrictions; (8) mandate that the joint elections administrator perform the duties and functions of the voter registrar, with certain exceptions, and the duties and functions relating to elections placed on an officer of a participating entity formerly required to conduct elections; (9) divide certain duties between the joint elections administrator and the officers of a political subdivision; and (10) provide that the secretary of state shall adopt rules that classify the duties and functions placed on the officers of the participating entities according to whether they are to be ;performed by the joint elections administrator or by the officers. S.B. 503 (I3egar) —Law Enforcement: would provide state grants to local law enforcement authorities to assist with continuing legal education for peace officers. S.B. 504 (Wentworth) — Property Tax: would provide that the property tax exemption application process for solar and wind energy devices on homestead property is the same as the application process for the underlying homestead exemption. S.B. 511 (Deuell) —Fire Protection: this bill is the same as H.B. 1315 by Bailey, above. S.B. 514 (Hegar) —Public Information Act: this bill is the same as H.B. 1237 by Farabee, above. S.B. 526 (Seli�er) —Fire Marshals: would provide that a municipal fire marshal or arson investigator may travel in an unmarked municipal vehicle when performing official duties. S.B. 532 (Carona) —Eminent Domain: would require a governmental entity that wants to acquire property for a public use to: (1) inform the property owner at the time an offer to purchase is made that the property owner may seek legal counsel; (2) provide to the property owner at the time the offer to purchase is made an estimate of the costs of legal services, and (3) refrain from advising the property owner that he or she does not need to seek legal counsel. S.B. 534 (Hear) —Concealed Handguns: would prohibit an employer from taking an employment action against an employee who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun because the employee: (1) transports or stores a handgun in the employee's locked vehicle in a parking area provided for employees; (2) applies for a concealed handgun license; or (3) holds a concealed handgun license. S B 538 (West) — Municipal Court: would provide that a defendant need not appear at his own municipal court trial provided he is represented by an attorney who stipulates to the defendant's identity. S B 540 (West) — Electronic Votinz Machines: this bill is the same as H.B._ 1364 by Anchia, above. SaBe 545 (Carona) — Law Enforcement: this bill is the same as H.B. 1273 by Jackson, above. 3*Be 568 (Ellis) — Health Benefits: would require a city that provides health insurance coverage to provide coverage for a mental disorder in the same manner it provides coverage for a physical illness. SOB* 575 (Nichols) —Property Tax: would: (1) reduce the property tax appraisal cap on homesteads from ten percent to five percent; (2) authorize a county commissioners court to call an election to increase the homestead appraisal cap for all taxing jurisdictions in the county back to some percentage between six and ten; and (3) prohibit a subsequent election from occurring for ten years after an election held under (2) above. (Note: Please see S.J.R. 23 below.) S B 576 (Nichols) —Eminent Domain would: (1) prohibit a state agency, political subdivision, or a corporation created by a governmental entity from taking private property through the use of eminent domain if the taking is for a recreational purpose, including a parks and recreation system or a specific park, greenbelt, or trail; and (2) provide that the determination by the entity proposing to take the property that the taking does not involve an act or circumstance prohibited by the bill does not create a presumption with respect to whether the taking involves that act or circumstance. S B 581 (Hear) — Platting: would provide that a person may not file for record or have recorded in the county clerk's office a plat, replat, or amended plat or replat of a subdivision of real property unless the plat, replat, or amended plat or replat has attached to it an original tax certificate from each taxing unit with jurisdiction of the real property indicating that no delinquent ad valorem taxes are owed on the real property. (Companion bill is H.B. 989 by Zerwas.) S.B. 592 (Wentworth) —Open Meetings Act: would allow a city official to use facsimile or e-mail to notify the news media of an emergency meeting or the addition of an emergency item to a posted agenda. S.B. 594 (Wentworth) —Solid Waste Collection: this bill is the same as H.B. 1251 by Bonnen, above. SB 596 (Wentworth) — General Land Office: would provide that information relating to the development, location, purchase price, or sale price of real property developed, purchased, or sold by or for the School Land Board, Veterans' Land Board, General Land Office, or Texas Land Commissioner, including a contract provision related to the 1 0 development, purchase, or sale of the property, is confidential. (Note: to cities because the state agencies in the bill routinely develop Companion bill is H.B. 699 by Turner.) This bill is important land within cities. S.B. 607 (Ellis) — Banking: would permit a city to apply to the state to create a "banking development district " within which the city can: (1) deposit municipal funds at a fixed interest rate; (2) grant tax abatement agreements; and (3) automatically qualify the district as a reinvestment zone for other economic development purposes. S.B. 629 (Deuell) —Peace Officers: would require the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education to develop, maintain, and promote an Internet website to promote employment opportunities for police officers. S.B. 633 (Gallegos) —Overtime for Firefighters: would provide that in a city with a population of more than 10,000: (1) a fire fighter or member of a fire department who provides emergency medical services, other than a fire chief, assistant chief, or an individual in a similar classification, is entitled to overtime pay; and (2) a member of a fire department who does not fight fires or provide emergency medical services, other than a fire chief, assistant chief, or an individual in a similar classification, is entitled to overtime pay. S.J.R. 23 (Nichols) — Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to permit the legislature to: (1) reduce the property tax appraisal cap on homesteads from ten percent to five percent; and (2) authorize a county commissioners court to call an election to increase the homestead appraisal cap for all taxing jurisdictions in the county back to some percentage between six and ten. (Note: Please see S.B. 575 above.) SELECTED COMMITTEE ACTIONS S.B. 61 (Zaffirini), relating to the performance of the functions of the governing body of a political subdivision in the event of a disaster. Reported from the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, S.B. 112 (Carona), relating to the confiscation of firearms and ammunition during a state of disaster. Reported from the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee. HOTELS OFFERING TML RATES The following provides information about hotel availability and special rates for city officials who may be traveling to Austin to testify or meet with their legislators during this legislative session. Doubletree doubles) North Hotel - $109/Friday-Saturday or $124/Sunday-Thursday (king or 2 11 -- 6505 N. IH-35 Austin, TX 78752 512454-3737 1400-347-0330 Corporate account numbers 560030697 or 560030705 Rate includes breakfast buffet and cocktail voucher for each night of stay. AmeriSuites (Hyatt Place Austin North Central) - $85 7522 N. IH-35 Austin, TX 78752 512-323-2121 (Contact hotel directly for reservations) All -suite hotel where you can now earn Hyatt Gold Passport Points. Ask for the Texas municipal rate. High-speed Internet and complimentary hot breakfast. Convenient location just off 183 and I-35, two miles from TML. Hampton Inn Austin North - $84 7619 N. IH-35 Austin, TX 78752 1400-HAMPTON or 512452-3300 (Contact hotel directly for reservations) Newly upgraded sleeping accommodations with king or double rooms. Free wireless high-speed Internet access. Free local phone calls. Complimentary deluxe continental breakfast with hot items from 6 a.m. WE 10 a.m. Same day valet service.• Complimentary fitness center. Hilton honors points and miles. One hundred percent guest satisfaction guarantee. LaQuinta - $74 7622 N. IH-35 Austin, TX 78752 5124674701 1-877-203-0174 (Contact hotel directly for reservations) Complimentary deluxe breakfast and a manager's reception with Monday through Thursday, 5:304:00 p.m. Free local phone ca corner of 183 and N. IH-35. Holiday Inn Express - $95 8500 N. IH-35 Austin, TX 78752 512-821-0707 (Contact hotel directly for reservations) food and beverage. Is. Located at SW TML member cities may use the material herein for any purpose. No other person or entity may reproduce, duplicate, or distribute any part of this document without the written authorization of the Texas Municipal League For further information contact the TML Legislative Services Department 1821 Rutherford lane, Suite 400, Austin, Texas 18754-5128 512-231-7400, Fax 512-231-7490 www.tml.org • 1 L``1 � • i� �I \ ` L city only. While many cities might consider a citizen witness or complainant necessary for certain executive sessions relating, for example, to personnel, GA-511 suggests this is improper. A city council that wishes to include any non -employee or non -officer in an executive session should carefully consult with its city attorney prior to doing so. LECTED COMMITTEE ACTIONS H.B. 76 (Naishtat), relating to the collection and analysis of information regarding certain sexual offenses. Voted from the House Law Enforcement Committee. H.B. 239 (Alonzo, relating to provisions and use of computer technology in certain public libraries. Reported from the House Urban Affairs Committee. S.B. 190 Brimer), relating to the authority of cities to receive municipal sales tax information from the state comptroller. Voted from the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee. -RELATED BILLS FILI H.B. 1437 (Coleman) —Health Benefits: would require health benefit plans, including those offered by a governmental risk pool, to provide a maximum lifetime benefit of at least $5 million for acute or chronic medical conditions. H.B 1438 (Oliveira) . — Health Benefits: would require a health benefit plan, including one offered by a governmental risk pool, to provide screening tests for atherosclerosis and artery structure to certain covered individuals, if the plan provides coverage for any medical screening. (Companion bill is S.B. 725 by Lucio.) H.B. 1446 Bohac) —Elections: would provide that: (1) voted ballots shall be preserved for at least 60 days after the date of the election; and (2) on the 61 st day after the election, the custodian of records may (a) require a person who has possession of a key that operates the lock on a ballot box containing voted ballots to return the key to the custodian, and (b) unlock the ballot box and transfer the voted ballots to another secure container for the remainder of the 22-month preservation period. 2 H.B. 1454 (Bohac) —Pawn Shops: would do the following. (1) permit, but not require, a police chief to place holds on pawn shop goods that are suspected of being stolen; (2) require pawn shops that generate computerized pawn tickets to electronically transmit pawn data to the police department if required by the police chief; and (3) grant a city certain regulatory powers over pawnshops, including Class C penalty provisions. (Companion bill is S.B. 341 by Ellis.) H.B. 1456 (Coleman) —Audits: would extend from 120 days to 1$0 days the deadline for a city to file its financial statement based on its annual audit. H.B. 1460 (Hagerty) —Manufactured Housing: would make multiple changes to the laws relating to purchasing and financing manufactured housing and would: (1) redefine a "manufactured home" as a mobile home or any structure that, regardless of size, is designed for use as a dwelling when it is connected to the required utilities; and (2) provide that, notwithstanding any zoning other law to the contrary, the owner of a manufactured home in a city may move the home from its location and place another manufactured home on the same property, provided that the replacement is a newer manufactured home and is at least as large in living space as the prior manufactured home. H.B. 1462 (Zedler) —Elections: would: (1) require a city to report the vote of an unregistered voter to the attorney general; (2) allow a registered voter to report criminal conduct in elections to the attorney general; and (3) require prompt action on investigations involving possible criminal conduct in an election. H.B. 1463 (Zedler) —Elections: would: (1) increase a ballot assistance offense to a felony of the third degree; (2) increase offenses related to voting -by -mail to a class A misdemeanor or third degree felony depending on the number of ballots involved in the offense; and (3) increase a ballot -by -mail assistance offense to a third degree Felony. H.B 1466 (Zedler) — Sezually Oriented Businesses: would define a "sexually oriented business" and would: (1) prohibit a person from owning, operating, or working at a sexually oriented business unless the person holds a license issued by the Department of Health Services (Department); (2) provide that, to be eligible for a license, an applicant must be at least eighteen years of age and meet any other requirements approved by the Department, (3) prohibit a license from being issued to, or renewed for, a person who has been convicted of various criminal offenses, such as prostitution or indecency with a child; (4) authorize the Department to recognize, prepare, or administer continuing education programs for its license holders; (5) provide procedures for license suspensions; (6) provide that the failure to register or other violation under the bill is a deceptive trade practice and is punishable as a class A misdemeanor and by a civil penalty; and (7) provide that the requirements in the bill are in addition to any municipal or county regulation, and that the bill controls over a municipal or county Y:gulation if there is a conflict. 3 H.B. 1471 (Hancock) — Disasters: would do the following. (1) permit the mayor of a city to share city resources with other political subdivisions during a state of disaster called by the governor, regardless of any existing procedure or interlocal agreement; (2) require a city receiving borrowed equipment under a situation described in (1) above to obtain insurance coverage for the equipment. H.B. 1472 (Miller) — Annexation: would prohibit a city from annexing property that is eligible to be the subject of a development agreement and is appraised for ad valorem tax purposes as land for agricultural or wildlife management, unless the city offers to the landowner a development agreement that would: (1) guarantee the extraterritorial status of the area; and (2) authorize the enforcement of all regulations and planning authority of the municipality that do not interfere with the agricultural or wildlife management use of the area. H.B. 1473 (Turner) —Sovereign Immunity: would: (1) provide that an employee of a city who alleges a violation of statute or local ordinance affecting employment may sue the city for back pay and other relief; and (2) waive a city's sovereign immunity for such a suit. H.B. 1478 (Turner) —Sovereign Immunity: would: (1) provide that a city that is governed by a statute or ordinance that relates to the employment rights of its employees waives its sovereign immunity for a violation of such statute or ordinance; and (2) permit recovery for compensatory damages and any interest allowed by law. H.B. 1491 (Woolley) —Conflicts of Interest: would make numerous changes to the conflicts disclosure statute, including the following. l . require a member of the city council or a person designated as the executive officer of the city to file a disclosure statement if such officer has an employment or business relationship with a vendor that results in the officer or officer's family member receiving taxable income that exceeds $2,500 (there is no minimum income amount in current law); 2. provide that an officer is not required to file a disclosure statement if the officer or officer's family member receives taxable income from a vendor that is investment income (dividends, capital gains, or interest generated form a personal or business checking or savings account, a personal or business investment, or a personal or business loan), 3. provide that an officer is not required to file a disclosure statement regarding a gift received by the officer or officer's family member if the gift is given by a family member of the person receiving the gift; 0 4. provide that an officer is not required to file a disclosure statement if the officer or officer's family member receives a gift that is apolitical contribution; 5. require a city to terminate an employee who knowingly fails to comply with the requirements of the bill; 6. make it an exception to prosecution, rather than a defense to prosecution as current law provides, that the officer filed a disclosure statement not later than the seventh business day after receiving notice .from the city of the alleged violation; 7. require a vendor to file a conflicts of interest questionnaire if: (a) the vendor has a business relationship with the officer or officer's family member and the relationship results in the officer receiving taxable income; or (b) the vendor has given the officer or the officer's family member a gift; 8. require a vendor to file a conflicts of interest questionnaire not later than the seventh business day after the later of the date the vendor: (a) begins negotiations to enter into a contract with a city or submits an application related to a potential contract with the city; or (b) becomes aware of a conflict of interest; 9. require a vendor to file an updated conflicts disclosure not later that the seventh day after the date of an event that would make a statement in the questionnaire incomplete or inaccurate, 10. make it an exception to prosecution, rather than a defense to prosecution as current law provides, that the vendor filed a conflicts disclosure not later than the seventh business day after the vendor received notice from the city of the alleged violation; 11. provide that a city does not have an affirmative duty to ensure that a vendor complies with the requirements of the bill, 12. provide that the validity of a contract is not affected if a person fails to comply with the requirements of the bill; 13. require a city that maintains a Web site to provide access to statements and questionnaires that are required to be filed, but not require a city to maintain a Web site solely for that purpose; 14. require a city to maintain statements and disclosures in accordance with the city's records retention schedule; and 5 15. provide that a city is not required to disclose information that is excepted from disclosure by the Public Information Act. (This is a TML bill.) IIB 1494 (Bonnen) —Property it would provide that a senior who moves to a different residence during a tax year may benefit from any optional senior homestead exemption on the first property for the entire year. H.B 1495 (Callesaril — Eminent Domain: would: (1) require the attorney general to prepare a written statement that includes a bill of rights for property owners whose real property may be acquired by a governmental or private entity through the use of the entity's eminent domain authority; (2) provide that the landowner's bill of rights must notify each property owner of the right to a notice of the proposed acquisition of the owner's property, a bona fide good faith effort to negotiate by the entity proposing to acquire the property, an assessment of damages to the owner that will result from the taking of the property, and a hearing and right to appeal; (3) require the attorney general to write the statement in plain language designed to be easily understood by the average property owner and make the statement available on the attorney general's Internet web site; (4) require, at least four weeks before the date a governmental or private entity intends to begin negotiating with a property owner to acquire real property, that the entity send a landowner's bill of rights statement by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the person in whose name the property is listed on the most recent tax roll; and (5) require a condmennation petition to certify that the bill of rights has been sent. H.B. 1497 (Van Arsdale) —Public Information Act: would: (1) provide that a city that sends a written request for clarification or additional information to a requestor may consider a public information request withdrawn if no response is received within 30 days; and (2) require a city to notify a requestor that the failure to respond to the city's request for clarification could result in the original request being treated as withdrawn. H.B. 1499 (Martinez Fischer) —Speed Limits: would: (1) provide that the speed limit near a city or state park is 20 miles per hour; and (2) provide for the assignment of points to a driver's record for speeding near a city or state park. H.B. 1516 (Macias) —Alcohol: would require the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to prohibit the possession of an open container on any public right-of- way in a city of less than 100,000 population that is within 500 feet of a navigable stream if: (1) requested to do so by the city, and (2) the city provides a map, plat, or diagram that properly identifies the public right -of --way that is within 500 feet of a navigable stream. H.B. 1517 —Local Governments' Legislative Communication: would require that: (1) a person who is required under current law to register as a lobbyist must indicate 0 whether he/she lobbies on behalf of a local government entity or any other entity (such as a chamber of commerce) that pays the lobbyist for the benefit of a local government entity; and (2) a registered lobbyist who is paid to represent a local government entity must provide, as part of the lobbyist registration, the exact amount he/she is paid and a detailed listing of the issues Tor which the lobbyist is reimbursed, retained, or employed. The bill also provides that a city's annual financial statement must show: (1) each expenditure for legislative communication, including amounts paid to registered lobbyists, amounts spent by municipal officers or employees in connection with legislative communications, and membership dues paid to organizations that engage in legislative communications on behalf of local governmental entities; and (2) for each expenditure described above, a detailed description of the issue to which the expenditure relates and the local government entity's position on that issue. H.B. 1522 (Harless) — Parking: would allow a city, upon receipt of a petition from the residents of a residential subdivision, to prohibit parking of commercial motor vehicles within the subdivision and certain areas adjacent to the subdivision. H.B. 1524 (Guillen) —Venue Tages: would permit a city council to call an election to use existing venue taxes on a separate but related venue project. H.B. 1525 (Allen) —Early Voting: would require all early voting polling places, the main early voting place, and temporary branch polling places to be open from 7a.m. to 7p.m., regardless of the size of the city or county. H.B. 1529 (Villarreal) —Permit Vesting: would authorize a regulatory agency to impose regulations on a permit holder to prevent imminent destruction of property or injury to persons. H.B. 1535 (Martinez Fischer) _ Tasers: would create a state licensing program to permit persons to carry a concealed Taser or other stun gun, similar to the existing concealed handgun licensing program. H.B. 1536 (Flynn) —Procurement: would: (1) provide that a governmental entity may award job order contracts for the construction, renovation, repair, rehabilitation, or alteration of a facility under certain circumstances; and (2) enact minor changes to the procedures governing job order contract procurement. H.B. 1550 (Turner) —Municipal Court: would alter the collection improvement program operated by the Office of Court Administration for cities over 100,000 population as follows: (1) make certain collection procedures optional rather than mandatory; (2) require the Office 'of Court Administration to take into account the good faith efforts of cities attempting to comply with the program; and (3) prohibit penalties against a city before the date by which the Office has determined the city is able to implement the program. (Companion bill is S.B. 280 by Gallegos.) HeBo 1552 (Villarreal) —Property Tax: would permit a county commissioners court to call a county -wide election to determine whether persons filing deeds must disclose the sales price of the property sold. H B 1562 Bailey) — Overtime for Firefighters: would provide that in a city with a population of more than 10,000: (1) a firefighter or a member of a fire department who provides emergency medical services, other than.a fire chief, assistant chief, or m individual in a similar classification, is entitled to overtime pay; (2) a member of a Fire department who does not fight fires or provide emergency medical services, other than a fire chief, assistant chief, or an individual in a similar classification, is entitled to overtime pay; and (3) a firefighter or member of a fire department, other than a fire chief, assistant chief, or an individual in a similar classification, who is required or permitted to work overtime is entitled to overtime pay for the excess hours worked without regard to the number of hours worked in any one week of the work cycle. H ices B 1568 (Goolsby) —Landscape Architects: would provide that the seryof a landscape architect must be procured in accordance with the Professional Services Procurement Act provisions that are currently applicable to architects and engineers. (Companion bill is S.B. 717 by Ellis.) H B 1570 (Murphy) —Photographic Traffic Signal Enforcement: would: (1) allow cities to retain an amount of fine revenue equal to actual administrative costs (e.g., the purchase of equipment, installation of equipment, administration of citations, and general upkeep of the system) from a photographic traffic signal enforcement system, but no more than 50 percent of the fine revenue recovered; and (2) require that any revenue over the amount allowed by the bill be sent to the state comptroller to be credited to designated trauma facility and emergency medical services accounts. (Companion bill is S.B. 125 by Carona.) H B 1574 (Strama) =Toll Road Proiects: would make various changes to the powers and duties of a toll project entity, including providing that a toll project entity has full easements and rights -of -way through, across, under, and over any property owned by the state or any local government that are necessary or convenient to construct, acquire, or efficiently operate a toll project. (Companion bill is S.B. 668 by Watson.) H B 1580 (Thompson) —Public Information Act: would: (1) provide that the date of birth of a current or former employee of a governmental body is excepted from disclosure; and (2) authorize a governmental body to redact the date of birth without requesting a decision from the attorney general. (Companion bill is S.B. 281 by Gallegos.) H.B. 1604 (Zedler) — Identification: would prohibit a city from accepting, recognizing, or relying on an identity document issued by a consular office or consular official of another country as primary, secondary, or supporting evidence of the identity of (1) an applicant for provision of a public benefit or service that requires the recipient to verify his/her identity; or (2) an applicant for employment by the city. H.B. 1606 (Zedler) —Property Tag: would extend the time limit that vacant church land may receive a religious tax exemption as follows: (1) from six to fifteen years For contiguous tracts (contiguous to the actual church property) of three acres or less; (2) from six to ten years for contiguous tracts of more than three acres; and (3) from three to five years for non-contiguous land. H.B. 1608 (Hughes) —Emergency Vehicles: would limit a railroad's liability for obstructing a street with a train to a situation where an authorized emergency vehicle is prevented from taking the most direct route to an emergency. H.B. 1617 (Darby) —Economic Development Corporations: would: (1) require that directors of 4AJ4B economic development corporations need only be a city resident for corporations located in cities of over 100,000 population (Note: current law requires corporations in cities of 20,000 or more to have board members that are city residents). H.B. 1621 (Goolsby) — Red Light Cameras: would require an ordinance enacted to enforce compliance with the instructions of a traffic control signal by the imposition of a civil or administrative penalty to provide for a penalty of exactly $75. H.B. 1623 (Phillips) —Municipal Court: would: (1) increase a municipal court's authority to dismiss certain types of cases involving driver's license information, vehicle inspection, or vehicle or boat registration; and (2) provide for or increase the administrative fees that the court may require for such dismissals. H.B. 1626 B. Brown) —Eminent Domain: would provide that: (1) if a portion of a tract of real property is condemned and the property owner seeks an award for damage caused by the condemnation to the remaining property, the total amount of the award is based on the difference in the local market value of the entire property immediately before the condemnation and the local market value of the remaining property immediately after the condemnation, considering any benefit or injury that the construction or operation of the condemnor's project has on the market value of the remaining property, (2) any increase or decrease in the market value of an entire tract of real property caused by the condemnor's proposed project before the condemnation may not be considered in estimating the market value of that property before condemnation; and (3) any increase or decrease in the market value of any remaining real property caused by the condemnor's proposed project after the E condemnation shall be considered in estimating the market value of that property after the condemnation. H B 1636 (Menendez) --Meet and Confer: would expand the applicability of the meet and confer statute (Subchapter B of Chapter 142 of the Local Government Code) to include peace officers who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement. However, the bill provides that Subchapter B would still apply only to a city that exceeds 50,000 in population or has adopted Chapter 143 of the Local Government Code (fire/police civil service), but not to a city over one million in population that has not adopted Chapter 143. (Companion bill is S.B. 772 by Van de Putte.) FI*Be 1642 (Ortiz) — Elections: would provide that, if the day that early voting for an election is to begin falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state holiday, the early voting period begins: (1) on the next regular business day; or (2) on that Saturday or Sunday if early voting is ordered to be conducted on that day by the authority ordering the election. H B 1649 (Leibowitz) —Annexation: would provide that a seller of real property shall notify the purchaser in writing if the seller has received notice of potential annexation from a city. H B 1655 (Y Davis) —Property Tag: would: (1) permit an owner of real estate to opt to prohibit an appraisal district, a city, or a tax collector from posting the name of the owner in connection with appraisal and tax information postings on the Internet; and (2) require an appraisal district, a city, or tax collector that posts online tax information to provide Web site notice of a taxpayer's right to opt out of name disclosure. H B 1656 (Puente) —Irrigation: would require a city over 5,000 in population to: (1) require an installer of an irrigation system to be licensed and to obtain a permit before installing a system in the city or its ETJ; and (2) adopt minimum standards and specifications for designing, installing, and operating irrigation systems. H B 1677 (Miller) —Gas Rate Case Reimbursement: would prohibit a gas utility from recovering attorney's fees from customers m ratemaking proceedings. H B 1680 (Swinford) — Property Tax: this bill is not clearly written, but it arguably inue repeals the requirement that taxpayers who appeal property appraisals must cont to pay their taxes while the appeal is pending. Under one possible reading of the bill, only taxpayers who own more than 20 percent of the land within a taxing unit must pay taxes pending appeal. H B 1686 (McClendon) —Residential Construction: this bill is a substantial rewrite of Subchapter Z of Chapter 214 of the Local Government Code, relating to the 10 Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC). The key city -related provision of the bill is that a city, before issuing a construction permit for a residential structure, would be required to obtain the builder's TRCC certificate of registration number. H.B 1691 Bailey) — Police Officer Business Leave: would: (1) generally apply to a city with a population of 200,000 or more without collective bargaining; (2) allow a peace officer in an affected city to donate up to two hours each month of vacation or comp time to a business leave account of an employee organization; (3) allow another peace officer, upon request, to use the donated time, with pay, to attend to the business (including legislative business) of the employee association; and (4) require the city to grant such leave except in the case of an emergency. H.B. 1692 Bailey) —Property Tax: would allow certain low-income rental housing to be appraised under the income method, even if it is not owned by a community housing development organization (CHDO) as current law requires. H.B. 1697 (Hilderbran) —Easements: would: (1) allow a person to sue a city that holds land with a conservation easement, if the land is used for the construction or operation of a building or facility that is used for a purpose other than a park, open space, wildlife conservation area, public recreation area, or nature preserve, (2) would waive a city's sovereign immunity to suit and liability; and (3) allow damages, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees against the city if the plaintiff prevails. H.B. 1701 (Y. Davis) —Tax Exemptions: would: (1) require the Sunset Commission to review each property and sales tax exemption under state law every six years; and (2) provide that most exemptions automatically expire shortly after the sunset review process unless re -adopted by the legislature. H.J.R. 68 (Olivo) —Dual Employment: would amend the Texas Constitution to allow a public school employee or retired public school employee to receive compensation for serving as a member of the city council. H.J.R. 71 (Hilderbran) —Parks Funding: require that sporting goods sales taxes ld d the S.B. 641 (West) —Employee Leave: would: (1) require an employer, including a city, that employs more than 50 employees to provide an employee that has been employed for at least three months with five days of leave to attend to certain family violence issues that affect the employee or a member of the employee's family or household;.and (2) prohibit an employer from taking an adverse employment action against an employee who takes such leave. S.B. 653 (Seliger) —Mayoral Appointment: would: (1) clarify the ability of a city's governing body to appoint a current member of the governing body to fill a vacancy 11 in the office of mayor, unless a home rule city charter provides otherwise; and (2) prohibit the current member from voting on his or her own appointment. (This is a TML bill.) S.B. 666 (Carona) — Property Tax: would provide a complete property tax exemption on the homesteads of totally disabled veterans. (Please see S.J.R. 29 below.) S.B. 668 (Watson) —Toll Road Proiects: this bill is identical to H.B. 1574 by Strama, above. S.B. 674 (Zaffirini) — Health Benefits: would require that certain health benefit plans, including a governmental risk pool, provide coverage for health care costs incurred in connection with certain clinical trials for the prevention, detection, or treatment of a life -threatening disease or condition. S.B. 681 (Williams) —Retirement Benefits: would: (1) allow the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) to make a distribution in an amount of up to $3,000 per year to pay qualifying health insurance premiums for a retired public safety officer, (2) allow a TMRS retiree to return to work for a TMRS member city without losing retirement benefits; (3) require a city that is a member of TMRS to continue making retirement contributions for a retiree who immediately returns to work for the city; (4) allow TMRS by rule to limit the increase in a member's average updated service compensation from year to year; (5) change the way TMRS calculates a member's base updated service credits (6) allow TMRS, after consulting with an actuary, to authorize a city to make additional lump -sum or periodic contributions to the city's account held with TMRS; and (7) make changes to the rate of contribution for a city that elects to increase its service annuity reserves. (The bill would make additional changes; each TMRS member city is encouraged to read and understand the bill's provisions. Companion bill is H.B. 1244 by Kuempel.) S.B. 687 (Shaplei�h) — TexasOnline: would: (1) expand the ways a city may use electronic payment methods under a TexNcla Ine project to include person -to -person transactions, automated processes, that lead to person -to -person transactions, and automated processes at an unattended self -standing computer, and (2) allow a city to track payments received by the city regardless of how those payments are received. S.B. 691 (Uresti) —Municipal Court: would allow certain defendants in municipal court to elect whether to serve court -assigned community service: (1) in the county where the court is located; or (2) in the county where the defendant resides, but only if the entity or organization for whom the defendant will be volunteering agrees to supervise the defendant and report back to the court. IZ►� S.B. 094 (Ellis) — Elections: would: (1) require that two voter registrars be present at each polling place while the polls are open; and (2) provide that a person who would be eligible to vote in an election, but for the requirement to be a registered voter, shall be accepted for voting in the precinct of the person's residence if on the day the person offers to vote the person submits a voter registration application and presents proof of identification. S.B. 717 (Ellis) —Landscape Architects: this bill is identical to H.B. 1568 by Goolsby, above. S.B. 725 (Ludo) —Health Benefits: this bill is the same as H.B 1438 by Oliveira, above. S.B. 726 (Nichols) —Water Rate Case Reimbursement: would prohibit a regulatory authority from including for ratemaking purposes legal expenses, including attorney's fees and court costs, incurred by a water and sewer utility in a contested proceeding or in an appeal of that proceeding, with certain exceptions. S.B. 727 (Nichols) —Water and Sewer Regulation: would provide that a city has original jurisdiction over all water and sewer rates, operations, and services provided by a water and sewer utility within the city's corporate limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction. S.B._733 (Carona) — Property Tax: would exempt certain rent -to -own tangible goods from property tax. (Note: Please see S.J.R. 30 below.) S.B. 73b (Williams) —Property Taz: would exempt from property taxes passenger cars and light trucks that are used in the course of the owner's occupation or profession and are also used for some personal activities. (Note: Please see S.J.R. 31 below. Companion bill is H.B.1022 by Hilderbran.) S.B. 739 (Williams) —. Concealed Handguns: would: (1) prohibit any public or private employer from enacting a policy that Fr employees from transporting or storing a concealed handgun in a locked vehicle in any parking area, except where concealed handguns are prohibited by state or federal law; and (2) provide that a public or private employer is not liable in a civil action resulting from any occurrence involving the possession of a concealed handgun by a person licensed to carry one. (Companion bill is H.B. 220 by King.) S.B. 742 (Eltife) — "GRIP" Program: would repeal Subchapter G of Chapter 104 of the Utilities Code, the so-called Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program (GRIP). (The GRIP program, enacted in 2003, allows a gas utility company to increase rates to recover the cost of capital improvements without filing a full-blown rate case. When the GRIP program was enacted, it was assumed that investment in capital 13 improvements meant the replacement of pipes, pumps, and other similar equipment. In reality, the GRIP system allows utilities to recover, without a rate case, expenses for furniture, food, office supplies, and much more.) SaBe 743 (Carona) — Eminent Domain: would provide that the judge of a court in which a condemnation petition is filed or to which an eminent domain case is assigned shall appoint three disinterested registered voters of the county in which the property is located as special commissioners to assess the damages of the owner of the property being condemned. S B 756 (West) — Utility Relocation: would provide that: (1) a utility shall relocate or adjust at the utility's expense a utility facility that is located in a public right-of- way if (a) the utility does not have a compensable property interest in the land occupied by the facility; and (b) a governmental entity requests that the utility facility be relocated or adjusted to allow the widening or other changing of a traffic lane or the construction, reconstruction, operation, maintenance, repair, or replacement of a road, drainage facility, or other public project, (2) if the relocation or adjustment of the utility facility is required by improvement of an interstate highway and the relocation or adjustment is eligible for federal participation, a utility shall relocate or adjust its facility at the expense of the state; and (3) authorize the Texas Transportation Commission to require facilities of a gas utility (including a municipally owned gas utility) that are not in a city to relocate the facilities at the utility's expense for the widening or other changing of a traffic lane or the construction, reconstruction, operation, maintenance, repair, or replacement of a road, drainage facility, or other public project. (Companion is H.B_1102 by Turner.) S B 758 (Nelson) —Law Enforcement: would, among other things: (1) allow the Department of Family and Protective Services to contract with a city police department to assist in investigating child abuse and neglect; (2) require that a city police officer who is assisting in the investigation receive special training% and (3) require a city utility company to release identifying or location information to assist an investigation, even if the information is confidential. 5 B 768 (Ogden) —Driver's License Suspension: would: (1) allow a police officer or expert witness to send an affidavit, in lieu of personal appearance, to an administrative hearing to suspend a driver's license due to failure to pass an intoxication test; and (2) repeal the requirement that a breath test technician attend a hearing at the request of the holder of the driver's license. 3.B. 771 (Van de Putte) —General Land Office: would exempt the General Land Office from the following state laws: (1) any statute that would require the land office to provide a notice or disclosure to a buyer of real estate; and (2) any statute relating to the sale, purchase or financing of real property by an executory contract. S.B. 772 (Van de Putte) — Meet and Confer: this bill is the same as H.B. 1636 by Menendez, above. S.B. 773 (Patrick) — Immigration: would: (1) make it a class B misdemeanor for a person who is in violation of federal immigration law by being in the United States to enter or remain in this state; (2) allow a police officer to arrest a person without a warrant if the officer receives confirmation from the federal immigration authority that the person is in violation of federal immigration laws; and (3) require the police officer to take the person before a magistrate after arrest. S.J.R. 29 (Carona) —Property Tag: would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize the legislature to provide a complete property tax exemption on the homesteads of totally disabled veterans. (Please see S.B. 666 above.) S.J.R. 30 (Carona) — Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize the legislature to exempt certain rent -to -own tangible goods from property tax. (Please see S.B. 733 above.) S.J.R. 31 (Williams) —Property Tag: would amend the Texas Constitution to provide that passenger cars and light trucks used for personal activities as well as work do not involve "production of income," thus making them eligible for a legislative property tax exemption. (Please see S.B. 736 above. Companion bill is H.J.R. 54 by Hilderbran.) When the legislature is in session, nothing compares to the effectiveness of city officials testifying at the Capitol: City officials who take their time to travel to Austin to speak out on important city issues should be applauded by us all. The following city officials testified recently in front of legislative committees: David Barber, Chief of Police, Hedwig Village Henry Garrett, Mayor, Corpus Christi Lieutenant Shaw Mamcs, Police Department, Austin Susan Narvaiz, Mayor, San Marcos Dale Reinhardt, Mayor, Clint Joe Turner, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, Houston While TML monitors most hearings, we won't catch the testimony of every city official. If we missed your testimony or the testimony of another official in your city, 15 please contact us at the following a -mail address and we will include your name in the next edition of the TML Legislative Update: testify@tml.org. TML member cities may use the material herein for any purpose: No other person or entity may reproduce, duplicate, or distribute any part of this document without the written authorization of the Texas Municipal League For further informafiion contact the TM1 Legislative Services Department 1821 Rutherford lane, Suite 400, Austin, Texas 78754-5128 512-231-7400, Fax 512-231-7490 www.tml.org