[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6578766,"mediaKeyId","3142246-c90fe0142893be97babb0f44b1f2187f","parentId",3142246,"title","Collin County Commissioners back resolution supporting state bill to protect private-property rights in certain residential arrangements","audioSeconds",164,"startMs",2950000,"endMs",3114000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3142246-c90fe0142893be97babb0f44b1f2187f&start=2950&end=3114","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3142246-c90fe0142893be97babb0f44b1f2187f/thumbnail_2950000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6578766/Collin-County/Texas/Collin-County-Commissioners-back-resolution-supporting-state-bill-to-protect-private-property-rights-in-certain-residential-arrangements","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6578766-041bad0b6a1d7ee9d76c81adef6b331f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770703953&Signature=UWLdhAdk1zzfZ1QY1AKck0o0IiWFhq9IJh8KwEzFTVqJBvL0HvT9r-nIRS-5SXjDsZD9WMUeCpSaUma6HPODSqJXUr89kAToGfDmXw2ZsSf-G65uRFZY1TdwY9shS-eOyHkufnEWcjEn4o2HlwXU6YUUeOuMtfkuXJgmX4u3E6PV3M7JXBwrBWNGVTYH3m~sD7~USdaBpoB67LB1g6e0ZzhShc2vX7AMZl54tAO1zXpl1nxPSSiu8ts0fIUgDpcFC-MhH~gB~m48QhYClktO7fwRBde5IIfnuY2hGpk0rLU95aRIdRFtTCpV-kbzy3oEJAGXS8kIbfdseyNRdz0uMQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Collin","date","2025-04-28T00:00:00Z","article","Collin County Commissioners Court on April 28 voted 4-0 to approve a resolution supporting state legislation, described by staff as House Bill 4211, that would add protections for private-property rights in certain residential arrangements.

Russell Schauffner, deputy county administrator, summarized the proposed resolution and said HB 4211 (authored by Rep. Noble) would create a new category of business entity owner for residential arrangements and provide remedies under deceptive-trade-practices law. Schauffner said the bill aims to protect buyers from restrictive or nonstandard arrangements that can affect property transfer and private-property rights.

Commissioners moved to approve the resolution without recorded dissent; the motion passed 4-0.

Ending: The resolution will be transmitted as the county’s formal position in support of HB 4211, and county staff said they would follow the bill’s progress in the legislature.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Collin - Health Care Foundation - Apr 28, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Commissioners approved a resolution supporting HB 4211, a bill described by staff as protecting private-property rights by restricting certain restrictions in nonstandard residential arrangements; the resolution passed 4-0.","taxTitle","Collin County, Texas","taxId",2696,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6578771,"Public commenters urge Collin County to delay ES&S maintenance renewal for ballot-marking devices",737,99000,836000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3142246-c90fe0142893be97babb0f44b1f2187f&start=99&end=836","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3142246-c90fe0142893be97babb0f44b1f2187f/thumbnail_99000.jpg","/articles/6578771/Collin-County/Texas/Public-commenters-urge-Collin-County-to-delay-ESS-maintenance-renewal-for-ballot-marking-devices","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6578771-2b9026c368276a661bd6a7a1dbde55b3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770703953&Signature=Lh6gexipDn96CTUJiwqKCIuANsAlLySdJFz4tVBRnRA7yJ5TRiTP45TAKCdKKS~Lj2TfxCRCgLUIBXBOQKnq9TYvpSCOCSJTMmJ9WMsrfcQc9J44bkbcDpy7Ux7228IzmcB5zjSouHkF94bDVd-Hsnr06tos3~oK-YH0MVmCCplTwLUOFzD1IIXKUJxm1uPQHO7oAvruwFjg3am7Jb5zliV04-VeE7bgwzSIQr-Y48BSWa7PfcxwsGWBsylfa4D81dXa3Z7m~lZYYrremGhr1mob-jATevcgoR5ovbqmKcj42O4nnnFdiqJ~9xQCn~duWLC9eMNK47AQnHUwYJ6qew__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Three residents asked Collin County Commissioners Court on April 28 to delay approval of an ES&S maintenance contract amendment covering ballot-marking devices, and county election staff told the court delaying the renewal would not harm operations if scheduled for consideration in June.

At the public-comment podium, Debbie Lindstrom, identifying herself as representing \"Systems Defending Freedom,\" said concerns about electronic voting systems’ vulnerability should prompt counties to adopt paper-based options and to add protective contract language. Lindstrom said a national figure had warned about election-security vulnerabilities and urged the court to include an escape clause in the county contract amendment.

Avis Novak opposed ES&S contract amendment No. 10, which she described as a 3.5% increase that would add roughly $20,000 from the prior renewal and said firmware and maintenance fees of $370,000 comprise the largest portion of the amendment’s costs. Novak told the court the county’s total investment in ballot-marking devices (BMDs) and related maintenance was about $13.5 million to date and raised concerns she said were about security (unreadable barcodes that are used for tabulation), fiscal responsibility and timing amid federal and pending state guidance about hand-marked paper ballots.

Lee Moore urged the court to delay approval until after the current legislative session because, Moore said, several bills in Austin could change the specifications or requirements for voting systems and doing the renewal now could commit taxpayers to services that might become unnecessary.

Caleb Breaux, Collin County elections administrator, told the court he had asked the vendor whether a delay would harm operations and was told the vendor had previously accepted delays into June, July or August. Breaux said the county’s routine preventative maintenance on equipment typically occurs in the summer and that a short delay should be manageable.

After public comment and staff answers, court members pulled the renewal from the consent agenda so it could be discussed separately and discussed returning the item to the court on June 9 so the county will know which election-related bills, if any, have passed. The court did not vote to approve the contract amendment at the meeting.

Ending: County staff will return with the ES&S contract amendment for further consideration at a later meeting; commissioners and the elections office urged residents and interested parties to monitor legislative outcomes and county postings before the June revisit.","Three citizens urged Commissioners Court to postpone approval of an ES&S contract amendment covering ballot-marking device firmware and maintenance, citing security concerns, fiscal impacts and pending state and federal guidance; the court pulled the item from the consent agenda and agreed to revisit it in June.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6578776,"Collin County discusses emergency services district; cities split on including extraterritorial areas",1705,1219000,2924000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3142246-c90fe0142893be97babb0f44b1f2187f&start=1219&end=2924","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3142246-c90fe0142893be97babb0f44b1f2187f/thumbnail_1219000.jpg","/articles/6578776/Collin-County/Texas/Collin-County-discusses-emergency-services-district-cities-split-on-including-extraterritorial-areas","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6578776-21e5d4765412372825bf41774273a8a5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770703953&Signature=k88dClTF9dqL~0DfsS0~8qsMoFS~WbkjebgQ-0HcNblgKgI~YIQ5CNdAm5QvQievcn23BNF59lXQ0iFpvBQ3zCnBtRkm7ncyXrvTOITXZLKFWo-Lj3d7UlycS1nWwgiNkLmSf3ZAQNTw9XFdUbOX5JRzCKQO0ttKpRR7o9JLJnhuNU26VLRvyvXlBuWkrJAKLeI0RZZcisOk8Nx8xQ5ujkFSEzt~ShIZUZzePSVM3wJFSH1FyE4USZygE3olxBW24YWNFqBhbcL-FQ699q4DPxXElWDBvn3JKT3kE1D~Q2lg~VgXq8MKbMRLWsC5jpvDzh~l9-vnaRuattvYlkIfSA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Collin County officials updated Commissioners Court on April 28 about a petition to create an Emergency Services District covering unincorporated areas and city extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs), and outlined options for residents in ETJs that cities choose to exclude.

The county’s presentation listed cities that have given consent to include their ETJs in the proposed ESD — Blue Ridge, Celina, Farmersville, Fate, Josephine, Lebonne, Lowry Crossing, McKinney, Melissa, Murphy, Nevada, Princeton, Weston, Wylie and Royce City — and named cities that have definitively declined: Frisco, Lucas, St. Paul and Van Alstyne. Several cities remain undecided (Anna, New Hope, Parker and Prosper) and others had not responded (Allen, Garland, Hebron and Trenton), county staff said.

The update matters because county staff told the court that if a city does not consent to include its ETJ, residents in that ETJ would not be eligible to vote in the ESD election and, should the ESD be approved, would not receive fire or ambulance services from the county or the ESD. “They’re essentially going to not have fire protection from either the county or the ESD, and so they’ll have to look to their city for fire protection,” a county staff presenter said.

Why this matters: the county is shifting responsibility for fire and emergency medical services to the ESD if voters approve. That shift could leave some residents without a local provider unless their city agrees to provide service, the court said.

Court members discussed how to notify affected residents and what options residents have if their city excludes the ETJ. County staff said the statutory opt-out process created by recent state law requires a property-owner petition to the city and that, if a city does not respond within 45 days, the petitioner is deemed to have opted out by operation of law. County staff advised residents who want to be included in the ESD vote to begin the opt-out process in May and said June 9 would be a practical cut-off to ensure the 45-day window runs before the county finalizes ESD boundaries in a public hearing scheduled for July.

Commissioners asked county staff to provide plain-language materials and outreach. The court directed staff to update the county website with a list of which cities have consented, to draft a short guide and sample petition forms consistent with the statute, and to consider using county emergency notification tools such as Everbridge to reach affected addresses. Staff also said they would coordinate with GIS, the elections department and the appraisal district so that property records and ballots reflect timely opt-outs.

Court members and staff repeatedly emphasized that residents in ETJs should contact their city councils to learn whether the city will provide fire and EMS service for the ETJ. County staff noted that a city that opts not to include its ETJ in the ESD could still choose to provide service at the city’s expense; conversely, a city could decline to provide service.

Courtmembers acknowledged the outreach presents a communication challenge because many residents do not vote in city elections for the council that governs their ETJ. Commissioners asked staff for a one-page explanation of options — including opting out of the ETJ, remaining in the ETJ and asking the city for service, or annexation into the city where possible — and for an outreach plan to reduce confusion before the July boundary hearing.

The court did not take a final vote on forming the ESD at the meeting; staff said the court had previously set a public hearing in July to consider and set ESD boundaries and the county will continue to collect city consents and public input before any election is called.

Ending: County staff said they will publish updated consent status on the Collin County website, assemble sample opt-out forms, and ramp up targeted outreach in May and June so residents have time to act before boundary-setting and any subsequent election.","County staff reported which cities consented to include their extraterritorial jurisdictions in a proposed Emergency Services District (ESD); officials warned residents in excluded ETJs may lack county or ESD fire and EMS service unless their city provides it or they opt out of the ETJ before statutory deadlines.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Collin County Commissioners back resolution supporting state bill to protect private-property rights in certain residential arrangements

Public commenters urge Collin County to delay ES&S maintenance renewal for ballot-marking devices

Collin County discusses emergency services district; cities split on including extraterritorial areas