City receives legislative update on water reuse, property-tax and land-use bills as session nears key deadlines
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Summary
City staff reported on multiple bills affecting Temple, including an aquifer storage-and-recovery (ASR) reclaimed-water bill (SB 2885) that cleared the Senate and was received in the House; property-tax and ballot-notice proposals; land-use and annexation measures; and other bills with potential impact on city operations.
City legislative staff delivered a broad update on bills in the Texas Legislature that could affect Temple operations and policy.
Water reuse/ASR: staff reported that Senate Bill 2885 (Flores), which would allow reclaimed water treated to certain standards to be used as part of aquifer storage and recovery projects, was voted out of the Senate and had been received in the House. City representatives and the mayor testified in support; staff said the city is working to secure a House sponsor and monitor the calendaring deadlines necessary for the bill to advance.
Property tax and ballot language: staff summarized several measures that would change property-tax processes and ballot disclosures. They noted competing proposals — for example, House and Senate versions differ on personal property exemptions — and described pending bills that would require more explicit "tax increase" language on ballots. The staff briefing also covered proposals that would cap or change the rate-setting and debt-service rules, including a bill that would require higher council vote thresholds for GO bonds and other limitations under consideration.
Land use, ETJ and annexation: staff described several land-use bills under consideration that may affect density, ADUs and extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) authority, including a disannexation bill the city is watching that could allow property owners to petition out of the city if the city does not provide water/wastewater service. Staff urged monitoring because the proposals could affect subdivisions that historically relied on septic systems.
Other topics: staff also briefed the council on bills related to permitting (party review proposals), open-government deadlines, telecommunication relocation costs, state preemption of local food-safety and food-truck rules, water infrastructure funding proposals, and utility late-fee caps. Several bills the staff highlighted were still in committee or on calendar, and staff emphasized several key session deadlines (for example, a May 13 calendar deadline for House bills and May 25 deadlines for Senate bills moving to the House).
Ending: staff asked council members to coordinate with legislative contacts if they could help secure House sponsors or committee attention for bills of local interest. No city positions or formal council votes on the bills were taken at the workshop; the briefing was for information and next-step coordination.
