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Georgetown officials urge residents to contact state lawmakers over ETJ losses, package plants and housing bills
Summary
Mayor Josh Schroeder warned that recent state laws and pending bills limit local control over development, pointing to Senate Bill 2038'related deannexations from the extraterritorial jurisdiction, package-plant permitting and impact-fee threats as priorities for residents to monitor at the Legislature.
Mayor Josh Schroeder used the town hall to urge residents to follow and weigh in on legislation in Austin that officials say reduces local control over development and utility regulation.
"There has been this growing trend at the state to remove control from cities," Schroeder said, describing measures that shift decision-making from local governments to the state. He told the audience the city is tracking more than 1,000 bills that could affect Georgetown.
Nut graf: City leaders highlighted specific statutory changes and active bills that they say threaten local control: a 2023 law allowing property owners to petition out of a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), pending bills that would restrict local impact fees, and private wastewater "package plants" that can seek permitting through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality with limited local oversight.
Schroeder cited Senate Bill 2038 (2023) as enabling owners to petition properties out of the ETJ within 45 days, which removes the city's regulatory control over land use and can make it easier for private wastewater systems and high-density projects to proceed without local review. "That can then develop a project ... to build a very tall apartment complex and have on-site discharge of their water right next to an elementary school," Schroeder said, describing a scenario the city opposes.
The mayor urged residents to sign up for the city's legislative updates, contact state elected officials and use QR-code resources the city provided to track the municipal legislative agenda. He said local voices can matter: the city has secured bracketing or exemptions on some bills after constituent outreach, he said.
Ending: Schroeder asked residents to monitor the city's legislative agenda, sign up for alerts and contact statewide officials — including the lieutenant governor and governor — if they want to influence outcomes at the Capitol.
