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Heath mayor pro tem warns state bills could limit local zoning, urges monitoring
Summary
At the May 20 Heath MBC/EDC meeting, Councilman Scott Dodson delivered a legislative update warning that several Texas bills could reduce municipal control over zoning and permitting; he urged officials and residents to track bill movement and consider pooled lobbying resources.
Councilman Scott Dodson, mayor pro tem, told Heath MBC and EDC members on May 20 that a number of bills pending at the Texas Legislature could reduce local control over zoning, permitting and development review.
Dodson said SB 15 and HB 673 — measures he discussed as affecting accessory-dwelling-unit and zoning authority — have been “bracketed,” a status he described while citing population thresholds that would determine where the bills apply. He also flagged HB 23, which he said would involve third-party plan reviewers and would include language giving municipalities the ability to participate in hiring and oversight of those reviewers.
"SB 15 ... has been bracketed," Dodson said. "On HB 673, the ADU bill, that has also been bracketed ... the two cornerstones for that are cities above a 150,000 and counties above 300,000." He added that HB 23 now contains language that municipal governments will be able to oversee third-party entities conducting plan reviews.
Why it matters: Dodson said the bills together represent a shift away from local municipal control and toward greater state-level influence on land use and development review. He urged the board and staff to track the measures as they move through committees and calendars, noting the legislative session timeline is short.
Dodson described additional proposals he said were of concern, including a measure that would have imposed a restrictive debt ceiling on municipalities. "There was a calculation ... that they were going to require that cities not exceed a $3,000,000 level in debt," he said, and added that the proposal "has died in committee." He also warned about the possibility of riders being attached to other bills later in the session.
Several members asked how residents can follow and respond to bills. Dodson said he would forward a list of bill-tracking sites to staff for distribution and cited the Texas Municipal League as another information source. He also credited local mayors for coordinating in Austin and suggested municipalities consider a standing lobbying presence in the capital. "If multiple municipalities decided to put a line up in their budget ... it may take year 1, you know, somewhere around $60,000 collectively," he said.
The update included named state officials and organizations referenced by Dodson: Representative Pearson and Senator Hall, whom he said have taken positions on some measures. Dodson said Senator Hall voted yes on SB 15 and on HB 673 at the committee level.
Board members did not take formal action on the bills during the meeting; Dodson recommended continued monitoring and communication with representatives.
