Addressing at least a dozen issues, the bill clarifies existing colonia law and incorporates a series of bills offered by the state s four border senators, along with recommendations from the Texas Secretary of State. In addition to the lawmakers and state officials, Valley Interfaith and colonia residents, county officials and utility officials developed the current version of the bill. The Texas Municipal League also supports the measure. A key provision of the bill, acccording to Texas Water Development Board attorney Jonathan Steinberg, gives colonia residents a method to acquire utility service for lots in unplatted or improperly platted subdivisions. Current law requires a city or county to certify the subdivision was properly platted before the lots can receive utilities.
Current law denies utilities to residents whose lots fail to meet the guidelines.
Six conditions must be meet before a variance could be granted and the Texas Attorney General s office would have a chance to review the proposed variance. The measure allows the use of unlicensed plumbing on state-certified work. Writes the model subdivision rules into state law and applies them uniformly to counties within 50 miles of the Mexican border. It also extends those rules to subdivisions of two, instead of four lots, and to all areas of the county outside the corporate city limits. This section is intended to end the confusion that arose in Hidalgo County last year when the state accused it of failing to enforce the subdivision rules.