ordinance, it may bring a civil action "to enforce [the ordinance] which provides for civil penalties if the ordinance enacts the civil penalty provision pursuant to sections 54.012 (5) and 54.017 ofthe Texas Local Government Code." Request Letter, supra note 1. Our answer here is simply a corollary to our answer to your first question: any such civil action must be encompassed within the ambit of subchapter B.
'(-continued) modifications,wereenactedby that legislation.Furthermore,the statutewasthen limitedto home-rulecities. See id. $ 1, 1985Tex.Gen.Lawsat 738. Onlyin 1991wasformersection54.011,whichlimitedthe effectof section54.012 to home-rulecities,repealed.SeeAct ofMay21, 1991,72dLeg.,RX, ch. 753,$3, 1991Tex.Gen.Laws2646,2646- 47. Significantly,however,thebill analysisofthe original1985legislationcontainedthe followingstatement:"Current lawallowsvariouspenalties,generallyan assessmentof a ClassC misdemeanor tine, forviolationofcity ordinancesbut doesnot allowhome-rulecitiesto bringcivil actionsfor violations ofspecific health and safety ordinances." HOUSE COMM. ONURBANAFFAIRS, BILLANALYSIS, Tex.H.B.783,69thLeg.,R.S.(1985)(emphasisadded).Thus,the history of the originallegislationenactingsection54.012seemsto indicatean intentto limitthe scopeof itemfive. The Honorable Helen Giddings - Page 4 (GA-0267)
SUMMARY
An ordinance enacted under section 54.012(5) of the Local Government Code must be statutorily classified as a class C misdemeanor and must, in addition, be encompassed within the subject matter of subchapter B.
Yours very truly,
neral of Texas
BARRY R. MCBEE First Assistant Attorney General
DON R. WILLETT Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel
NANCY S. FULLER Chair, Opinion Committee
Rick Gilpin Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee