20251105-003: 89th State Legislature Post Session Briefing — original pdf

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89th State Legislature Post Session Briefing Austin Watershed Protection | November 5, 2025 Overview  Austin Watershed Protection (APW) legislative overview  Major topics & bill outcomes for Austin Watershed Protection during:  89th Regular Legislative Session  First 89th Special Session  Second 89th Special Session  Questions 2 89th Legislative session overview  9,014 total bills & joint resolutions  1,231 bills signed by Governor  1,499 bills monitored by the City of Austin  247 bills monitored by Austin Watershed Protection  30 bills were signed or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature 3 Austin Watershed Protection Legislative review & outcomes AWP legislative review  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)  Land use  Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ)  Disannexation  Climate & environmental fees 5 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion  Bills aimed at dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, policies, governmental positions, and hiring practices for governmental entities.  All DEI bills tracked by AWP failed to pass  SB 689  HB 167  HB 436  HB 1521  HB 2770 6 Land Use Passed legislation  SB 15 – Requires a city to allow 3,000 square foot lots on unplatted land of five or more acres.  SB 840 – Allows residential by right in non-residential base zones. Failed to pass  HB 23 & SB 2354 – Would have allowed developers to bypass city review process by hiring licensed 3rd party professionals to review & approve development documents & conduct inspections.  HB 3798 & SB 1927 – Would have prohibited cities from restricting or imposing mitigation fees on the removal of Ashe juniper trees from residential properties.  SB 673 - Would have prohibited local governments from regulating accessory dwelling units. 7 Extraterritorial Jurisdiction & Disannexation Passed legislation  HB 2512 – Limits areas that can be released from the ETJ of certain Texas cities (bracketed to only apply to Fort Worth).  Limits election petitions to those property owners who reside in the area that is proposed to be released & allows property owners to opt out of being released from the ETJ  SB 1844 – Allows property owners to disannex from a city if:  the property is located adjacent to a navigable waterway,  the property was not annexed between 2017 & 2019, and  Most of the properties in the area do not receive water & wastewater service from a city. 8 Extraterritorial Jurisdiction & Disannexation Failed to pass  HB 950 – Landowners with annexed property could have sought to disannex if a city did not provide full municipal services (e.g. police, fire, EMS, water, wastewater, solid waste, roads) to land annexed for full purposes.  SB 1509 – Would have prohibited cities from adopting or enforcing regulations within their extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs).  SB 2522 – Would have prohibited cities from regulating land use, zoning, or development standards in their ETJ, including areas annexed for limited purposes. 9 Climate & Environmental Fees Failed to pass  HB 4313 (Bell) & SB 2235 (Bettencourt)  Would prevent fee that pays for climate &/environmental project that are intended to reduce the amount of pollutants from reaching the environment.  WPD funds multiple programs and CIP projects through our DUF that are intended to reduce pollutants reaching the environment, as explicitly allowed by Local Gov Code Sec. 552.042.  HB 4313 amended to address AWP’s substantial concerns 10 Effective date for new laws  Most passed legislation went into effect on September 1, 2025.  Watershed Protection is working with Law, Governmental Relations Office, and other City of Austin departments to ensure compliance for these new laws. 11 89th Legislature First & Second Special Sessions Special Sessions  89th Legislature (1) began July 21, 2025. Topics impacting AWP included:  Flood and disaster response issues  Water project incentives & funding  Property tax cuts  A second special session was called on August 15, 2025, with essentially the same agenda as the first & adjourned Sine Die September 3, 2025. 13 89th Special Session (2) Passed  SB 1 – Mandates stringent new safety regulations for youth camps & campgrounds in the wake of the Hill Country flooding tragedy on July 4, 2025.  Key provisions include the prohibition of licensing or renewing licensing for youth camps with cabins in floodplains, comprehensive emergency preparedness plans, evacuations drills, weather alert systems independent of internet access, and evacuation muster zones.  SB 3 – Requires installation, maintenance, & regular testing of outdoor warning sirens in flash flood-prone areas identified by the Texas Water Development Board.  Establishes a grant program through the Governor’s Office to assist local governments with costs.  SB 5 – Creates supplemental disaster appropriations for disaster relief & preparedness within Texas. 14 November Constitutional Amendments Prop 4 (HJR 7)  SB 7 (89 Regular Session) – Enabling legislation for HJR 7  Omnibus major statewide water infrastructure funding bill  Dedicates $1 billion in state sales tax revenues to the Texas Water Fund to pay for water supply, infrastructure rehabilitation, and flood protection projects.  Enhances legislative oversight and public transparency regarding the use of this new revenue stream for water projects.  If HJR 7 is approved by voters, will take effect September 1, 2027 15 Questions? Kaela Champlin Environmental Program Coordinator Austin Watershed Protection Kaela.Champlin@austintexas.gov 16