Agenda Packet TC 12/06/2010 - Supplement
November 18, 2010
Number 8
WHAT’S YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE OR INTEREST?
JOIN YOUR FAVORITE E-LIST
The TML staff is gathering e-mail addresses from city officials (elected or appointed)
who are willing to provide testimony during the 2011 legislative session, want to be kept
“in the loop” on certain subject matters, or are willing to simply provide their perspective
on a particular legislative matter.
If you would like to participate in this E-List project, simply go to
http://www.tml.org/genform/E-List.asp and fill out the online form. If you have any
questions, please contact Katie Fleming at Katie@tml.org or 512-231-7400.
GOVERNOR PERRY PROMISES TO ABOLISH
“SANCTUARY CITY” RULES
In early October, Gov. Rick Perry told the Houston Police Officers Union that
“…[t]here’s some Texas cities who’ve enacted sanctuary city rules; they’ve basically
been handcuffing you from the job you’re sworn to uphold. Well, today I’m announcing
my plan to remove those handcuffs on your wrists by making the abolition of our
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sanctuary city rules an emergency item when our legislature meets this January.” (An
“emergency item” is a legislative initiative designated by the governor for immediate
consideration by the legislature.)
In his speech, the governor did not define the term “sanctuary city.” There is, in fact, no
universally accepted definition, but the term is often defined in one of the following
ways:
• a policy that prevents municipal employees, including peace officers, from
enforcing federal immigration laws; or
• a “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy under which municipal employees are not required to
inquire about one’s immigration status.
The governor did not say whether his proposed ban on sanctuaries would extend to the
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
On October 15, the governor was interviewed by Evan Smith, editor-in-chief and CEO of
the Texas Tribune. Mr. Smith pointed out that DPS has a policy that the department “will
not engage in enforcement of federal immigration statutes.” In an attempt to understand
what the governor means by “sanctuary city,” Mr. Smith then asked the governor if the
DPS policy makes DPS a “sanctuary agency.” The governor did not answer the question
directly, nor did he provide any details about the legislation he will seek in January 2011.
Perhaps city officials can get some idea of what’s to come by looking to Tennessee. Last
year, that state enacted S.B. 1310, relating to sanctuary cities. That bill provides as
follows:
• No local government (the statute does not apply to the state) may have a policy that
limits or prohibits an official or an employee (including a peace officer) from
communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the immigration
status of any person.
• A peace officer who has probable cause to believe that an arrestee is not legally
within the U.S. shall report the arrestee to the U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) office.
• Each local government shall provide notice to its peace officers of their duty to
cooperate with state and federal officials with regard to immigration laws. Each
local government shall provide written confirmation to the legislature that it has
provided such notice and shall annually report to the legislature the number of
reports it has made to ICE.
• A local government that violates the statute shall be ineligible for certain grants.
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In Texas, several pre-filed bills would address immigration. (Please see City-Related
Bills Filed section below.) Many of those (e.g., H.B. 18, H.B. 113, S.B. 124, and S.B.
126) are essentially identical to the Tennessee law. Only time will tell which, if any, of
those bills gains traction in the 2011 session.
In the meantime, no one is certain that sanctuaries exist anywhere in Texas, particularly
under a definition that excludes DPS as a sanctuary agency. An Internet search leads to
several lists of sanctuary cities, but the lists vary widely and are of little use. What’s
more, many Texas localities that have been identified as sanctuaries are active
participants in “Secure Communities,” a program through which local police and the
federal government identify arrestees who are non-residents and take action against them.
For example, while Houston has been alleged by some, to be a sanctuary city, it is a long-
time participant in the Secure Communities program. As a result, ICE officials have
access to Houston city jails, and non-residents are regularly deported from the city.
One thing is certain. State-mandated immigration policies that are forced on municipal
police departments will cost money. Just how much money is unclear, but it is almost a
certainty that the state will not provide any funding to support those departments. And
how ironic it is that the DPS, a state agency, doesn’t take the lead on the issue.
MISLEADING MUNICIPAL JAIL DEATH STATISTICS?
In the previous issue of the Legislative Update, the League reported on a hearing of the
Senate Committee on Criminal Justice regarding municipal jail standards. The
committee has been charged to:
Study and make recommendations related to municipal jails and other detention
facilities that operate without state agency oversight. Identify the number of such
facilities and the population detained, as well as best practices for municipal
jails. Make recommendations to improve services and consider options for
oversight of facilities by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
At the hearing, a staff member of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (a state
agency) testified that the commission has oversight of county jails, but not of city jails.
Various public officials, including one city official, testified in support of granting the
state the power to regulate city jails and/or jailers.
Since 2005, 66 people have died in city jails. Many of those deaths – twenty-seven or 40
percent, to be exact – were attributable to suicide. What about county and state jails that
are regulated by the state? In county jails, 528 people died in the same period. In the
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state prison system, 749 died. Of those deaths, 24 percent and 20 percent respectively
were attributed to suicide.
Given the difference in the nature of city jails versus county jails and state penitentiaries
– namely that city jails often hold those who have come directly from the streets and may
be in an agitated or intoxicated state – it is not surprising that suicides in municipal jails
are higher than those in other jails. The statistics would seem to show that state
regulation doesn’t eliminate that problem.
Testimony at the recent hearing, and recent media reports, seem to miss the mark
completely. One article noted that “while county jails answer to the [Texas] Commission
on Jail Standards and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is responsible for state
prisons, city jails are accountable to no higher authority…they remain unmonitored.”
(Emphasis added.) In fact, city jails are “regulated.” They are regulated by the city staff
who oversee them, and they are ultimately regulated by each city’s council.
That is why the TML membership recently recommended that TML oppose legislation
that would “mandate jail standards for city jails or mandate any form of certification for
city detention officers”; not because of a lack of concern for detainees, but because more
bureaucracy that costs cities more money isn’t necessarily the answer.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO GENERAL ACCOUNTING
STANDARDS BOARD STATEMENTS COULD AFFECT
CITY PENSION ACCOUNTING
Proposed changes to General Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statements will limit
the way the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) and cities calculate pension
liability, likely leading to large liabilities in city financial statements. (GASB is the
independent, not-for-profit organization that establishes financial accounting and
reporting standards for states and cities.)
The standards affect the way pension liabilities through the Texas Municipal Retirement
System and other public retirement options are calculated. GASB proposes to reexamine
its current pension guidance to change the calculation to: (1) use an entry age based
actuarial method; (2) use an amortization period based on remaining years of service; and
(3) immediately recognize any gains or losses in the accounts or benefit enhancements.
The proposed method of calculation could lead to volatility in determining a city’s
pension liability because of the way pension liability is currently calculated for budgetary
purposes.
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GASB has already issued preliminary views on these changes and has had hearings
around the country on the issue. In September 2010, TMRS and the Government Finance
Officers Association of Texas both commented on the proposed changes. Drafts of the
statement changes are expected in 2011, with final statements in 2012 and
implementation of any changes in 2014 or 2015. For more information on the current
status of these proposed changes, please see the GASB Web site at:
http://www.gasb.org/cs/ContentServer?c=GASBContent_C&pagename=GASB%2FGAS
BContent_C%2FProjectPage&cid=1176156645919#recent_developments
FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS STATE
CABLE FRANCHISE LAW
On October 29, 2010, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
granted a favorable motion for summary judgment in Texas Cable and
Telecommunications Association v. P.U.C. Commissioners. The case involved the
longstanding dispute regarding the “grandfathering” provision in Senate Bill 5. That
provision requires incumbent cable providers to fulfill obligations under existing
franchise agreements until those agreements expire. (S.B. 5, which authorized a state-
issued certificate of franchise authority for cable and video providers, became law in
2005. The bill is now codified in Chapter 66 of the Texas Utilities Code.)
The Texas Cable and Telecommunications Association (TCTA) lawsuit was filed the day
after the bill became effective, and the Texas Coalition of Cities for Utility Issues
(TCCFUI) intervened shortly thereafter on behalf of Texas cities. In 2006, the court
dismissed the case on procedural grounds. In 2007, the TCTA appealed the dismissal to
the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2008, the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion and
concluded that the TCTA’s claims deserved consideration by the trial court.
Last month, the federal district court granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of
the Texas Public Utility Commission, TCCFUI, and others (i.e., upholding the
grandfathering provision). The court brushed aside TCTA’s claim that being bound to
an existing franchise violates a provider’s First Amendment rights by holding that
Chapter 66 does not discriminate based on the content of a cable provider’s
programming. It also rejected TCTA’s claim that Chapter 66 violates federal law relating
to “redlining” by state franchise holders because each applicant for a franchise must
comply with federal law. (Redlining is when a company discriminates against certain
geographic, income, or ethnic areas.)
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TCTA still has time to appeal the decision. TML will continue to monitor the case, but it
appears almost moot because only a handful of grandfathered cable franchises remain in
existence.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING PUC
PROMPT PAYMENT RULES
In the previous edition of the Legislative Update, the League reported that the Public
Utility Commission (PUC) has adopted rules governing utility payment overdue dates.
The rules, found in 16 Texas Administrative Code Sections 25.33, 25.482, and 26.33,
attempt to clarify that a bill submitted to a governmental entity by an electric utility, an
electric aggregator, a retail electric provider, or a certified telecommunications utility is
subject to the Texas Prompt Payment Act (PPA).
The previous article stated that the short dispute period in the PPA may limit the ability
of cities to audit their utility bills. In its Final Order in Project No. 36260 (Rulemaking
Related to the Obligations of Telephone Providers under the Texas Prompt Payment Act),
adopted on September 13, 2010, the PUC stated that:
In Docket No. 34332, the [Public Utility] Commission interpreted this
provision [PPA, §2251.042] to mean that if an invoice is not disputed, it
merely means the payment is overdue on the 31st day and interest may accrue.
Additionally, the Commission concluded that this provision in the PPA is not
a statute of limitations. Therefore, the Commission declines to specifically
include the PPA’s 21-day dispute provision in §26.33(c).”
The PUC order quoted above means that, even though such bills are subject to the PPA,
the short dispute period does not function as a statute of limitations for the auditing of
telecommunications or electric bills.
STREET SIGN CHANGES ARE A GRADUAL PROCESS
Recent news reports from New York City highlighted some recent and not-so-recent
changes in federal rules impacting street signs to improve readability.
Federal guidelines for governing street signs, pavement markings and all other standards
for streets and roads open to public traffic are published in the Manual on Uniform
Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Updates in 2000, 2003, and 2009 made significant
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changes in standards for street name signs impacting cities. (You can view the MUTDC
at http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov.)
The latest standards reflect updates on safety and are intended to enhance the ability of
drivers to read signs more quickly, especially at night. The quicker a driver can read
information from a sign, the less time they take from the road, according to safety
research.
According to new standards issued by the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S.
Department of Transportation, the lettering and materials for street name signs must be
changed to reflect current research on safety.
The change garnering news headlines was a required change from street name signs with
all capital letters to mixed case letters that has no deadline, according to the Federal
Highway Administration, and can be done by cities whenever they would replace their
street name signs due to normal wear and tear.
However, there is a 2018 deadline for changing street name signs to minimum letter
heights, which was included in the update to the MUTCD in 2000 and updated in 2003.
Cities need to have a replacement plan in place by 2012. Many cities have been updating
these new standards as part of another change included in the latest update of the
MUTCD in January 2009.
A newer ruling on “retroreflectivity” for easier night viewing of street signs was adopted
in late 2007 and went into effect in January 2008. Many cities are changing the lettering
on their street signs as they comply with the newer ruling and when signs need to be
replaced.
Agencies have until January 2012 to establish and implement a sign assessment or
management method to maintain minimum levels of sign retroreflectivity. The
compliance date for regulatory, warning, and ground-mounted guide signs is January
2015. For overhead guide signs and street name signs, the compliance date is January
2018.
The retroreflectivity rule was requested by Congress in 1993 to make street and highway
signs more visible at night.
The American Public Works Association has been working with its members for several
years on the implementation of these rules and has the following resources available
online:
Sign Retroreflectivity: What is it and Why Should I Care (Retroreflectivity Part 1):
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http://www.apwa.net/events/eventdetail.asp?ID=5217 (broadcast Oct. 15, 2009, and
rebroadcast Feb. 11, 2010)
Sign Retroreflectivity: Best Management Practices for How to Implement
(Retroreflectivity Part 2):
http://www.apwa.net/events/eventdetail.asp?ID=5220 (broadcast Nov. 5, 2009 and
rebroadcast Feb. 25, 2010.
MUTCD Revisions: Changes Every Local Community Needs to Know:
http://www.apwa.net/events/eventdetail.asp?ID=5233
Finally, the Federal Highway Administration has prepared a sign retroreflective toolkit at
www.fhwa.dot.gov/retro. Copies can be ordered online. The toolkit provides information
to assist smaller and medium sized agencies to meet the new requirements and consists of
a compact disc and guidebook that helps agencies establish a maintenance program and
set a budget for updating their traffic signs.
(This article, written by Leslie Wollack with the National League of Cities, is reprinted
with permission from NLC.)
FIFTH CIRCUIT REJECTS APPEAL
OF FAIR HOUSING CASE
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in
NAACP et al. v. City of Kyle. The case relates to municipal development authority.
In the case, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),
the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, and the National Association of Home
Builders sued the City of Kyle regarding amendments to the city’s zoning and
subdivision ordinances. The plaintiffs claimed that the ordinances violated the federal
Fair Housing Act by discriminating against minority homebuyers.
The ordinance amendments that formed the basis of the lawsuit included such items as:
• One single-family district that allows homes with a minimum of 1,600 square feet
of living area, on a minimum lot size of 8,190 square feet.
• Another single-family district that allows homes with a minimum of 1,200 square
feet of living area, on a minimum lot size of 6,825 square feet.
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• Buildings and structures in the two residential districts are required to have all
sides of brick, stone, fiber cement siding, or other approved masonry product.
• Each home must have an attached garage with a minimum of 480 square feet.
Those regulations would not be considered overly burdensome to most observers.
However, the plaintiffs claimed that they “significantly” increase the price of entry-level
homes, thus placing them beyond the financial reach of many potential minority
homebuyers. In March 2009, the federal district court in Austin held in favor of the City
of Kyle.
The court of appeals also held in favor of the city. It did so for the procedural reason that
neither the NAACP nor the builders’ associations have standing to sue the city because,
in part, no evidence was presented that any of their members were unable to purchase a
home as a result of the ordinance amendments.
Contrary to the plaintiffs’ claims, the case really isn’t about discrimination against certain
homebuyers. Certain groups continually attack municipal building regulations because of
the costs that they impose. What those groups fail to recognize is that municipal
regulations and, more importantly, services make a community viable to begin with.
DOES YOUR CITY IMPOSE IMPACT FEES?
Chapter 395 of the Local Government Code authorizes a city to impose impact fees on
landowners to cover the cost of capital improvements necessary to serve new
development. Section 395.082 provides that a city that imposes an impact fee shall
submit a written certification verifying compliance with the requirements of Chapter 395
to the attorney general each year. The certification must be signed by the presiding
officer of the governing body, be filed not later than the last day of the city’s fiscal
year, and include a statement that reads substantially similar to the following: “This
statement certifies compliance with Chapter 395, Local Government Code.”
A city that fails to submit a certification is liable to the state for a civil penalty in an
amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of the impact fees erroneously charged.
The certification should be sent to:
Texas Attorney General’s Office
Attn: Intergovernmental Relations Division
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
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For more information, contact the Texas Municipal League Legal Services Department at
512-231-7400 or legalinfo@tml.org.
HAVE YOU COMPLETED YOUR OPEN
GOVERNMENT TRAINING?
State law requires each elected or appointed member of a governmental body to take at
least one hour of training in both the Open Meetings Act and the Public Information Act.
In addition, a city's officer for public information (often the city secretary) must take at
least one hour of training in the Public Information Act.
With regard to the Public Information Act training, a public official (for example, a
member of a municipal governing body) may designate a public information coordinator
to satisfy the open records training requirement. For example, a city secretary could fill
this role.
The training must be completed not later than 90 days after a person takes the oath of
office or assumes the responsibilities of the office. Once a person has taken the training,
the requirement is satisfied; the law does not require a refresher or update.
The attorney general’s office allows the training requirement to be met in three ways: (1)
live training provided by that office; (2) a video that is available free of charge or online;
and (3) certification of other entities, such as TML, to provide the training. TML is
certified to offer training and frequently conducts workshops that satisfy the training
requirements.
For detailed information, please visit www.oag.state.tx.us and click on the “Open
Government” tab at the top of the page, then select “Open Government Training” on the
right.
Please contact the TML legal services department at legalinfo@tml.org or 512-231-7400
with questions.
PRE-FILING OF BILLS BEGINS
Bill filing for the 2010 legislative session began on Monday, November 8. Early bills
address appraisal caps, eminent domain, immigration, and many other city-related issues.
City-related bills are summarized below.
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H.B. 16 (Riddle) – Elections: would: (1) require the voter registrar of each county and
the secretary of state to provide notice of voter identification requirements and to educate
voters about the requirements through certain programs by publishing notice on certain
Web sites; (2) require a voter to present to an election officer at the polling place a voter
registration certificate and an acceptable form of identification; (3) provide that, if a voter
does not present acceptable identification, the voter shall be accepted for provisional
voting only; (4) modify the types of acceptable voter identification documents; (5)
provide that a voter who presents a voter registration certificate indicating that the voter
is currently registered in the precinct, but whose name is not on the precinct list of
registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the voter’s identity can be verified from
the proof presented; and (6) provide that a provisional ballot may be accepted only if: (a)
the voter presents acceptable proof of identification at the time the ballot is cast; or (b)
the voter submits a copy of the identification to the voter registrar by personal delivery or
by mail for examination by the early voting ballot board not later than the fifth day after
the date of the election.
H.B. 18 (Riddle) – Immigration: would prohibit a city from adopting a policy under
which the city's police department or other city officials would not fully enforce state or
federal laws relating to immigration.
H.B. 20 (Riddle) – Burglary of a Vehicle: would make burglary of a vehicle a state jail
felony offense and provide that the amount of community service work ordered by a
judge may not exceed 200 hours for a Class A misdemeanor offense or any other
misdemeanor for which the maximum permissible confinement exceeds six months or the
maximum permissible fine exceeds $4,000.
H.B. 21 Riddle) – Immigration: would require a state agency that distributes money
(apparently including federal pass-through money) to a city to include in the agency’s
accounting amounts spent by the city to provide services to non-citizens.
H.B. 23 (Riddle) – Property Tax: would allow a county commissioners court to call a
county-wide election to reduce the property tax appraisal cap for all taxing units in the
county from ten percent to some percentage between three and ten. (Note: please see
H.J.R. 16, below.)
H.B. 26 (Guillen) – Property Tax: would establish eligibility criteria for the active duty
military personnel tax freeze authorized by H.J.R. 17, below. Specifically, the bill would:
(1) require that the property owner be on duty for at least six months at a distance of at
least 60 miles from the homestead; (2) limit the freeze to property that also receives a
homestead tax exemption; (3) allow increased taxes on improvements to the property; (4)
permit the chief appraiser to require proof of ongoing eligibility for the freeze; (5)
provide that the tax freeze expires when the land no longer receives a homestead
exemption or when the owner no longer meets the active duty and distance criteria; (6)
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provide for the portability of the tax freeze from one homestead to another within the
same taxing unit; and (7) provide rollback rate relief for value lost to the military tax
freeze.
H.B. 30 (Guillen) – Electricity Billing: would prohibit an electric provider, including a
municipally owned utility, from disconnecting service to a residential customer on a
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, federally-declared holiday, the day before the federally-
declared holiday, or after 3:00 pm on any calendar day.
H.B. 37 (Menendez) – Cell Phone Ban: would: (1) define the term “school crossing
zone” to be the same as that in the Transportation Code; (2) prohibit use of a wireless
communication device while operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is in park, the
vehicle’s brake is applied, or the device is used with a hands-free device; (3) provide an
affirmative defense to prosecution if the device is used to make an emergency call to an
emergency response service, a hospital, a fire department, a health clinic, a doctor’s
office, an individual to administer first aid, or a law enforcement agency; (4) make an
offense under the bill a misdemeanor; and (5) repeal current requirements to post signs at
school crossing zones regarding use of wireless communication devices.
H.B. 38 (Menendez) - Graffiti: would increase the penalty for graffiti on a government
building to a state jail felony, with an enhancement to the next higher category of offense
if the person has been previously convicted for graffiti.
H.B. 40 (Menendez) – Collective Bargaining: would amend Chapter 174 of the Local
Government Code to grant collective bargaining rights to all city firefighters and police
officers without a popular vote. (Note: this bill anticipates the passage of federal
legislation that would impose collective bargaining on all cities. The TML Legislative
Update has frequently reported on this proposed federal legislation, most recently in the
August 26, 2010, edition.)
H.B. 43 (Menendez) – Fire/Police Civil Service: would amend Chapter 143 of the
Local Government Code to limit the way in which a civil service city may investigate a
complaint against a police officer or firefighter, including: (1) limiting the times at which
a police officer or firefighter may be interrogated; (2) not allowing interrogation of a
police officer or firefighter at his/her home; (3) specifying the individuals who may
perform the investigation; and (4) limiting the way in which an interrogation of a police
officer or firefighter may be conducted.
H.B. 49 (Pena) – Synthetic Derivative of Marihuana: would make synthetic
cannabinoids that are structurally and clinically similar to marihuana and their analogues
and homologues subject to Penalty Group 2 of the Texas Controlled Substances Act.
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H.B. 54 (Martinez Fischer) - Mental Health Transport: would, in specific border
counties, create a prioritized list of persons a judge or magistrate may authorize to
transport a person apprehended under an emergency detention order for mental health.
The bill would require the judge or magistrate to consider four other options for transport
before considering the use of police officers.
H.B. 66 (Martinez) – Public Information: would provide that information a city
receives from a state legislator or the lieutenant governor that is composed exclusively of
communications between the state official and a resident of this state is confidential and
may be disclosed by the city only if the state official elects to disclose the information.
H.B. 68 (Martinez) – Personnel: would require a city employer who decides not to hire
an applicant based on criminal history information to provide a written explanation of the
reason for not hiring the applicant, including: (1) the specific incident that influenced the
city employer’s hiring decision; and (2) the name of the entity from which the city
received the criminal history information.
H.B. 82 (Flynn) – Gambling: would make various changes to the Penal Code provisions
relating to gambling devices such as “eight liners.”
H.B. 87 (Cook) - Metal Recycling: would, among many new provisions regarding the
sale of recyclable metals: (1) expand the definition of those "regulated materials" that a
city may govern through ordinances regarding purchases by recyclers; (2) permit a city to
require a fingerprint from a seller of regulated materials to a metal recycler; (c) require a
seller of insulated regulated material which has been burned in whole or part to present
documentation to the recycling entity from the fire department of a county, city, or other
political subdivision that the material was salvaged from a fire in that political
subdivision; and (d) create restrictions on payments for regulated materials brought for
recycling and specifically prohibit a city from creating a more restrictive ordinance or
policy regarding such payments.
H.B. 91 (Cook) – Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: would: (1) expand the ETJ of a city
with 25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants to three miles; (2) apportion the ETJ between two cities
with overlapping ETJ as a result of the expansion but prohibit splitting small tracts of
land under one ownership between two cities without the owner’s consent; and (3)
prohibit the expansion into any area in the existing ETJ of another city.
H.B. 93 (Cook) – Cell Phone Ban: would: (1) prohibit an operator from using a wireless
communication device to read, write, or send a text-based communication while
operating a motor vehicle; (2) provide an affirmative defense to prosecution if the device
is permanently installed in the vehicle, is used while stopped, is used for a phone call, is
used with a hands-free device, or is used to report a suspicious or criminal activity to law
enforcement; and (3) make an offense a misdemeanor or felony depending on certain
factors.
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H.B. 95 (Fletcher) – Property Tax: would provide a complete residence homestead
property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a totally disabled veteran who has not
remarried since the death of the disabled veteran. (Note: please see H.J.R. 23, below.)
H.B. 97 (Paxton) – Health Care: would prohibit a city, insurance provider, or other
governmental agency from penalizing an individual for not accepting health insurance
coverage. (Note: H.J.R. 24 by Paxton proposes a constitutional amendment that mirrors
the language of this bill. Multiple other bills and joint resolutions have been filed
regarding this issue.)
H.B. 103 (Martinez Fischer) – Cell Phone Ban: would: (1) prohibit an operator from
using a wireless communication device while operating a passenger bus with a minor on
the bus except in case of emergency or if the bus is stopped; (2) prohibit an operator from
using a wireless communication device to read, write, or send a text message while
operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped and make an offense punishable
by fine of $2-$400 if the offense occurs while the vehicle is in a school crossing zone;
and (3) except from the above prohibition an operator who is a peace officer or
emergency response provider using the wireless device in connection with official duties.
H.B. 105 (Brown) – Cell Phone Ban: would prohibit use of a wireless communication
device to read, write, or send a text-based communication while operating a motor
vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped, and make an offense a misdemeanor.
H.B. 108 (Brown) – Synthetic Derivative of Marihuana: would make a synthetic
derivative of marihuana, 1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl) indole, subject to Penalty Group 2 of
the Texas Controlled Substances Act.
H.B. 111 (V. Taylor) –Elections: would implement the federal Military and Overseas
Voter Empowerment Act by requiring the early voting clerk to make registration and
absentee ballots available to overseas military voters in an election held in conjunction
with an election involving a federal or statewide office. (Companion bill is S.B. 100 by
Van de Putte, below.)
H.B. 112 (Harless) – Elections: would: (1) require the voter registrar of each county and
the secretary of state to provide notice of voter identification requirements and to educate
voters about the requirements through certain programs by publishing notice on certain
websites; (2) require a voter to present to an election officer at the polling place a voter
registration certificate and an acceptable form of identification; (3) provide that, if a voter
does not present acceptable identification, the voter shall be accepted for provisional
voting only; (4) modify the types of acceptable voter identification documents; (5)
provide that a voter who presents a voter registration certificate indicating that the voter
is currently registered in the precinct, but whose name is not on the precinct list of
registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the voter’s identity can be verified from
the proof presented; and (6) provide that a provisional ballot may be accepted only if: (a)
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the voter presents acceptable proof of identification at the time the ballot is cast; or (b)
the voter submits a copy of the identification to the voter registrar by personal delivery or
by mail for examination by the early voting ballot board not later than the sixth business
day after the date of the election.
H.B. 113 (Harless) – Immigration: would: (1) prohibit a city from adopting a policy
under which the city’s police department or other city official would not fully enforce
state or federal laws relating to immigration; (2) penalize a city that adopts such a policy
by taking away state grant funds; (3) provide for a civil penalty in the amount of $10,000
per day to be sought by the attorney general against a city that violates (1), above; and (4)
allow a citizen residing in a city that adopts such a policy or fails to enforce state or
federal law to file a petition in a district court to compel compliance with this law.
(Companion bill is S.B. 124 by Patrick.)
H.B. 125 (Legler) – TCEQ Rulemakings: would require that any rule proposed by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) under the authority of the Texas
Water Code include a draft impact analysis that, at a minimum, meets the requirements of
an analysis required under the Texas Government Code for any major environmental
rule, including an analysis of costs that the agency anticipates state agencies, local
governments, the public, and the regulated community would experience after
implementation of the rule.
H.B. 138 (Callegari) – Eminent Domain: would provide that:
1. the term "blighted area" means an tract of real property that presents four or more
of the following conditions for one year after a property owner receives notice of
the condition: (a) the property contains uninhabitable, unsafe, or abandoned
structures; (b) the property has inadequate provisions for sanitation; (c) there
exists on the property an imminent harm to life or other property caused by fire,
flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, storm, or other natural catastrophe declared
to be a disaster; (d) the property has been identified by the federal Environmental
Protection Agency as a Superfund site or as environmentally contaminated to an
extent that the property requires remedial investigation or a feasibility study; (e)
the property has been the location of substantiated and repeated illegal activity of
which the property owner knew or should have known; (f) the maintenance of the
property is below county or municipal standards; (g) the property is abandoned
and contains a structure that is not fit for its intended use because the utilities,
sewerage, plumbing, heating, or a similar service or facility of the structure has
been disconnected, destroyed, removed, or rendered ineffective; or (h) the
property presents an economic liability to the immediate area because of
deteriorating structures or hazardous conditions;
2. the current statutory provisions relating to urban renewal eminent domain apply
only to a tract of blighted property (as opposed to "slum" areas);
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3. a municipal governing body must determine that each unit of property (as opposed
to an “area,” as is current law) be designated as blighted, and make corresponding
procedural changes to urban renewal laws;
4. notwithstanding any other law, an area may not be considered a blighted area on
the basis of a condition described in number (1) above unless the city has given
notice in writing to the property owner regarding the imminent harm to life or
other property caused by the condition of the property, and the property owner
fails to take reasonable measures to remedy the harm caused by the property;
5. an area may not be considered blighted solely for aesthetic reasons;
6. the special commissioners in a condemnation hearing shall admit evidence on the
injury to the property owner, including the financial damages associated with the
cost of relocating from the condemned property, if the property was habitable, to
another property that allows the property owner to have a standard of living
comparable to the property owner's standard of living before the condemnation of
the property; and
7. the provisions of the bill shall supercede broad eminent domain powers relative to
tax increment financing.
H.B. 159 (Raymond) – Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS): would require
TMRS to change the way a reemployed member of TMRS is paid their retirement by
requiring TMRS to pay an amount from the city accumulation fund to a member’s
individual account if a reemployed member chooses to be paid through a basic annuity.
H.B. 160 (Raymond) – Retaliatory Lawsuits: would: (1) govern certain suits filed by
a person against a complainant who files a complaint with a governmental or quasi-
governmental agency (a.k.a. Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP)
suit); (2) allow a complainant to recover damages, including exemplary damages, from a
person who files suit under the above provision in bad faith; (3) require a court or trier of
fact to refer the matter to the district attorney or federal authorities if a person commits a
criminal act in the course of the proceedings in a SLAPP suit; and (4) not create or
authorize a cause of action against a governmental or quasi-governmental agency.
H.B. 173 (Veasey) – Railroad Commission: would change the name of the Texas
Railroad Commission to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission.
H.B. 177 (Jackson, J) – Immigration: would require that cities and other licensing
authorities who license or permit individuals to engage a business, occupation, or
profession to ensure that the applicant is eligible for employment in the United States
before issuing the license.
H.B. 178 (Jackson) – Immigration: would require a city to: (1) participate in the
federal government’s program for electronic verification of employee immigration status
(“E-Verify”); and (2) immediately terminate an employee responsible for verifying the
17
immigration status of other employees if the verifying employee fails to participate in E-
Verify.
H.B. 179 (Alonzo) – Elections: would provide that a person who would be eligible to
vote in an election, but who is not registered, shall be accepted for voting in the precinct
of the person's residence if, on the day the person offers to vote, the person submits a
voter registration application and presents proof of identification that establishes the
person’s residence.
H.B. 181 (S. Miller) – Sales Tax: would create an August sales tax holiday for guns and
ammunition.
H.B. 183 (Solomons) – Immigration: would provide that, not later than 48 hours after a
person is arrested and before the person is released on bond, the law enforcement agency
that arrested the person or that has custody of the person shall: (1) have the person's
immigration status verified by a law enforcement officer who is authorized under federal
law to verify a person's immigration status or a federal law enforcement officer; and
(2) if United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not have the
results of the immigration status of the person, notify ICE if the person is not a citizen or
national of the United States and is unlawfully present in the United States.
H.B. 186 (Perry) – Elections: would: (1) require the voter registrar of each county and
the secretary of state to provide notice of voter identification requirements and to educate
voters about the requirements through certain programs by mailed notice and publishing
notice on certain websites; (2) require a voter to present to an election officer at the
polling place a voter registration certificate and an acceptable form of identification; (3)
provide that, if a voter does not present acceptable identification, the voter shall be
accepted for provisional voting only; (4) modify the types of acceptable voter
identification documents; (5) provide that a voter who presents a voter registration
certificate indicating that the voter is currently registered in the precinct, but whose name
is not on the precinct list of registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the voter’s
identity can be verified from the proof presented; and (6) provide that a provisional ballot
may be accepted only if: (a) the voter presents acceptable proof of identification at the
time the ballot is cast; or (b) the voter submits a copy of the identification to the voter
registrar by personal delivery or by mail for examination by the early voting ballot board
not later than the sixth business day after the date of the election.
H.B. 188 (Sheffield) – Eminent Domain: would provide that a governmental or private
entity may not take private property through the use of eminent domain if the taking is
not necessary for a public use.
H.B. 199 (Parker) – Sales Tax: would change the date of the sales tax holiday from the
third weekend in August to the first weekend in August.
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H.B. 204 (Pickett) – Transportation Reinvestment Zones: would amend the law
relating to transportation reinvestment zones (TRZs) to provide that: (1) a TRZ may be
used to facilitate the improvement, development, or redevelopment of property or to
enhance a local entity's ability to sponsor a transportation project funded by pass-through
tolls; (2) an ordinance designating an area as a TRZ must, among other things, designate
the base year for purposes of establishing the tax increment base of the municipality and
contain findings that promotion of the transportation project will cultivate the
improvement, development, or redevelopment of the zone; (3) from taxes collected on
property in a TRZ, the city shall pay into the tax increment account the tax increment
produced by the city, less any amount allocated under previous agreements; (4) all, or the
portion specified by the city, of the money deposited to a tax increment account must be
used to fund the transportation project for which the TRZ was designated, and any
remaining money deposited to the tax increment account may be used for other
transportation projects or for improvements in the TRZ; (5) the governing body of a city
may contract with a public or private entity to develop, redevelop, or improve a
transportation project in a TRZ and may pledge and assign all or a specified amount of
money in the tax increment account to that entity; (6) to accommodate changes in the
scope of the project for which a TRZ was designated, the boundaries of a zone may be
amended, with certain exceptions; and (7) county TRZ authority is expanded.
H.B. 209 (Alonzo) – Library Computers: would require that a public library, that
receives state or federal funding, with a service area of more than 50,000 residents shall
provide computers with high-speed Internet access for use by the public.
H.B. 210 (Alonzo) – Mandated Health Benefit: would: (1) require a health benefit
carrier to allow an enrollee to choose a physician other than her primary care provider to
receive a mammography; but (2) allow the health benefit carrier to have criteria for
physicians and providers who provide these services.
H.B. 215 (Gallego) – Law Enforcement: would: (1) require local law enforcement
agencies that use live and photograph lineups to adopt a detailed written policy regarding
lineup identification procedures; and (2) direct the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement
Management Institute of Texas to develop a model policy and associated training
materials to assist law enforcement agencies with compliance.
H.B. 219 (Gallego) – Law Enforcement: would: (1) require a law enforcement agency
to, in many cases, make an electronic recording of a custodial interrogation; and (2)
create guidelines for the creation, retention, and later use of the recording as evidence.
(Companion bill is S.B. 123 by Ellis, below.)
H.B. 221 (Fletcher) – Burglary of a Vehicle: would make burglary of a vehicle a state
jail felony except in cases where the individual: (1) is younger 21 years of ager; (2) has
19
not been previously convicted of a class B misdemeanor or higher; and (3) submits a
request for community supervision.
H.B. 234 (Otto) – Property Tax: would provide that back taxes assessed on an
improvement to real property do not incur interest if: (1) the property on which the
improvement is located did not escape taxation in the year the improvement escaped
taxation; (2) the appraisal district had actual or constructive notice of the presence of the
improvement the year the improvement escaped taxation (constructive notice can be
acquired if building permit is issued for an improvement); and (3) the property owner
pays all back taxes on the improvement within 120 days of when the tax bill for back
taxes on improvement is sent to property owner.
H.B. 239 (Parker) – Elections: would provide that an individual commits a Class A
misdemeanor if the individual compensates another person, or receives compensation,
based on the number of voter registrations that the individual facilitates.
H.B. 241 (Parker) – Property Tax: would repeal the requirement that interest is due on
“rollback” taxes when land loses an agricultural appraisal.
H.B. 243 (Craddick) – Cell Phone Ban: would prohibit an operator from using a
wireless communication device to read, write, or send a text-based communication while
operating a motor vehicle, unless the vehicle is stopped, and would define text-based
communication to include a text message, instant message, and electronic mail.
H.B. 247 (Solomons) – Immigration: would: (1) prohibit a city from adopting a policy
under which the city's police department or other city officials would not fully enforce
state or federal laws relating to immigration; (2) allow the attorney general to file suit to
compel a governmental entity to fully enforce immigration laws; and (3) allow the
attorney general to recover reasonable expenses incurred enforcing this law.
H.B. 248 (Chisum) – Elections: would: (1) require the voter registrar of each county and
the secretary of state to provide notice of voter identification requirements and to educate
voters about the requirements through certain programs by publishing notice on certain
websites; (2) require a voter to present to an election officer at the polling place a voter
registration certificate and an acceptable form of identification; (3) provide that, if a voter
does not present acceptable identification, the voter shall be accepted for provisional
voting only; (4) require an election officer to inform a voter not accepted for voting of
rights to cast a provisional ballot and provide voter with written information regarding
information; (5) require an election officer to distribute written notice of identification
requirements to each voter who would present an insufficient form of identification(4)
modify the types of acceptable voter identification documents; (5) provide that a voter
who presents a voter registration certificate indicating that the voter is currently
registered in the precinct, but whose name is not on the precinct list of registered voters,
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shall be accepted for voting if the voter’s identity can be verified from the proof
presented; and (6) provide that a provisional ballot may be accepted only if: (a) the voter
presents acceptable proof of identification at the time the ballot is cast; or (b) the voter
submits a copy of the identification to the voter registrar by personal delivery or by mail
for examination by the early voting ballot board not later than the sixth day after the date
of the election. (Companion bill is S.B. 178 by Fraser, below.)
H.B. 278 (Alonzo) – Municipal Court: would require a municipal court to set a pre-trial
hearing upon the request of either party and would require the court to hold the hearing
not later than 30 days before the trial begins.
H.J.R. 16 (Riddle) – Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to permit the
legislature to allow a county commissioners court to call a county-wide election to reduce
the property tax appraisal cap for all taxing units in the county from ten percent to some
percentage between three and ten. (Note: please see H.B. 23, above.)
H.J.R. 17 (Guillen) – Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to: (1) permit
a city to adopt a tax freeze (ceiling on total taxes paid) on the homesteads of active duty
military personnel; (2) provide that the military tax freeze may be adopted by action of
the city council; (3) provide that the freeze may also be adopted by popular election,
which must be called by the city council upon receipt of a petition of five percent of the
registered voters of the city; and (4) permit the legislature to statutorily define eligibility
for the military tax freeze. (Note: please see H.B. 26, above.)
H.J.R. 23 (Fletcher) – Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to permit the
legislature to provide a complete residence homestead property tax exemption for the
surviving spouse of a totally disabled veteran that has not remarried since the death of the
disabled veteran. (Note: please see H.B. 95, above.)
H.J.R. 26 (Legler) – Insurance Associations: would amend the Texas Constitution to
prohibit the legislature from enacting a law that appropriates or diverts any part of the
assets of an association established for the purpose of providing adequate windstorm,
hail, and fire insurance in designated regions of the state, except for certain specified
purposes.
H.J.R. 36 (Raymond) – Sales Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to provide that
the legislature may not enact a general law that would impose a new, prospective state tax
on the sale or use of: (1) food or a drink; (2) medicine; or (3) child-care service.
S.B. 44 (Zaffirini) – Law Enforcement: would: (1) give a peace officer who takes a
person into custody without a warrant because the officer believes the person is mentally
ill and may harm himself the option of transporting the person to a medical or other
facility that the local mental health authority deems suitable; (2) establish that a jail or
21
facility used to detain persons charged with crimes is not a facility suitable for a person
believed to be mentally ill or held under a protective custody order unless other suitable
facilities are unavailable or more than 75 miles away; (3) allow the detention of a person
believed to be mentally ill or held under a protective order in a jail for no longer than 12
hours and require the officer responsible for the jail to document when the detention
begins, how long it lasts, the reason for detention, and the time a representative of a local
mental health authority arrives at the facility; (4) prohibit detaining a person believed to
be mentally ill or person held under protective custody order with a person charged or
convicted of a crime; and (5) allow restraint of a detained or committed patient only
during apprehension, detention, or transport of the patient and require that the patient be
able to sit in an upright position without undue difficulty.
S.B. 46 (Zaffirini) – Cell Phone Ban: would prohibit the operator of a motor vehicle
from using a wireless communication device to read, write, or send a text-based
communication while operating a motor vehicle, unless the vehicle is stopped, and would
define text-based communication to include text messages, instant messages, and
electronic mail.
S.B. 52 (Zaffirini) – Sales Tax: would exempt college text books from sales taxes
during two, two-week periods, one in August and one in January.
S.B. 59 (Zaffirini) – Ethics: would: (1) permit, but not require, a city, an officeholder,
or candidate for city office to use Texas Ethics Commission software and other resources
to file certain campaign reports; and (2) permit the commission to assist local
governments in adopting their own software for managing campaign disclosures.
S.B. 61 (Zaffirini) – Juvenile Case Managers: would require the Texas Juvenile
Probation Commission to create for juvenile case managers: (1) minimum training
requirements; (2) minimum education requirements; and (3) an ethics code, all of which
would be similar to current rules for juvenile probation officers.
S.B. 64 (Zaffirini) – Employee Leave: would require an employer, including a city, to:
(1) allow an employee paid leave to attend court proceedings related to the crime of
which the employee was a victim; (2) not deduct such paid leave from the employee’s
vacation time, compensatory time off, or personal leave, unless required by a collective
bargaining agreement; and (3) not discriminate, suspend, or terminate an employee based
on use of such paid leave.
S.B. 84 (Nelson) – Immigration: would require a city to: (1) participate in the federal
immigration verification program (“e-verify”); (2) verify that each new employee is
eligible for employment; (3) terminate an employee who is responsible for e-verify if the
employee fails to comply with the bill; and (4) verify that any city contractor participates
in e-verify.
22
S.B. 86 (Nelson) – Traffic Fines: would authorize a general law city to enter into a
contract with the county tax assessor-collector to provide information regarding the
nonpayment of traffic fines or the failure to appear in municipal court for traffic offenses,
thus authorizing the assessor-collector to refuse to register or re-register the vehicle of the
person in question.
S.B. 93 (Lucio) – Workers’ Compensation: would, among other things, provide that:
(1) in a trial initiated by a workers’ compensation carrier, at the request of the claimant
the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the claimant; and (2) the carrier is liable
for the attorney's reasonable and necessary fees as determined by the trier of fact in the
case.
S.B. 100 (Van de Putte) – Elections: this bill is the same as H.B. 111, above.
S.B. 103 (Davis) – Gas Wells/Wastewater Pipelines: would provide, among other
things, that a gas well operator or similar entity is entitled to lay, maintain, and operate a
wastewater pipeline in connection with well operations through, under, along, or across a
controlled access state highway only if: (1) the pipeline complies with any safety
regulations adopted by the Texas Railroad Commission and any applicable federal
regulations; (2) the pipeline complies with all applicable state rules and all applicable
federal regulations on the accommodation of utility facilities on the highway or right-of-
way, including rules and regulations relating to the horizontal and vertical location of the
pipeline; and (3) the highway and associated facilities are promptly restored to their
former condition of usefulness after the installation or maintenance of the pipeline, as
applicable, is complete. The bill also provides that a city, county, or the Texas
Transportation Commission may require a well operator to relocate a facility at the cost
of the operator to accommodate construction or expansion of a highway or for any other
public work unless the operator has a property interest in the land occupied by the facility
to be relocated. The bill may not be construed to limit the authority of a well operator to
use a public right-of-way under any other law, and the bill may not be construed to affect
the authority of a city to regulate the use of a public right-of-way under any other law or
to require payment of any applicable franchise fee.
S.B. 104 (Davis) - Natural Gas Release Prevention: would, for gas wells on the
Barnett Shale: (1) create several requirements for natural gas wells to minimize the risk
of release of gas and other associated vapors; (2) require the Texas Railroad Commission
to implement rules to enforce those requirements; and (3) allow a city to create an
ordinance to implement the requirements.
S.B. 106 (Davis) – Gas Wells/Eminent Domain: would provide that: (1) a pipeline
operator with eminent domain authority that wants to acquire an easement on real
property owned by a city shall provide notice to the city of the city’s right to consent to
23
the pipeline placement or suggest a feasible alternative placement for the pipeline based
on the city's consideration of several factors; (2) a city's proposal for alternative
placement must not unreasonably prevent a pipeline operator from accomplishing the
purpose for which the pipeline operator seeks to acquire the property; and (3) if a pipeline
operator and a city are unable to agree on the placement of a pipeline, the pipeline
operator may file a condemnation petition, and the city may move that the court
determine whether the suggested placement is reasonable. The bill would also provide
that a city by ordinance may regulate the placement, inspection, and maintenance of and
construction materials used for, the following items used by a gas pipeline operator:
(1) gas pipelines used as gathering lines; (2) pumps; (3) compressors; (4) separators;
(5) dehydration units; and (6) tank batteries.
S.B. 107 (Davis) - Gas Distribution Leaks: would: (1) require a "prompt response" to
any gas leak, gas odor, or damage to a city's gas distribution pipelines; (2) require, in
response to a major leak, that a "person with training, experience, and knowledge in the
field of leak classification and investigation" determine if the leak rises to the level of a
Grade 1 leak; and (3) create requirements for operator response in case of a Grade 1 leak,
including several enumerated on-site actions and biannual reporting of any such leaks.
S.B. 119 (Uresti) – Cell Phone Ban: would prohibit an operator from using a wireless
communication device to read, write, or send a text-based communication while
operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped.
S.B. 121 (Ellis) – Law Enforcement: would: (1) require a police department, with
officers who conduct photograph or live lineup identification procedures in the routine
performance of their duties, to adopt a detailed written model policy, or a policy that
conforms to a model policy, regarding photograph and live lineup identification
procedures; (2) require the Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas
to develop the model policy and associated training materials; (3) require the model
policy be based on certain research, policies, and guidelines and address specific topics;
(4) require the Institute to conduct an annual review of the model policy and training
materials; and (5) make evidence regarding compliance or noncompliance with the policy
adopted by the police department relevant and admissible in a criminal case but not
prohibit eyewitness testimony if substantial compliance with the policy is not achieved.
S.B. 123 (Ellis) – Law Enforcement: would: (1) require a police department to make an
audio or audiovisual electronic recording of custodial interrogations of persons suspected
of or charged with certain offenses; (2) set out good cause reasons that make electronic
recording infeasible; (3) require preservation of the electronic recording for a specified
time; (4) require a prosecutor to provide a defendant with a copy of the recording; (5)
exempt the electronic recording from release under the Texas Public Information Act
except when it must be released under the law enforcement exception; and (6) make
24
evidence regarding compliance or noncompliance with the recording requirement
relevant and admissible evidence before a trier of fact.
S.B. 124 (Patrick) – Immigration: this bill is the same as H.B. 113, above.
S.B. 126 (Patrick) – Immigration: would provide that: (1) a peace officer shall inquire
into the lawful presence of any person who is lawfully stopped, detained, or arrested on
other grounds if the officer has a reasonable suspicion to believe the person has violated a
criminal provision of the federal immigration laws; (2) if a peace officer has probable
cause to believe the person has committed a violation, the officer may arrest the person
and shall identify and report the person to United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement after any arrest made; (3) a local ordinance, regulation, or policy
that interferes with the ability of a peace officer to carry out a duty related to the bill is
void; and (4) a governmental entity and a peace officer or other employee of the entity
are immune from suit and liability for any cause of action, claim, or damages arising
from the performance of an action authorized or a duty mandated under the bill.
S.B. 129 (Patrick) – Property Tax: would reduce the property tax appraisal cap on
homesteads from ten to five percent. (Note: please see S.J.R. 7, below.)
S.B. 135 (Wentworth) – Transportation Funding: would provide that: (2) the state
highway fund may no longer be used to finance with Texas Department of Public Safety;
and (2) money in the state highway fund or loans from the state infrastructure bank may
be used only to improve the state highway system.
S.B. 136 (Wentworth) – County Development Authority: would: (1) grant counties
additional authority over transportation planning through the subdivision process; and (2)
in a subdivision that is not served by fire hydrants as part of a centralized water system
certified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as meeting minimum
standards for water utility service, allow a commissioners court to require a developer to
construct a limited fire suppression system for certain subdivisions.
S.B. 137 (Wentworth) – County Development Authority: would provide that: (1) the
commissioners court of a county may call an election to authorize certain land use
regulations in the unincorporated area of the county; (2) if the election results are
favorable, the commissioners court may regulate, by order, land development in the
unincorporated area of the county by: (a) requiring a limited fire suppression system that
necessitates a developer to construct a certain amount of water storage; (b) requiring a
buffer zone between certain land uses and residential areas; and (c) requiring a developer,
before the county approves a plat filed by the developer, to determine the need for and
construct certain roadway improvements attributable and roughly proportionate to the
subdivision’s impact, if necessary; (3) a county may not zone property; and (4) certain
uses would be exempt from regulations adopted under the bill.
25
S.B. 138 (Wentworth) – Cell Phone Ban: would: (1) prohibit use of a wireless
communication device while operating a motor vehicle; (2) provide an affirmative
defense to prosecution if the device is used to make an emergency call to an emergency
response service, a hospital, a fire department, a health clinic, a doctor’s office, an
individual to administer first aid, or a law enforcement agency; (3) except from the
prohibition an operator of an authorized emergency vehicle or a person licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission to operate a radio frequency device or wireless
communication device; and (4) repeal current requirements to post signs at school
crossing zones regarding use of wireless communication devices.
S.B. 154 (Huffman) – Fines: would require that fines relating to offenses arising out of
the same criminal action run consecutively.
S.B. 161 (Shapiro) – Transportation Funding: would provide that, among other
things: (1) the Texas Transportation commission shall adopt rules creating funding
formulas for highway projects that consider the input of planning organizations,
transportation officials, and local government officials; and (2) the Texas Department of
Transportation shall develop criteria to determine the feasibility of highway projects to be
included in local transportation improvement plans and the statewide transportation
improvement plan.
S.B. 168 (West) – Felony Forfeiture: would permit a law enforcement agency to set
aside up to ten percent of felony forfeiture funds for scholarships for the children of local
officers killed in the line of duty.
S.B. 172 (West) – Licensing/Dwellings: would prohibit a city from requiring an
individual to acquire a license or permit issued by the city as a condition for occupying or
leasing a dwelling.
S.B. 173 (West) – Substandard Buildings: would provide that: (1) a city may bring a
civil action in rem (against the property) for, among other things, the enforcement of a
building standards ordinance (Note: the effect of an in rem action is a judgment against
the structure as well as a judgment against the defendant, which can aid in enforcement
against subsequent purchasers); (2) a home rule city may bring an action in district court
against an owner of property that is not in substantial compliance with municipal
ordinances regarding: (a) the materials or methods used to construct a building or other
structure or improvement; (b) the preservation of public health or the fire safety of a
building or other structure or improvement; (c) dangerously damaged or deteriorated
structures or improvements; (d) conditions caused by accumulations of refuse, vegetation,
or other matter that creates breeding and living places for insects and rodents; or (e) point
source effluent; and (3) with some exceptions, a court may appoint as a receiver for
substandard property a nonprofit organization or an individual with a demonstrated
record of rehabilitating properties if the court makes certain findings.
26
S.B. 174 (Nichols) – Eminent Domain: would: (1) prohibit a state agency, political
subdivision, or a corporation created by a governmental entity from taking private
property through the use of eminent domain if the taking is for a recreational purpose,
including a parks and recreation system or a specific park, greenbelt, or trail; and (2)
provide that the determination by the entity proposing to take the property that the taking
does not involve an act or circumstance prohibited by the bill does not create a
presumption with respect to whether the taking involves that act or circumstance.
S.B. 175 (Nichols) – Property Tax: would: (1) reduce the property tax appraisal cap on
homesteads from ten percent to five percent; (2) authorize a county commissioners court
to call an election to increase the homestead appraisal cap for all taxing jurisdictions in
the county back to some percentage between six and ten; and (3) prohibit a subsequent
election from occurring for ten years after such an election is held. (Note: please see
S.J.R. 11, below.)
S.B. 178 (Fraser) – Elections: this bill is the same as H.B. 248, above.)
S.B. 180 (Estes) – Eminent Domain: would do the following:
1. provide that a governmental or private entity may not take private property
through the use of eminent domain if the taking is not for a “public use.”
2. require a record vote with specific procedures and wording to take each parcel of
land through the use of eminent domain.
3. require that any entity authorized to exercise the power of eminent domain must
submit to the state comptroller, by December 31, 2012, a letter stating that the
entity is authorized to exercise the power of eminent domain and identifying the
provision or provisions of law that grant the entity that authority, and would
provide that the entity’s authority to use eminent domain will expire if the letter is
not sent by the deadline.
4. provide, among other things, that an entity with eminent domain authority that
wants to acquire real property shall disclose to the property owner any and all
appraisal reports produced or acquired by the entity relating specifically to the
owner’s property and prepared in the 10 years preceding the offer.
5. provide that: (1) an entity seeking to acquire property may not include a
confidentiality provision in an offer or agreement to acquire the property; and (2)
the entity shall inform the owner of the property that the owner has the right to: (a)
discuss any offer or agreement regarding the entity’s acquisition of the property
with others; or (b) keep the offer or agreement confidential (subject to the
requirements of the Texas Public Information Act).
6. require an entity with eminent domain authority that wants to acquire real property
for a public use to make a bona fide offer to acquire the property from the property
owner voluntarily, and list specific criteria that must be met to meet the bona fide
offer requirement.
27
7. provide that a court that determines that a condemnor did not make a bona fide
offer to acquire the property from the property owner voluntarily must abate the
suit, order the condemnor to make a bona fide offer, and order the condemnor to
pay costs and attorneys’ and other professionals’ fees.
8. provide that a condemnation petition must state with specificity the public use for
which the entity intends to acquire the property and that the city made a bona fide
offer to acquire the property voluntarily.
9. provide, among other things, that each party has a reasonable period to strike one
of the three special commissioners appointed by the judge in the case, with the
judge appointing a replacement.
10. provide that the special commissioners shall consider an injury or benefit that is
peculiar to the property owner and that relates to the property owner’s ownership,
use, or enjoyment of the particular parcel of real property, including a material
impairment of direct access on or off the remaining property that affects the
market value of the remaining property, but they may not consider an injury or
benefit that the property owner experiences in common with the general
community, including circuity of travel and diversion of traffic.
11. require a city, as a cost of acquiring real property, to: (a) provide a relocation
advisory service for an individual, a family, a business concern, a farming or
ranching operation, or a nonprofit organization that is compatible with the Federal
Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act; and
(b) pay moving expenses and rental supplements, make relocation payments,
provide financial assistance to acquire replacement housing, and compensate for
expenses incidental to the transfer of the property if an individual, a family, the
personal property of a business, a farming or ranching operation, or a nonprofit
organization is displaced in connection with the acquisition.
12. provide that an entity that is not subject to the Public Information Act, such a gas
pipeline operator, must disclose certain information relating to its use of eminent
domain upon request.
13. modify the current provisions that allow a property owner to repurchase the
property if it isn’t used by the condemnor within ten years of the date of
acquisition.
14. provide that a city council may adopt a development plan for a public use project
at a public hearing to toll the 10-year right to repurchase.
15. modify the standard for determination of the fair value of the state’s interest in
access rights to a highway right-of-way to be the same legal standard that is
applied by the Texas Transportation Commission according to the Texas
Transportation Code, which may include the impairment of highway access to or
from real property where the real property adjoins the highway.
S.B. 181 (Shapiro) – Water Conservation: would require the Texas Water
Development Board and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to: (1) develop
uniform methodology and guidance for calculating and reporting municipal water use and
28
conservation; (2) develop guidance for water utilities for using service populations
(municipal, commercial, power, etc.) when developing per-capita based calculations; and
(3) incorporate the new methodology and guidance into the water conservation plans
required for new water rights permittees receiving more than 1000 acre-feet per year,
retail public utilities with 3,300 connections or more, and applicants to the Texas Water
Assistance Program.
S.B. 201 (Uresti) – Property Tax: would establish a specific formula to calculate the tax
due on a residence homestead of a totally disabled veteran when an individual terminates
the exemption for one property and qualifies a different property for the exemption in the
same year.
S.B. 202 (Shapiro) – Fiscal Notes: would require the Legislative Budget Board to attach
to the fiscal note of each bill that authorizes the spending or diversion of state funds: (1) a
statement of the purposes of the bill; and (2) a set of reasonable benchmarks that measure
whether the bill’s purposes have been achieved that are to be used by the board and
legislature to review statutes that do not meet the requisite benchmarks.
S.J.R. 7 (Patrick) – Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize
the legislature to reduce the property tax appraisal cap on homesteads from ten to five
percent. (Note: please see S.B. 129, above.)
S.J.R. 8 (Wentworth) – Transportation Funding: would amend the Texas Constitution
to provide that, subject to legislative allocation, appropriation, and direction, three fourths
of the net revenue from the motor fuel tax shall be used for the sole purpose of
constructing and maintaining public highways, and one-fourth of the net revenue shall be
allocated to school funding. (Note: please see S.B. 135, above.)
S.J.R. 11 (Nichols) – Property Tax: would amend the Texas Constitution to permit the
legislature to: (1) reduce the property tax appraisal cap on homesteads from ten percent to
five percent; and (2) authorize a county commissioners court to call an election to
increase the homestead appraisal cap for all taxing jurisdictions in the county back to
some percentage between six and ten. (Note: please see S.B. 175, above.)
TML member cities may use the material herein for any purpose.
No other person or entity may reproduce, duplicate, or distribute
any part of this document without the written authorization of the
Texas Municipal League.
Tic 2CA g�--
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Derr ro
p PCR Rp R.s.,
MEMORANDUM
TO: North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee (Via U.S. Mail)
Council of Mayors
FROM: Bill Lively
DATE: November 16, 2010
SUBJECT: 80-Day Progress Report
Dear Council Members:
When the National Football League awarded Super Bowl XLV to North Texas in May of 2007, the game was
more than 1.300 days away, Cowboys Stadium had not yet been constructed and the North Texas Super Bowl
XLV Host Committee was yet to be appointed. On the dale of this publication, approximately 80 days
remain before Super Bowl XLV, Cowboys Stadium is celebrating its second season of operation and the
North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, the largest in Super Bowl history, is completing its third
year of service having already accomplished more than any Host Committee in Super Bowl history.
This document is the first in a series of final reports prepared exclusively for the Host Committee and its
Action Teams and Councils, measuring the region's progress in preparing for Super Bowl XLV, the most
important sports event in the world in 2011 and the most transfornative initiative in North Texas' history.
For ease in reading, information is reviewed by category.
Preamble
Upon being awarded the bid to host Super Bowl XLV, the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Bid Committee
transitioned into the region's first Host Committee chaired by Roger Staubach which over the next 18 months
increased in size to include 300 North Texas business, civic. cultural, sports, education and religious leaders.
From its inception, the Host Committee's goals were to provide regional representation in preparing North
Texas to host its first Super Bowl and generate underwriting through sponsorships and subscription and ticket
sales to fund the Host Committee's responsibilities.
Leadership
The strength of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee and its standing committees, called
Action Teams and Councils, has from the Committee's inception been its leadership. Roger Staubach has
served as Chair of the Bid Committee, Host Committee and the Host Committee's Board of Directors. and in
the process, devoted enormous time in leading the Committee and inspiring its success. Troy Aikman has
been a very effective Vice Chair of the Host Committee and Chair of the Committee's Legends Action Team,
Daryl Johnston's leadership of the Host Committee's SLANT 45 education program and die SLANT 45
Action Team has contributed to the success of the first education program of its kind in Super Bowl history
and the largest service -learning program in America's history. The inventory on page two includes the other
North Texas leaders who have devoted their time and talents to leading the Host Committee's Action Teams
addressing responsibilities included in the bid to host Super Bowl XLV and the Host Committee's historic
legacy programs.
Action Team
Chair
Title
Aviation
Jeff Fegan
CEO, DFW Airport
Century in the Malting
Brad Sham
Voice of the Dallas Cowboys
Communications
Clarice Tinsley
Anchor of FOX 4 News
Community Outreach
Drew Pearson
Dallas Cowboys Legend
Emerging Business
Gina Puente
CEO, Puente Enterprises, Inc.
Emmitt Smith
CEO, ESmith Legacy, Inc., Former Dallas
Cowboy and Member of the Pro Football Hall
of Fame
Final Phase Sponsorship
Charlotte Anderson
Executive Vice President, Dallas Cowboys
Finance
Bob Estrada
Chairman, Estrada Hincjosa & Company
Founding Sponsorship
Ross Perot, Jr.
Chairman, Ilillwood Development
Government Relations
Dan Petty
Retired President and CEO, North Central
Texas Council of Governments
Hospitality
Jay Burress
President, Arlington Convention & Visitors
Bureau
Kick -Off Concert Series
Linda Cluck
Gene Jones
Laura Leppert
Rosie Moncrief
Marianne Staubaeh
Legends
Troy Aikman
Fourier Dallas Cowboy, FOX NFL Analyst
and Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
On Location
R. Beath Cheek
Associate, Bell Nunnally
Public Safety
Dr. Theron Bowman
Chief of Police, City of Arlington
SLANT 45
Daryl Johnston
Former Dallas Cowboy and FOX NFL
Analyst
Sponsorship Development
Mike Berry
President, Hillwood Properties
George Killebrew
Senior Vice President, Dallas Mavericks
Transition
Holly Reed
Senior Vice President External Affairs, AT&T
Transportation
Michael Morris
Director of Transportation, North Central
Texas Council of Governments
Council of Mayors
Roger Staubach
Executive Chairman, Americas,
Jones Lang LaSalle and Member of the Pro
Football Hall of Fame
Council of State
Senator Royce West
State Senator, District 23
Legislators
Senator Chris Harris
State Senator, District 9
2
Progress Retort
Revenue and Exuenses
The Host Committee's original budget approximated $33.4 million, including all of the projected costs
associated with the Committee's responsibilities, obligations and commitments in the bid to host Super
Bowl XLV. On .January 13, 2010, the I -lost Committee's Board of Directors unanimously voted to
increase the budget to $40.6 million to include revenue and expenses associated with the Host
Committee's SLANT 45 education program, Kick -Off Concert Series and subsidies supporting Taste of
the NFL. To date, the I -lost Committee has continued approximately $25 million in cash and in -kind
sponsorships and subscriptions and ticket sales. The Committee has approximately $2.8 million in
remaining assets to be sold through its sponsorships at various price thresholds, including suites and game
day tickets in Cowboys Stadium for Super Bowl XLV.
In March of 2010. the Texas state comptroller affirmed that the Host Committee and the cities of
Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth and Irving qualified to receive grants from the state's Major Events Trust
Fund totaling in the aggregate up to $31.1 million. Of this amount, the I -lost Committee qualified for
grants totaling approximately $26.8 million. For the last several months the Committee has been in
discussions with representatives of the four jurisdictions aff ri ring the public safety costs each is expected
to incur as a result of the Super Bowl and for which each will be reimbursed from the Trust Fund. These
discussions will result in the execution of joinder agreements by the end of 2010 among the Host
Committee and the jurisdictions qualifying all parties for reimbursements from the fund.
The Host Committee has identified seven line items in its macro budget with the potential for reductions
through negotiations with the NFL and others nearer the Super Bowl. In total, these reductions if
realized, could reduce the Committee's budget up to $2 million. However, negotiations with the National
Football League and others for budget reduction purposes cannot begin until early in 2011. With this
understanding, at the November 15, 2010 meeting of the 1-lost Committee's Board of Directors, the
Committee's Finance Action Team reported that conflrmed cash and in -kind sponsorships and
subscription and ticket sales, in combination with grants the Committee has been qualified to receive from
the state's Major Events Trust Fund are expected to provide the funding required to enable the Host
Committee to meet all of its financial obligations and commitments included in the bid to host Super
Bowl XLV and underwrite the Committee's historic legacy programs.
Public Safeh,
For more than two years the Host Committee's Public Safety Action Team chaired by Dr. Theron
Bowman, Chief of Police of the City of Arlington, has been collaborating with police and fire authorities
and agencies throughout the region to develop a North Texas Public Safety Action Plan designed to
provide protection for the region's residents and visitors on Super Bowl Sunday and during the days
preceding and following the game. The plan affinns the number of police, fire and safely personnel
required to accommodate each venue throughout the region hosting a Super Bowl event or function and
addresses the region's transportation arteries, including toll roads, highways, streets and roads during the
week preceding the Super Bowl, on Super Bowl Sunday and the day following the game. In the next
several weeks, the Public Safety Action Team will begin to interface with representatives of Homeland
Security and the FBI to coordinate command, finalize personnel needs, aff rm schedules and make certain
that public safety is a hallmark of the region's planning for its first Super Bowl.
Aviation
For almost three years the I -lost Committee's Aviation Action Team chaired by Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW
International Airport and comprised of representatives of all 14 of the region's public and private airports,
has been developing a comprehensive Aviation Action Plan designed to address the volume of
commercial and private aircraft expected in the region for the Super Bowl. The Team's regional aviation
master plan will help manage an estimated 150,000 visitors who will fly to North Texas by commercial
aircraft, most of whom will land at and depart from DPW International Airport and an additional 700
private aircraft that must be accommodated by DFW and other airports. In developing its regional
aviation master plan, the Action Team reviewed aviation plans developed by representatives of airports
that previously hosted Super Bowls to learn of their challenges and successes.
Volunteer Services
The Host Committee's Volunteer Services Action Team chaired by Tony Dorsett, former Dallas Cowboy
and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has successfully recruited 10,154 North Texans to serve
as volunteers for Super Bowl XLV. All of the volunteers will be cleared by the NFL through an FBI
security check and all will begin their service in the weeks preceding the Super Bowl serving as
ambassadors at the region's airports welcoming visitors to North Texas, staffing concierge desks at North
Texas hotels welcoming travelers and providing way -finding information, staffing the NFL Experience
during its production in the Dallas Convention Center from .January 27 through the Super Bowl and
supporting the Host Committee's myriad events and activities during the days preceding the game.
Allstate is the Presenting Sponsor of Super Bowl XLV's Volunteer Services Program.
Emerging Business Program
Emniitt Smith, former Dallas Cowboy and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Gina Puente,
CEO Puente Enterprises, are Co -Chairs of the Host Committee's Emerging Business Action Team. Texas
Instruments is the Presenting Sponsor of Super Bowl XLV's Emerging Business Program which the NFL
has confirmed is already the most successful program of its kind in Super Bowl history. More than 3,000
North Texas minority- and women -owned businesses participated in the I -lost Committee's Emerging
Business Workshops during the past 12 months which were presented in Fort Worth, Dallas and
Arlington and 1,000 emerging businesses qualified for inclusion in Super Bowl XLV's Emerging
Business Resource Guide. The NFL and its sponsors, affiliates and agencies will utilize the guide to
award contracts to North Texas' minority- and women -owned businesses to provide various kinds of
Super Bowl products and services.
SLANT 45
The Host Committee's Service Learning Adventures in North Texas, or SLANT 45 initiative, is the first
education program ever established by a Host Committee to operate in conjunction with the Super Bowl.
Former United States President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush are SLANT 45's Honorary Chairs
and former Dallas Cowboy and FOX Sports Analyst Daryl .Johnston is Chair of the SLANT 45 Action
Team. SLANT 45's original goals were to involve 20,000 North Texas elementary school children in
45,000 hours of community service projects throughout the region. On the date of this report, more than
35,000 North Texas children are participating in SLANT 45, representing 30 school districts, 15 private
schools and 51 cities performing more than 400,000 hours of community service projects. SLANT 45
will, without question, be one of the great legacies of the region's first Super Bowl and provide the NFL
with a model of an education program that can be emulated by future regions and cities hosting the Super
Bowl.
NFL Youth Education Town
Through the generosity of the Gene and .ferry .tones Family Arlington Youth Foundation and the National
Football League, the Host Committee has confirmed $2 million in grants to establish the region's first
NFL Youth Education Town (NFL YET) to be located in a neighborhood in Arlington in which the
authorities have affirmed more than 2,000 at risk children live, 600 of which are homeless. The NFL
YET will be a safe -haven for children before and after school providing educational services, computer
training, ntentoring and sports and recreation. The region's first NFL YET will be owned, operated and
managed by The Salvation Army DPW Metroplex Command. Emmitt Smith, former Dallas Cowboy and
member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is chairing the NFL YET's Regional Board of Advisors that
will be announced at an NFL YET news conference to be held on location at The Salvation Army's
facilities in Arlington during Super Bowl week.
Century in tile Dlakine Campaign
In February of 2010. the I -lost Committee launched its Century in the Making Campaign at the 2010 Fort
Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. The campaign was created to generate interest in the region's first Super
Bowl and build momentum in anticipation of the game by providing North Texans and others online
around the world, with the opportunity to vote on the Top 100 Football Moments in the region's history.
Over a several month period, more than 750,000 individuals voted on North Texas' most important
football moments, including great high school, college and professional football, players, coaches and
games. The results of the campaign's balloting were announced in increments of20 over a five day
period in events produced in the I -lost Committee's Century in the Making Pavilion at the 2010 State Fair
of Texas featuring former Texas high school, college and professional football players and coaches,
including Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett and Earl Campbell to name but a few.
The Century in the Making Campaign was the first project of its kind in the history of the Super Bowl and
the region and provided the opportunity for thousands of North Texans and others to celebrate the
region's rich football history and the build-up to Super Bowl XLV.
Kiek-Off Concert Series
The Host Committee's Kick -Off Concert Series was the first Series of its kind in the history of a Super
Bowl Host Committee and North Texas. The Series was supported by an Action Team comprised of 116
women, representing 16 North Texas cities and included main -stage productions in three of the region's
world -class venues.
Tile Series was inaugurated on March 6, 2010, before a capacity audience in Fort Worth's Bass
Performance Hall, featuring country artist Faith Hill and emcees Troy Aiknnan and Joe Buck, FOX NFL
broadcasters.
The Series' second production was also presented before a capacity audience in Dallas' AT&T
Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House on May 227 2010, featuring international icon, Sting.
Tile concert's emcees included Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Daryl Johnston, Tony Dorsett and Drew
Pearson.
The Series' grand finale production was presented on September 10, 2010. in Cowboys Stadium before an
audience of 37.000, the capacity of the venue as formatted for a concert. The production began with Van
Cliburn's performance of the National Andrem, followed by a series of videos produced exclusively for
the production by NFL Films highlighting the Dallas Cowboys five Super Bowl championships with a
live soundtrack performed by the 102-member University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra. Country
artist. Tim McGraw, was the production's headliner performer. Celebrities participating in the concert
included Roger Staubach. Emmitt Smith, Jerry .Jones and a host ol'other former Dallas Cowboys who
played on the Cowboys five Super Bowl Championship Teams.
The Kick -Off Concert Series was the cornerstone of the Host Committee's unprecedented 12 month
build-up to the region's first Super Bowl and provided the opportunity for hundreds of North Texans to
serve in volunteer capacities supporting important Super Bowl events, generated public awareness about
the region's first Super Bowl, and through the Series' grand finale concert, provided thousands of North
Texans with the opportunity to attend a very special event in Cowboys Stadium and enjoy a glimpse of
the pageantry and excitement of the Super Bowl. Net revenue generated by the Concert Series is being
dedicated to support SLANT 45,
Conclusion
At a meeting of the Host Committee's Board of Directors on November 15. 2010. Frank Supovitz, the
NFL's Senior Vice President of Events and the League's executive responsible for managing the
production of the Super Bowl, reported that from the NFL's perspective, North Texas has performed
brilliantly in preparing to host the region's first Super Bowl. Hundreds of North Texas leaders have been
involved in the process of developing strategic action plans to address responsibilities ranging from public
safety, aviation and transportation to volunteer recruitment and management and education. Sponsorships
have been confirmed from companies, organizations and families throughout North Texas generating
millions of dollars supporting North Texas' commitments to the League to host Super Bowl XLV and
underwriting the most remarkable Super Bowl legacy programs in NFL history. In essence, from the
NFL's perspective, North Texas has already proven its capacity to plan and host an event of the
complexity and size of the Super Bowl.
With less than three months remaining before Super Bowl XLV, the Host Committee and its Action
Teams and Councils will continue collaborations with North Texas companies, jurisdictions,
organizations, education institutions and individuals to complete final preparations for Super Bowl XLV
building on the sound foundation the region has already established. In the process, the Host Committee
and the region will be thoroughly prepared to host Super Bond XLV and posture North Texas to submit a
bid in 2012 to host Super Bowl L in North Texas in 2016.
Next Progress Report
The next in this series of final Host Committee progress reports will be produced and distributed to the
I -lost Committee and its Action Teams and Councils in early January 2011, approximately a month in
advance of the Super Bowl. Should you have any questions about the contents of this report or the
mission and work of the Host Committee, I invite you to contact me at your convenience at my office at
214-252-5103 or by e-mail at bill.lively iI)northtexassuperbowl.com.
Bill Lively
e: Roger Staubach, Chair
Troy Aikman, Vice Chair
Bryan W haw. Ph.D., Chairm an
Budd y Ca rcia, C{)mmissio ner
Ca rlos Hub ins le i n. Com miss ioner
Mar k H. Vickery . P.G., Execu tillc Directo r
TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL Q ALiTY
Protecting Texas by Reducing and Preventing Pollution
November 24. 20 I 0
To OUt' panners in local government:
We are pleased to announce pub lic ation l f our B iennial Reporltv the 8217d Legislature. This report
highlight s alJ'enc), program s and initiatives dealing ,vith air qll<l li l). \-\ater qu ality. and \.\'aslc
m an agement.
Env ironme nt al protect ion is something the Texas Commiss ion on . nvironmental Quality cannot
d alone. and we acknow l edge the vital importance 0[' citie s. coun Li es. and individual e. ans in
prate t ing hu man heal th and the StLlle'S nat ur al resources .
T h re port is available on our website at www .tceq .state .tx .lIs/got o/lcgrpt.
lfyou would like to order a print copy of this re por t or any other age ncy report. p lease contact us:
Ph one: 512 -239-0028; Fax: 5 12-23 l -4 488; o r E-ma il: pu borde r@tceq.statc.tx.lIs
Mail: Publication, Me 195
TCEQ
P.O. Box 13087
Austin TX 78 7 11 -3087
We appr eciate our interest in and support for the work of the Commission.
Re:,pe~t 'ull ,
Bryan W. Shaw. Ph.D.
Chailman
P.O. Bn x 130 87 Au st in, Texas 787 11-3087 512-239 -J 000 Int ernel add re ss: www .tccq .state .t\(.u s
eopL� 0*1
C; No
MORANDUM
To: :e Slye, Town M^an�ager Date: November 22, 2010
From: Chief Kniffen /,i''a Re: Use of Force Analysis
In 2007, Chapter 31 of the Police General Manual was amended and now requires the
Chief of Police to conduct an analysis of use -of force incidents to be made available to the
public and to determine if additional training is necessary. With the policy change in 2007,
officers were required to report any use of force beyond standard handcuffing techniques,
including threats of force. A standardized report was produced entitled the "Subject
Resistance Form."
Accordingly, the analysis presented here will only cover FY 2009-10
Between 10/1/2009 and 9/30/2010, officers reported nine (9) use of force incidents out of
19,305 logged calls for service (includes Close Patrols). The events were reported as
follows:
11/19/2009 Male — DOB 12/28/1964 — Felony Warrant Service — Subject stopped and
detained at gunpoint — Subject complied without incident— no injuries reported — two
officers involved.
12/05/2009 Male —DOB 03/16/1961 — Traffic stop —Subject stopped, was flailing his
arms while in the vehicle and drove away before officer could contact him. Stopped a
second time and exited his vehicle in aggressive manner. Subject detained at gunpoint and
complied with direction. Subject distraught over medical issue with relative and FD
dispatched to location by officer. Subject released without arrest. — no injuries reported —
one officer involved.
12/24/2009 Male — DOB 09/25/1965 — Gunshot wound — Subject was ex -convict with
history of threats toward officers — subjects girlfriend reported that he was the victim of self-
inflicted gunshot wound. Multiple officers responded from other agencies and contact was
made with persons at residence. All officers displayed firearms. No firearms were found at
the residence and subject was not injured. — no injuries reported — two TC officers involved.
1/19/2010 Male —DOB O8/19/2002 —Elementary school official advised student was
uncontrollable and had left the building — student located and had aimed himself with
broken scissors. Student was contacted by officer who tallied student into surrendering
scissors. School official restrained student who was cursing and spitting. Officer assisted
school official in carrying student into school building where he calmed down without
having to be further restrained. — no injuries reported — one officer involved.
3/19/2010 Female — DOB 11/29/1955 — Person with gun — Officers responded to call
and detained the subject, who was holding a loaded firearm, until she put it on the ground.
Subject arrested without further incident —no injuries reported— two officers involved.
7/27/2010 Five (5) male subjects — Suspicious Persons — Subjects found at construction
site a 2:36 AM — detained at gunpoint. It was determined that they had permission of
construction company to stay at site to protect the building materials. All subjects were
released without incident.- no injuries reported— two officers responded.
O8/08/2019 Male — DOB 03/07/1982 — Family Violence — Emotionally Disturbed Person
- Subject had assaulted family member and refused to submit to handcuffing. Subject
resisted handcuffing and officers used joint manipulation and pressure points to ensure
compliance. Subject then had to be carried to police vehicle where subject licked interior of
vehicle until restrained with leg restraints.- no injuries reported — two officers involved.
8/17/2010 Male — DOB 12/25/1990 — Off duty incident at officers apartment complex —
Intoxicated subject trespassing on property — officer working as courtesy officer approached
and identified himself due to subjects vulgar language and directed him to leave. Subject
refused and began attempting to damage property. Subject was again ordered to leave and
approached officer with fists clinched. Subject was physically detained using open hand
techniques and continued to resist until another off duty officer (not TCPD) came to assist.
Subject arrested and transported by Denton PD — no injuries reported — one TC officer
involved.
O8/24/2010 Male — DOB 04/O1/1950 — Report of suspicious person, possibly armed —
Subject was reported to be naked, attempting to open neighbors front door, calling for help.
Officer displayed his firearm and the subject was recognized by officer - Subject was
shirtless and had minor injuries — reported by have been received by interaction with his son.
— Subject was handcuffed and transported by TC EMS. — injuries reported all occurred prior
to officers arrival —one officer involved.
There was a slight decrease in uses of force from FY 2008-09 to FY 2009-10 and the
number of calls for service resulting in uses of force remains extremely small. In this past
FY there were no significant injuries reported to either subjects or officers. While six (6)
out of nine (9) events resulted in officers displaying a firearm to gain compliance, all of
these events were or could have been felonies or serious misdemeanors in progress. One (1)
of the nine (9) was a disruptive student requiring open hands techniques. Two (2) involved
intoxicated subjects and three (3) were emotionally disturbed persons.
Given the nature of most of the events resulting in force, it is my opinion that in four (4) of
the nine (9) events, the TASER would have given officers an option which might have
prevented a physical interaction. It is imperative that this option be provided as soon as
possible.
I do not believe that additional training is necessary at this time, beyond the required
updates.
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
VFW POST 5074
November 15, 2010
Dear Mayor White and the City of Trophy Club
Please know that the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5074 is very grateful for the attendance of
your representatives from Trophy Club at the recent Veterans Day celebration at the Veterans
Memorial in Roanoke. It was our pleasure to have Council members Bill Rose and Margi Cantrell
as well as Bob Fair of "Americans Supporting Americans." Our membership represents many of
the surrounding areas including Trophy Club.
We look forward to working together as we continue to honor our Veterans and support our
communities. Please call upon us if we can be of service to the Trophy Club community. Bob
Fair indicated that he would be in further contact with us.
Sincerely,
�7
Jim Benotti
VFW Post 5074
Commander
www.vfwpost5074.com
817-374-2980
705 N. Oak, Roanoke, TX 76262 Phone 817-491-1113 Fax 817-491-1772