H.B. No. 5336

	AN ACT
	relating to the powers and duties of Port Freeport; limiting the
	authority of certain municipalities to regulate land use by Port
	Freeport; and the creation of a reinvestment zone containing
	property owned by Port Freeport.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 5002, Special District Local Laws Code,
	is amended by adding Subchapters D and E to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER D. POWERS AND DUTIES
	Sec. 5002.151.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
	(1)  “Port use” means any use permitted or allowed,
	with or without a special use permit, in the following zoning
	districts under the zoning ordinance, or any additional use
	subsequently permitted or allowed in the following zoning districts
	under an amendment to the zoning ordinance:
	(A)  a zoning district designated as DT, C-1, C-2,
	C-3, or W-1; or
	(B)  a zoning district designated as “IN," other
	than heavy industrial or other heavy industrial uses as defined in
	the zoning ordinance.
	(2)  “Port zone” means:
	(A)  the lands within the protected zone that are
	located both south of West Eighth Street and east of Cherry Street;
	and
	(B)  all lands east of Farm-to-Market Road 1495
	that are included within the Plat and Dedication of the Freeport
	Townsite recorded in Volume 2, at Page 95 of the Brazoria County
	Real Property Records.
	(3)  "Protected zone” means the portion of the
	corporate limits of the City of Freeport as they exist on September
	1, 2023, that lies:
	(A)  within the enclosed space bounded by
	beginning at the intersection of State Highway 36 and the center of
	the Brazos River, then north along the center of the Brazos River to
	the intersection of the center of the Brazos River and the center of
	the DOW fresh water canal, then north and east along the center of
	the DOW fresh water canal to the intersection of the center of the
	DOW fresh water canal and Farm-to-Market Road 1495, then south
	along Farm-to-Market Road 1495 to the intersection of
	Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and State Highway 36, and then west along
	State Highway 36 to the intersection of State Highway 36 and the
	center of the Brazos River;
	(B)  within Brazoria County 2020 United States
	Census tract 664501 blocks 2027, 2032, and 2034;
	(C)  within the enclosed space bounded by
	beginning at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and the
	Intracoastal Waterway, then west along the Intracoastal Waterway to
	the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Brazos River,
	then south along the Brazos River to the Gulf of Mexico, then east
	along the Gulf of Mexico to the intersection of a line extending
	from the southern terminus of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 due south to
	the intersection with the Gulf of Mexico, and then due north to the
	intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1495 and the Intracoastal
	Waterway;
	(D)  adjacent to the old Brazos River channel and
	inside the floodgate, which is zoned as a W-1 District under the
	zoning ordinance, and bounded by Farm-to-Market Road 1495 on the
	west;
	(E)  within the portion of Brazoria County 2020
	United States Census tract 664200 blocks 2059, 2060, and 2061 that
	lies within 3,500 feet of the centerline of State Highway 332;
	(F)  within the 13.316 acre tract of land
	described in that certain Deed recorded in Volume 11199, at Page 471
	of the Brazoria County Real Property Records; or
	(G)  within the 56.751 acre tract of land
	described in that certain Deed of Exchange recorded in Volume
	86286, at Page 927 of the Brazoria County Real Property Records.
	(4)  "Zoning ordinance" means Chapter 155, Code of
	Ordinances, of the City of Freeport, Texas in effect on January 1,
	2023.
	Sec. 5002.152.  POWERS REGARDING PORTS AND FACILITIES.
	Except as provided by Section 5002.153, the district may:
	(1)  acquire by gift, purchase, or eminent domain and
	own land adjacent or accessible by road, rail, or water to navigable
	water and ports developed by the district that is necessary for the
	development and operation of the navigable water or ports within
	the district or necessary for or in aid of the development of
	industries and businesses on that land; and
	(2)  construct, extend, improve, repair, maintain, and
	reconstruct, cause to be constructed, extended, improved,
	repaired, maintained, and reconstructed, and own, rent, lease, use,
	and operate any facility of any kind necessary or convenient to the
	exercise of the rights, powers, privileges, and functions granted
	by this chapter.
	Sec. 5002.153.  LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION AND USE OF REAL
	PROPERTY WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES.
	After the effective date of the Act enacting this section, the
	district shall not:
	(1)  acquire by gift, purchase, or condemnation any
	real property located within the protected zone unless:
	(A)  the acquisition is of a residential lot or
	lots for which no change in the permitted use will be sought by the
	district; or
	(B)  the acquisition is submitted to the qualified
	voters of the municipality within which the real property is
	located at an election held on a uniform election date and is
	approved by a majority of the votes received at the election;
	(2)  use any property owned or acquired by the district
	in the port zone for anything other than a port use; or
	(3)  use any property owned or acquired by the district
	in the protected zone that is not in the port zone for anything
	other than a use permitted under the zoning ordinance unless the use
	is approved by the governing body of the municipality in which the
	land is located.
	Sec. 5002.154.  CALLING ELECTION. The governing body of a
	municipality shall call an election under Section 5002.153(1)(B) to
	be held on the next uniform election date within 30 days of the
	municipality’s receipt from the district of a written request for
	the election and the description of all property subject to the
	election.
	Sec. 5002.155.  REPLATTING OF LAND. (a) The district may
	replat land owned by the district in accordance with Subchapter A,
	Chapter 212, Local Government Code, for the purpose of combining
	previously platted lots for development.
	(b)  The municipal authority responsible for approving the
	plat shall approve a replat requested by the district for the
	purposes set forth in this section within 60 days following receipt
	of the application for replat.
	(c)  The provisions of Subsection (b) do not apply to the
	replatting of land by the district if the replat creates or proposes
	municipally owned or municipally maintained public right-of-way or
	municipally owned or municipally maintained water, wastewater, or
	stormwater infrastructure within the property being platted.
	SUBCHAPTER E. RELATIONSHIP WITH MUNICIPALITIES
	Sec. 5002.201.  DISTRICT PROPERTY SUBJECT TO MUNICIPAL
	JURISDICTION. (a) This section applies only to property:
	(1)  owned or leased by the district; and
	(2)  located in:
	(A)  the district; and
	(B)  the boundaries or extraterritorial
	jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of less than
	20,000 that is wholly located in the district and whose corporate
	limits border the Gulf of Mexico.
	(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), the district has
	exclusive land use jurisdiction over property to which this section
	applies.
	(c)  This section does not apply to an ordinance, rule, or
	other measure adopted by a municipality that:
	(1)  applies only to property within the boundaries of
	the municipality;
	(2)  regulates only the safety of the operations of the
	municipality or reasonable aesthetics, including regulations
	governing fire and emergency response, traffic, light, or noise;
	(3)  is commercially reasonable; and
	(4)  does not effectively prohibit development and
	operation of industries and businesses on property owned or leased
	by the district that are built in accordance with building codes
	adopted by the district that meet or exceed the building codes
	adopted by the local municipality.
	(d)  A municipality may conduct inspections to verify
	compliance with Subsection (c) if the inspections are conducted in
	a timely manner, and any differences in interpretation of
	applicable codes are determined in favor of the district.
	(e)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), a municipality may
	not adopt or enforce an ordinance, rule, or other measure that
	prohibits or restricts:
	(1)  the acquisition or leasing of property to which
	this section applies for a purpose described by Section 5002.152;
	or
	(2)  the development of industries and businesses on
	property to which this section applies.
	Sec. 5002.202.  MUNICIPAL CONSENT NOT REQUIRED. Municipal
	consent is not required for the district to exercise a power or duty
	under this chapter.
	Sec. 5002.203.  DESIGNATION OF REINVESTMENT ZONE.
	Notwithstanding Subchapter B, Chapter 312, Tax Code, the district
	may submit a written request to the commissioners court of a county
	in which a property owned by the district is located for the
	commissioners court to designate the property as a reinvestment
	zone or area for the purposes of Chapter 312, Tax Code. The
	commissioners court may designate the property as a reinvestment
	zone or area if the commissioners court finds the criteria set forth
	in Section 312.202, Tax Code, are met for the property as if a
	municipality in which the property is located were creating the
	zone.
	Sec. 5002.204.  ENFORCEMENT OF SUBCHAPTERS. (a) The
	provisions of Subchapters D and E may be enforced only through
	mandamus or declaratory or injunctive relief. A political
	subdivision's immunity from suit is waived in regard to an action
	under this subchapter.
	(b)  A court may award court costs and reasonable and
	necessary attorney's fees to the prevailing party in an action
	under this subchapter.
	Sec. 5002.205.  EFFECT OF INVALIDITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.
	(a) This section applies only to a municipality with a population
	of more than 5,000 that is wholly located in the district and to
	property:
	(1)  owned or leased by the district;
	(2)  located in the district and within seven miles of
	the Gulf of Mexico; and
	(3)  located in the corporate limits or
	extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality that is subject to
	this section.
	(b)  If enforcement of any part of Section 5002.201 is ever
	permanently enjoined or held to be invalid or to violate the
	requirements of the Texas Constitution by a final, non-appealable
	order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, other than
	pursuant to an action initiated by the district, then:
	(1)  all of Section 5002.201 will be automatically
	enjoined from enforcement; and
	(2)  the authority of a municipality subject to this
	section to regulate property subject to this section under Chapter
	211 or 212, Local Government Code, or any local code or ordinance
	shall be expressly preempted and Chapter 232, Local Government
	Code, shall exclusively apply to such property.
	(c)  If enforcement of any part of Section 5002.153 or
	5002.154 is ever permanently enjoined or held to be invalid or to
	violate the requirements of the Texas Constitution by a final,
	non-appealable order or judgment of a court of competent
	jurisdiction, other than pursuant to an action initiated by a
	municipality, then Section 5002.201 will be automatically enjoined
	from enforcement.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 5336 was passed by the House on May 9,
	2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 11, 2 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 5336 on May 25, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 139, Nays 0,
	1 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 5336 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 21, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays
	2.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor