HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOTICE OF FORMAL REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

COMMITTEE:    Land & Resource Management
             Interim Charges 1, 2, 3, and 4 

TIME & DATE:  N/A
Monday, July 20, 2020 

PLACE:       N/A 
CHAIR:       Rep. Tom Craddick 

Due to the ongoing pandemic and the uncertainty as to scheduling interim hearings, the Committee requests written submissions from interested parties and the public in regards to the assigned Interim Charges below.  All submissions are due on August 14, 2020, by 5pm (CST).  Submissions should be submitted via email to the Chairman, Tom Craddick, at Tom.Craddick@House.Texas.Gov and shall be in word format.  Submissions should be no longer than five (5) pages in length for each charge.  The page limit is inclusive of any photos, graphs, spreadsheets, charts, etc. the submitter chooses to include.  Submissions shall include the submitter name, organization or entity (if applicable and an authorized representative), mailing address, email, and telephone number. 

All submissions will be circulated to each Member of the Committee after the August 14, 2020 deadline.  A copy of all received comments will be made available to the public by the Chairman. 

The Committee seeks responses on all Interim Charges, listed below:

1.  Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including HB 347, which eliminates the distinction between Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties and municipalities so that all cities are prohibited from using forced annexation.  Determine if there is a need for further annexation legislation in Texas.  Study how implementation of voter-approved annexation impacts the need for extraterritorial jurisdiction. 

2.  Review, in coordination with the Office of Attorney General, the efficacy of the Landowner's Bill of Rights (LBoR)in explaining to landowners the eminent domain condemnation process and their rights and responsibilities under Chapter 21 of the Property Code.  Identify any omitted information which can enhance the landowner's understanding of the condemnation process and determine whether any other changes should be made to the document to make it more user friendly.  Determine whether it would be beneficial for the legislature to be more prescriptive in statute with the mandatory contents of the LBoR. 

3.  Study property owner's rights in eminent domain to examine and make recommendations on what should and should not constitute an actual progress to ensure the right of property owners to repurchase property seized through eminent domain by a condemning entity. 

4.  Monitor the State Auditor's review of agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction.  The Chair shall seek input and periodic briefings on completed audits for the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years and bring forth pertinent issues for full Committee consideration. 

In the event there is a change in the current pandemic and meeting space becomes available, the Committee reserves the right to post an in person hearing.