Category Archives: Local Governmental Entities
Municipalities and Wildfire Disasters
Only YOU can prevent forest fires – Smokey Bear On August 14, 2023, Governor Abbot issued a disaster declaration for wildfire activity for 191 of our 254 counties. Staying safe during disaster conditions requires a combination of preparedness, communication, evacuation planning, and effective response strategies. Here are 6 areas for municipalities to consider: Preparedness:… Read More »
Defective Subpoenas
Municipal law enforcement agencies are accustomed to receiving records requests from the public seeking accident reports and incident reports, often for insurance purposes. In addition to these frequent requests, criminal defense attorneys often attempt to obtain police incident records, body and dash camera videos, and other police records by filing and serving a subpoena… Read More »
Artificial (Legal) Intelligence
With the recent rise in availability of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) programs such as ChatGPT, many individuals and companies are implementing these tools to automate tasks and work more efficiently. City officials may likewise be wondering how they can utilize these tools to better serve their communities. Cities in Texas can utilize AI in several… Read More »
“We’re Having a Heat Wave…”
Texas Cities are dealing with the challenge of unusually extreme heat. Extreme heat can have deadly consequences, but they are preventable. In the future, cities need to include extreme heat in annual planning and may need to commit significant resources to heat-resilience. The specific strategies and measures a city employees to handle extreme heat… Read More »
Hey, You Can’t Use That Logo! It Belongs to the City . . . right?
As more and more businesses flock to the Lone Star State, cities in Texas are increasingly embracing municipal branding initiatives to promote what their communities have to offer and distinguish themselves from increased competition for business investment and tourism dollars. Just as with commercial businesses, the most effective approach for municipalities to build and… Read More »
Return of the Jedi?
In May, we wrote and warned about the passage of HB 2127 named the Death Star bill because it was to radically change local regulation. The name is ironic given the Death Star was fatally flawed and was destroyed by the very people it was meant to intimidate and subjugate. The City of Houston… Read More »
The Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation Act
The Texas Economic Development Act, or Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code was created by the Texas Legislature in 2001 to attract large-scale businesses and high-paying jobs. This was accomplished by providing an incentive program to capital-intensive businesses (e.g., manufacturers) which limited the appraised value of business property for the purposes of local… Read More »
Special Sessions
In the 88th Regular Legislative Session, 8,046 bills were introduced and 1,246 were passed. In addition to the regular session, the Texas Constitution grants the governor the authority to convene special sessions as deemed necessary. Unlike other states, where the legislature may call itself into session, only the governor of Texas may call the… Read More »
How an Unincorporated Community Can Become a City in Texas
Texas has more than 1,200 incorporated cities – or municipalities. Such municipalities range in size from Houston (with more than 2.3 million residents) to over 400 towns with populations of fewer than 1,000. However, Texas also has more than double that number of unincorporated communities. So, what is the difference between an unincorporated community and an… Read More »
ETJ: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
All cities have city limit lines; you have seen road signs when you leave one city and enter another on the highway. The notion of city limits is one most are familiar with. Given the well-understood concept of city limits –what the heck is a City’s ETJ? Webster’s Dictionary defines the word extraterritorial as… Read More »