Effective September 1, 2023, Texas governmental entities have 30 days after the attorney general releases an opinion determining information is public and must be disclosed to release the information or notify the requestor...more
On June 18, 2023, HB 2071—the Texas legislature’s solution to perceived abuses of property tax incentives related to Public Facility Corporations (PFCs)—took effect. The law amends Local Government Code Chapter 303, which...more
The Texas Legislature approved HB 2127, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, on May 23, 2023, and the bill is soon expected to be signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott. Upon the Governor’s signature, HB 2127 would go into...more
What grants are available?
The Department of Energy is offering over $50 million in grants to state and local governments for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and equipment....more
5/30/2023
/ Automotive Industry ,
Charging Stations ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Grants ,
Infrastructure ,
Innovative Technology ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
On December 30, 2022, the Supreme Court of Texas published its opinion in Gulf Coast Center v. Curry, concluding that the trial court had no jurisdiction to enter an award of $216,000 in a personal injury action against a...more
Don’t forget to submit your report to the Comptroller. Step by step instructions on how to do so are found here. Should any changes be necessary after submission, reporting entities have up to 90 days from the date of...more
On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a lawsuit over alleged violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) could proceed against Lee County, Texas. The plaintiff...more
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of Texas held that Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure Inc. and its related entities have eminent domain authority to acquire property for a proposed high-speed rail between Dallas and...more
During the recent 2021 session, the Legislature passed The Firearm Carry Act of 2021 (House Bill 1927), which allows qualified Texans and other citizens to carry open or concealed handguns without a permit. The new state law...more
Key points:
•The Fifth Circuit rejects river authority’s claims of immunity on an antitrust claim brought by two private water utility companies.
•In a break from other circuits, Fifth Circuit will hear interlocutory...more
On June 30, 2021, Governor Abbott approved Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to lift the open meeting law suspensions that had been temporarily suspended in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result,...more
Key Points:-
The San Antonio Court of Appeals held property owners lacked standing to sue over lowering dam gates because the damages they alleged were not specific to them but suffered by the public at large...more
The Texas Legislature recently approved five bills that will impact eminent domain matters throughout the state.
HB 2730-
HB 2730 was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 16, 2021, and goes into effect on January 1,...more
On June 18, 2021, the Texas Supreme Court issued a denial notice to a landowner’s request for review challenging the Thirteenth Court of Appeal’s finding that Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure, Inc. (Texas Central) has...more
In any case where a government official raises a defense of governmental immunity, a key legal question is whether the plaintiff’s pleadings successfully allege ultra vires conduct—that the government official acted without...more
On March 30, 2021, the Amarillo Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Canadian River Municipal Water Authority v. Hayhook, Ltd, affirming the trial court’s decision to award $506,496.00 plus interest in damages against...more
After last month’s historic winter storm in Texas knocked out power to millions and left dozens dead, four Texas counties—Harris, Travis, Fort Bend and Hidalgo—are asking the Texas Supreme Court to determine that the...more
What are a government’s risks when they deem a business not “essential” and require it to cease operations? Are such Emergency Orders effectively a “taking” of the business? And if so, will the governmental authority be...more
Key Points-
The Texas Supreme Court has been asked to consider what constitutes an “activated” foreign trade zone (FTZ) and thus ad valorem tax exemption.
The case at hand involves a FTZ subzone that was implied and...more
Key Point-
Property owners may now bring a regulatory takings or inverse condemnation claim in federal court without first exhausting state court remedies, overruling Williamson County....more
6/28/2019
/ 42 U.S.C. §1983 ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Knick v Township of Scott Pennsylvania ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Property Owners ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Remedies ,
Takings Clause
Key Points On June 11, 2019, the Houston First Court of Appeals issued a 34-page opinion holding that the University of Houston’s alleged infringement of a private citizen’s copyrighted photograph was not a taking under the...more
The new law clarifies legislative intent that the previous anti-boycott Israel law does not pertain to small contracts and individuals, but is it enough to address the Court’s constitutional concerns?
On May 7, 2019,...more
The decision’s ramifications are significant for both public condemnors and private landowners.
The Texas Supreme Court held on Friday that the City of Rowlett’s condemnation of land owned by a private developer was a...more
On Friday, March 8, a unanimous Texas Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth Court of Appeals and upheld the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s decision to cut the future interest rate on accounts established under a deferred...more
On Wednesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals struck down Section 551.143(a) of the Open Meetings Act, making it a crime for members of a governmental body to “knowingly conspire to circumvent this chapter by meeting in...more