House Bill No. 3897 amends Section 775.022 of the Health and Safety Code to clarify the process for a municipality to annex territory from an emergency services district. The bill stipulates that if a municipality intends to annex territory, it must complete all necessary procedures, including the preparation of a service plan if required. The municipality is required to send written notice of its intent and the completed service plan to the board within 30 days of completing these procedures. The territory will remain part of the district until the board receives the notice and passes a resolution to disannex the territory. Additionally, if the board determines that the municipal services planned for the territory do not meet or exceed the current level of service provided by the district, it cannot disannex the territory.

Furthermore, the bill introduces a new subsection (a-1), which states that a board is considered to have approved a disannexation if it fails to respond to the municipality within 30 days of receiving the notice. The bill also defines "level of service" in terms of fire and emergency medical protection, focusing on the deployment and response times of resources. This legislation is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Health and Safety Code 775.022 (Health and Safety Code 775)