Sec. 364.034. SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SERVICE; FEES

(a) A public agency or a county may:

(1) offer solid waste disposal service to persons in its territory;

(2) require the use of the service by those persons;

(3) charge fees for the service; and

(4) establish the service as a utility separate from other utilities in its territory.

(b) A fee for a service provided under this section may be collected by:

(1) the county;

(2) a private or public entity that contracts with the county to provide the service; or

(3) another private or public entity that contracts with the county to collect the fees.

(c) A county may contract with a public or private utility to collect a fee for a service provided under this section. The contract may:

(1) require the billing of the fee within the bill for other utility services;

(2) allow a fee to be paid to the utility for billing and collecting the fee;

(3) require a system of accounting for fees collected by an entity other than the county; and

(4) contain other terms as agreed to by the parties.

(d) To aid enforcement of fee collection for the solid waste disposal service:

(1) a county or the public or private entity that has contracted with the county to provide the service may suspend service to a person who is delinquent in payment of solid waste disposal service fees until the delinquent claim is fully paid; and

(2) a public or private utility that bills and collects solid waste disposal service fees under this section may suspend service of that utility, in addition to the suspension of solid waste disposal service, to a person who is delinquent in the payment of the solid waste disposal service fee until the delinquent claim is fully paid.

(e) Except as provided by Subsections (f), (g), and (h), this section does not apply to a person who provides the public or private entity, public agency, or county with written documentation that the person is receiving solid waste disposal services from another entity. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of a public agency, including a county or a municipality, to enforce its grant of a franchise or contract for solid waste collection and transportation services within its territory. Except as provided by Subsection (f), the governing body of a municipality may provide that a franchise it grants or a contract it enters into for solid waste collection and transportation services under this subchapter or under other law supersedes inside of the municipality's boundaries any other franchise granted or contract entered into under this subchapter.

(f) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, a political subdivision, including a county or a municipality, may not restrict the right of an entity to contract with a licensed waste hauler for the collection and removal of domestic septage or of grease trap waste, grit trap waste, lint trap waste, or sand trap waste.

(g) Except as provided by this subsection, a person is exempt from the application of a requirement adopted by a public agency or county under Subsection (a) if the person, on the date the requirement is adopted, is receiving under a contract in effect on that date solid waste disposal services at a level that is the same as or higher than the level of services that otherwise would be required. The exception provided by this subsection does not apply to a requirement adopted under this section by a municipality. To qualify for the exemption provided by this subsection, the person must provide to the public agency or county written documentation acceptable to the public agency or county not later than the 30th day before the date the otherwise required services are scheduled to begin. The person who provides solid waste disposal services to a person who qualifies for the exemption shall notify the public agency or county that the services under the contract have stopped not later than the 15th day after the date those services are stopped for any reason.

(h) This section does not apply to a private entity that contracts to provide temporary solid waste disposal services to a construction project.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1238, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 271, Sec. 2, eff. June 18, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1394 , Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2007.