MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE AND MAINTAIN PARKS, MUSEUMS, AND HISTORIC SITES

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code ch. 331

in effect

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.001. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

(a) A municipality or county may improve land for park purposes and may operate and maintain parks. The authority to improve the land includes the authority to construct buildings, lay out and pave driveways and walks, construct ditches or lakes, and set out trees and shrubs. (b) A municipality or county may by gift, devise, purchase, or eminent domain proceeding acquire: (1) land and buildings to be used for public parks, playgrounds, or historical museums; or (2) land on which are located: (A) historic buildings, sites, or landmarks of statewide historical significance associated with historic events or personalities; (B) prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, or archaeological or vertebrate paleontological sites; or (C) sites including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by human agency, or any other archaeological, paleontological, or historic buildings, markers, monuments, or historical features. (c) Land acquired by a municipality under Subsection (b) may be situated inside or outside the municipality but must be within the county in which the municipality is situated, and land acquired by a county under Subsection (b) must be within the limits of the county. The land may be acquired in any size tract considered suitable by the governing body of the municipality or county.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.002. ACQUISITION OF HISTORIC OBJECTS.

A municipality or county may acquire by gift or purchase, individually or in a collection, any historic book, painting, sculpture, coin, or other object or collection of historical significance to the municipality or county.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.003. EMINENT DOMAIN.

A municipality or county may exercise eminent domain under Section 331.001 (b) for the acquisition of a historic site, building, or structure only on a showing that it is necessary to prevent the destruction or deterioration of the site, building, or structure.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.004. BONDS AND TAXES.

(a) A municipality or county may issue negotiable bonds for the purpose of acquiring or improving land, buildings, or historically significant objects for park purposes or for historic or prehistoric preservation purposes, and may assess, levy, and collect ad valorem taxes to pay the principal of and interest on those bonds and to provide a sinking fund. (b) The issuance of the bonds and the levy of the taxes shall be in accordance with Subtitles A and C, Title 9, Government Code. (c) There is no limit on the amount of taxes that may be levied for the operation and maintenance expenses of parks or for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds except for the limits provided by the Texas Constitution.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.005. MANAGEMENT OF FACILITIES.

(a) Parks acquired under this chapter are under the control and management of the municipality or county acquiring the park. The commissioners court or the governing body of the municipality may by agreement with the Parks and Wildlife Department turn the land over to the department to be operated as a public park. The expenses of the improvement and operation of the park shall be paid by the municipality or county according to the agreement with the department. (b) A historic or prehistoric site, historical museum, or historically significant object acquired under this chapter is under the control and management of the municipality or county that acquired it.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.006. CONCESSIONS.

(a) The management of any park, historical museum, or historic or prehistoric site acquired under this chapter may sell or lease concessions or privileges for the establishment of amusements, stores, gasoline stations, and other concerns consistent with the operation of a public park and the preservation of noteworthy features of a historic or prehistoric site or historical museum. (b) The proceeds of the sales and leases may be used only for the improvement and operation of the park, museum, or site. However, the proceeds of the sales or leases in connection with a municipal park may also be used for the support, maintenance, and upkeep of other municipal parks.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.007. PUBLIC USE.

A park, a playground, a historical museum and its contents, or a historic or prehistoric site acquired and maintained under this chapter shall be open for the use of the public under rules prescribed by the governing body of the park, playground, museum, or site.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.008. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY COOPERATION.

(a) A municipality and a county may act in cooperation with each other in the exercise of authority under this chapter. A park, playground, museum, or site acquired jointly by a municipality and county acting in cooperation is under joint management and control. (b) If a municipality owns land outside its limits that is devoted to use as a playground or park and is adjacent to land that is owned by the county in which the municipality is situated and that is devoted to use as a public park, the municipality or county may purchase the adjacent land from the other on terms agreed to by each. The purchased land must be used in connection with the adjacent lands and devoted to use as a playground or park. The consideration for the purchase must be sufficient to provide for the payment of any outstanding bonded indebtedness incurred by the seller in acquiring the land. All sums credited to the sinking fund for the indebtedness shall be subtracted from the face value of the unpaid bonds in determining the outstanding indebtedness. (c) A municipality and the county in which the municipality is located that separately own adjacent land that is outside the municipal limits and is dedicated to use as a park or playground may by lease or other arrangement provide for the single management and control of the land. The agreement may be for any period and on any terms agreed to by the municipality and county. The agreement must vest exclusive management and control of the entirety of the lands for the benefit of the public as a recreational park or playground in the governing body of the municipality or the commissioners court of the county. Such an agreement does not affect the power of either the municipality or the county to contribute funds to the maintenance and improvement of the park or playground or the facilities of the park or playground.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.009. ROAD CLOSINGS.

A roadway on land acquired by a municipality for park purposes outside the municipal limits, or a roadway that abuts on both sides land that the municipality or county may dedicate to the management and control of the other under Section 331.008 , may be closed by order of the commissioners court of the county in which the roadway is located. All rights that the state may have in the roadway as a result of a previous dedication are canceled and surrendered to the county or municipality, as appropriate.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 331.010. COOPERATION OF STATE AGENCIES.

(a) The Parks and Wildlife Department may cooperate with a municipality or county in the acquisition and establishment of parks and playgrounds, and may adopt rules for the acquisition, establishment, and operation of the parks and playgrounds with the municipality or county as the department and the municipality or county consider advisable. (b) The governor and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice may permit the use of state inmates and defendants confined in state jail felony facilities for the improvement and maintenance of parks acquired under this chapter under agreements made by the Parks and Wildlife Department and the municipality or county. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 87 (S.B. 1969 ), Sec. 25.130, eff. September 1, 2009.

Source: TX Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Fetched: 6/29/2026