MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code ch. 41

in effect

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 41.001. MAP OF MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES AND EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.

(a) Each municipality shall prepare a map that shows the boundaries of the municipality and of its extraterritorial jurisdiction. The municipality shall maintain a copy of the map in a location that is easily accessible to the public, including: (1) in the office of the secretary or clerk of the municipality; (2) if the municipality has a municipal engineer, in the office of the engineer; and (3) if the municipality maintains an Internet website, on the municipality's website. (a-1) A municipality shall make a copy of a map required under Subsection (a) available without charge. (b) If the municipality annexes territory, the map shall be immediately corrected to include the annexed territory. The map shall be annotated to indicate: (1) the date of annexation; (2) the number of the annexation ordinance, if any; and (3) a reference to the minutes or municipal ordinance records in which the ordinance is recorded in full. (c) If the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction is expanded or reduced, the map shall be immediately corrected to indicate the change in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The map shall be annotated to indicate: (1) the date the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction was changed; (2) the number of the ordinance or resolution, if any, by which the change was made; and (3) a reference to the minutes or municipal ordinance or resolution records in which the ordinance or resolution is recorded in full. (d) In addition to the requirements of this section, a home-rule municipality shall create, or contract for the creation of, and make publicly available a digital map that complies with this section. A digital map required under this subsection must be made available without charge and in a format widely used by common geographic information system software. If the municipality maintains an Internet website, the municipality shall make the digital map available on the municipality's website. (e) A home-rule municipality that does not have common geographic information system software shall make the digital map available in any other widely used electronic format in accordance with Subsection (d).

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 41.002. BOUNDARY SURVEY IN GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITIES.

(a) Immediately after the members of the governing body of a newly incorporated general-law municipality qualify for office, the governing body shall adopt an ordinance requiring a survey of the boundaries of the municipality to be made. (b) The survey must be based on the boundaries designated in the petition for incorporation. The field notes of the survey must be recorded in the minutes of the municipality and in the deed records of the county in which the municipality is located.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 41.003. INCLUSION OF AREA RECEIVING LONGSTANDING TREATMENT AS PART OF MUNICIPALITY.

(a) The governing body of a municipality may adopt an ordinance to declare an area that is adjacent to the municipality and that meets the requirements of Subsection (b) to be a part of the municipality. The adoption of the ordinance creates an irrebuttable presumption that the area is a part of the municipality for all purposes. The presumption may not be contested for any cause after the effective date of the ordinance. (b) An area qualifies for inclusion in a municipality under this section only if, on the date of the adoption of the ordinance: (1) the records of the municipality indicate that the area has been a part of the municipality for at least the preceding 20 years; (2) the municipality has provided municipal services, including police protection, to the area and has otherwise treated the area as a part of the municipality during the preceding 20 years; (3) there has not been a final judicial determination during the preceding 20 years that the area is outside the boundaries of the municipality; and (4) there is no pending lawsuit that challenges the inclusion of the area as part of the municipality. (c) The date on which an area that is made a part of a municipality under this section is considered to be a part of the municipality is retroactive to the date on which the municipality began its continuous treatment of the area as part of the municipality. That date shall be used for all relevant purposes, including a determination of whether territory allegedly annexed by the municipality was adjacent to the municipality at the time of the purported annexation.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 41.004. BOUNDARIES NOT AFFECTED BY CHANGE TO TYPE A GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY.

If a municipality changes to a Type A general-law municipality under Subchapter B of Chapter 6 , the boundaries of the municipality remain the same as they existed under the law governing the municipality before the change. After the change, the boundaries are subject to the law governing Type A general-law municipalities.

Tex. LOC. GOV'T Code § 41.0015. NOTICE OF MUNICIPAL BOUNDARY CHANGE.

(a) If an area is annexed to or disannexed from a municipality, the mayor or other presiding officer of the governing body of the municipality shall, within 30 days after the date of preclearance under Section 5, Federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973c), of the annexation or disannexation, send to the county clerk of each county in which the municipality is located a certified copy of documents showing the change in boundaries. (b) The county shall promptly correct to reflect the change in municipal boundaries any official county map kept by the county that would be affected by the change. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1160, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1989.

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