Texas Local Government Code 51.003 – Municipal Act or Proceeding Presumed Valid
(a) A governmental act or proceeding of a municipality is conclusively presumed, as of the date it occurred, to be valid and to have occurred in accordance with all applicable statutes and ordinances if:
(1) the third anniversary of the effective date of the act or proceeding has expired; and
(2) a lawsuit to annul or invalidate the act or proceeding has not been filed on or before that third anniversary.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) an act or proceeding that was void at the time it occurred;
(2) an act or proceeding that, under a statute of this state or the United States, was a misdemeanor or felony at the time the act or proceeding occurred;
(3) an incorporation or attempted incorporation of a municipality, or an annexation or attempted annexation of territory by a municipality, within the incorporated boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction of another municipality that occurred without the consent of the other municipality in violation of Chapter 42 or 43;
(4) an ordinance that, at the time it was passed, was preempted by a statute of this state or the United States, including § 1.06 or 109.57, Alcoholic Beverage Code; or
(5) a matter that on the effective date of this section:
(A) is involved in litigation if the litigation ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final judgment of a court; or
(B) has been held invalid by a final judgment of a court.
Terms Used In Texas Local Government Code 51.003
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Municipality: means a general-law municipality, home-rule municipality, or special-law municipality. See Texas Local Government Code 1.005
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005