Burnet expands municipal court power over health, safety, nuisance cases
The Burnet City Council chambers. Staff photo by Caden Senn
The Burnet Municipal Court recently expanded its judicial power over health, safety, and nuisance cases at a Burnet City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 29, as part of a Texas Senate bill passed last year.
Senate Bill 304, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in May 2025 and taking effect that September, clarified “the jurisdiction of municipal courts over health and safety and nuisance abatement ordinances,” (SB 304). As an extension of the bill, local municipalities were allowed to ordain that their courts had jurisdiction over these matters.
These ordinances can include matters related to dangerous structures, junked vehicles, and abandoned vehicles.
Burnet Municipal Court Administrator Heather Sutton clarified that these changes would not affect current code enforcement, but would allow for those kinds of cases to be handled at the municipal level rather than being passed on to Burnet County.
“(The bill) would not change the code enforcement process at all,” she told City Council. “This just sets the foundation for the municipal court to hear those sorts of cases. It gives us the opportunity to deal with them at the municipal court instead of sending them to the district court or county court.”
City Attorney Habib Erkan Jr. expanded on the changes as being an expansion to power that the municipal court already had.
“According to records, (the court) has always had this authority,” Erkan said to council. “In the last legislative session, they expanded the authority and gave us more civil authorities.”
The expanded jurisdiction, as per SB 304, includes:
- Civil jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing municipal ordinances enacted under Subchapter A (Dangerous Structures), Ch. 214 (Municipal Regulation of Housing and Other Structures) of L.G.C. or Subchapter E (Junked Vehicles: Public Nuisance: Abatement), Ch. 683 (Abandoned Motor Vehicles) T.C.
- Concurrent jurisdiction with a district court or county court at law under Subchapter B (Municipal Health and Safety Ordinances), Ch. 54 (Enforcement of Municipal Ordinances) L.G.C. within the municipality’s territorial limits and property owned by the municipality located in the municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing health and safety and nuisance abatement ordinances
- Authority to issue search warrants for the purpose of investigating a health and safety or nuisance abatement ordinance violation and seizure warrants for the purpose of securing, removing, or demolishing the offending property and removing the debris from the premises.
Visit the Texas Legislature website for more information on the bill and its historic amendments, votes, and actions.