| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
SB 1454 seeks to allow counties the authority to require land developers to submit locally compatible digital maps with geo-referencing of approved subdivision plats and related infrastructure as part of the subdivision approval and recording process.
Under SB 1454, a county commissioners court choosing to adopt these provisions could require a digital map to be in a format widely used by common GIS software.
SB 1454 does provide an exemption from the requirement if the owner of the tract submits with the plat application an acknowledged statement indicating that the digital mapping technology necessary to submit a map was not reasonably accessible.
This bill would take effect on September 1, 2015.
SB 1454 seeks to allow county commissioners courts the authority to request digital maps with new plat applications. Requiring these digital maps will help expedite inputting data into systems which enhance the functions of local governments in terms of land use analysis, accurate tax parcel creation, public infrastructure maintenance, E-911 addressing, and the rapid delivery of emergency services. This bill will help increase local government efficiency without unduly burdening land developers who have reasonable access to these digital mapping technologies, while the exemption protects firms without access.
While this would technically be an expansion of government at the local level for counties choosing to use the new authority, it would also make related functions of those local governments run more efficiently and provide better service to citizens. This bill both offends and affirms the principle of limited government. Therefore we are neutral on SB 1454.