This is where county and state authority is strongest. Under the Texas Litter Abatement Act (H&S §365.012), dumping litter at an unapproved site is a crime countywide, from a Class C misdemeanor for small amounts up to a state jail felony for a ton or more.
Illegal dumping is prosecutable everywhere in Bell County, including the unincorporated area, under Health & Safety Code §365.012. A person commits an offense by disposing of, or allowing disposal of, litter or solid waste at a place that is not an approved solid-waste site, including within 300 feet of public roads or waterways. Penalties scale by weight or volume: five pounds/gallons or less is a Class C misdemeanor; more than five pounds up to 500 pounds is Class B; 500-1,000 pounds is Class A; 1,000+ pounds is a state jail felony. Prior convictions bump the offense one level higher.
Class C (five pounds or less) up to a state jail felony (1,000+ pounds or closed drums). Courts must add community service, and vehicle forfeiture notice applies to certain offenses.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Bell County, TX
Texas has no specific 'hoarding' statute, but keeping animals without adequate food, water, care, or shelter, or cruelly confining them, is animal cruelty, a...
Bell County, TX
Bell County has no ordinance banning the feeding of wildlife, and Texas has no general statewide ban either. Feeding game such as deer is legal but discourag...
Bell County, TX
Bell County has no composting ordinance. Home composting is unrestricted on unincorporated land. Texas law bars HOAs from prohibiting composting, though citi...
Bell County, TX
Bell County has no zoning and does not regulate artificial turf. On unincorporated land it is unrestricted. Cities may limit synthetic turf in front yards th...
Bell County, TX
Bell County has no landscaping ordinance and cannot require or forbid native plants. Texas law protects drought-resistant and water-conserving landscaping fr...
Bell County, TX
Rainwater harvesting is legal statewide and encouraged in Texas. Bell County sets no restriction. State law bars a homeowners' association from prohibiting r...
See how Bell County's illegal dumping rules stack up against other locations.
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