Disannexation in Texas: how an annexed area votes its way out of a city

Last verified August 7, 2026 against the Austin Land Development Code · Kimbrough Gray · KiliGray Homes

Section 43.1463 requires a city of 500,000 or more to hold a disannexation election in areas it annexed for full purposes between 3 March 2015 and 1 December 2017 that had residents at the time. If voters approve, the city must disannex — but it continues to levy property tax at the same rate until the area has paid its pro rata share of city debt.

Applies to: Areas meeting the §43.1463(a) window: annexation initiated by a municipality of 500,000 or more and finalised for full purposes between 3 March 2015 and 1 December 2017, with a population greater than zero when annexed. Cities with an active federal military installation are excluded.

This is not the ETJ law. Two different 2023 statutes get described in the same breath. HB 3053 — this page — lets an area vote its way out of a city's corporate limits. SB 2038 lets land be released from a city's ETJ, which is land that was never in the city at all. Different mechanism, different land, different result.

A narrow window, drafted to catch one era of annexation

§43.1463 does not offer a general right to leave a city. It applies only to an area where all three are true:

the annexation was initiated by a municipality of 500,000 or more;
it was finalised for full purposes between 3 March 2015 and 1 December 2017; and
the area had a population greater than zero when annexed.

That window is the point. Texas moved from nonconsent to consent annexation in this period, and the section — titled "disannexation of areas annexed during transition from nonconsent to consent annexation model" — reaches back to the areas taken in during the changeover.

It also excludes any municipality with an active federal military installation in or adjacent to its ETJ as of 1 May 2023.

The city must hold the election, and must not campaign in it

Where the section applies, the municipality shall hold an election on disannexation — it is not discretionary. Two constraints then bind the city:

it may not use public money on promotional campaigns or advocacy related to the election; and
the ballot proposition must describe the area, identify it by its commonly used name, name the entities that will provide law enforcement, fire and emergency services afterwards, and describe the effect on ad valorem taxes and fees and on special districts in the area.

If the voters approve, the city shall disannex the area — residential and commercial property alike.

Leaving the city does not end the city tax bill. This is the single most misunderstood consequence, and §43.1463(g) is explicit: disannexation does not impair municipal debt, and the area is not released from its pro rata share. The city continues to impose a property tax each year at the same rate charged on other city property until collections from the area equal its share of the debt. Those taxes may carry only the cost of imposing and collecting them, and must be applied exclusively to that debt.

What the debt provision actually does

Read carefully, (g) does three things:

Fixes the rate. Not a special assessment — the same rate as other property in the municipality.
Fixes the endpoint. The levy runs until taxes collected from the area equal its pro rata share. It ends when the share is paid, not on a fixed date.
Allows prepayment. The subsection expressly does not prevent the inhabitants from paying their pro rata share in full at any time.

So the honest summary of disannexation is not "the city tax disappears". It is "city services stop, and the city tax continues at the same rate until the debt share is cleared". Those are very different propositions for anyone buying on the strength of a future tax saving.

What happens to utilities and districts

The section is careful about who keeps what.

Infrastructure stays with the city. A municipality retains ownership of infrastructure — the statute names water treatment and storage facilities — that was transferred to it from a special district as part of the original annexation. Disannexation does not hand it back.

Special districts survive unless they choose otherwise. A district located in and serving the area may be dissolved only if its own governing body elects to dissolve it after disannexation. And an emergency services district in or adjacent to the area shall provide services to it.

Limited districts get their powers back. Where a special district was converted into a limited district under a strategic partnership agreement, §43.1463(f-1) lets that limited district exercise all the powers and duties the former special district held by law — notwithstanding the strategic partnership agreement or any other agreement signed with the city before disannexation.

We have deliberately named no neighborhoods. Several Austin areas voted on disannexation in 2024 and at least one result has been litigated. Which areas qualified, how each vote went, and what any court has since ordered are facts about particular places that we have not verified against primary records — so this page explains the statute and stops there. For the status of a specific property, ask the city and the county, and get it in writing.

Common questions

What is HB 3053 in Texas?

The 2023 law that added §43.1463 to the Local Government Code, requiring cities of 500,000 or more to hold disannexation elections in areas they annexed for full purposes between 3 March 2015 and 1 December 2017 that had residents at the time. It was amended in 2025 by SB 2419.

Does disannexation stop city property taxes in Texas?

No. §43.1463(g) provides that the area is not released from its pro rata share of municipal debt, and the city continues to impose property tax each year at the same rate charged on other city property until collections equal that share. Residents may pay the share in full at any time.

What is the difference between HB 3053 and SB 2038?

HB 3053 is disannexation — leaving a city's corporate limits by election, under §43.1463. SB 2038 is release from a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, under Chapter 42. The ETJ is land outside the city to begin with, so the two apply to different property and produce different outcomes.

Who provides emergency services after disannexation?

An emergency services district located in or adjacent to the area is required to provide services to it. The ballot proposition must identify the entities that will provide law enforcement, fire and emergency services before the vote is held.

Can a city campaign against disannexation?

Not with public funds. §43.1463(c)(1) prohibits a municipality from using public money on promotional campaigns or advocacy related to the election.

Does a city keep the water infrastructure after disannexation?

Yes, where it came from a special district as part of the annexation. §43.1463(e) requires the municipality to retain ownership of infrastructure — including water treatment and storage facilities — transferred to it from a special district when the area was annexed.

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We are homebuilders, not the City of Austin. This page explains how we read the code in practice — it is not legal advice and it is not an official determination. Always confirm with Austin Development Services before you rely on it for a project. The authoritative text is the Austin Land Development Code; permitting questions go to Austin Development Services Department.