ARTICLE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 1.01. Incorporation.
The inhabitants of the City of Sugar Land, Fort Bend County, Texas, residing within its corporate limits, are a municipal body politic under the name of the "City of Sugar Land."
(Ord. No. 1178, § 1, 6-15-99)

Sec. 1.02. Form of Government.
The City government shall be known as the council-manager form of government. All City powers are vested in an elected city council. The council shall appoint a city manager, who shall execute the laws and administer City government.
(Ord. No. 1178, § 1, 6-15-99)

Sec. 1.03. General Powers.
The City shall have all powers possible for a home-rule city to have under the Texas Constitution, the laws of the State of Texas, and this Charter, as fully and completely as though they were specifically enumerated in this Charter, including the power:
(a) To annex an area for full or limited purposes as provided in this Charter and to disannex land.
(b) To borrow money on the faith and credit of the City by the issuance and sale of bonds, notes, or other debt instruments;
(c) To enact ordinances for the safety, health, and general welfare of the citizens;
(d) To assess the owners of real property abutting upon a public highway or street for street improvements made thereon, in accordance with State law;
(e) To the full extent allowed by law, to require that any person, utility, or company making use of the city's streets or property to provide any service to the public first obtain the written consent of the city by license, permit, franchise, ordinance or otherwise. A franchise shall not be valid for more than fifty (50) years; and
(f) To the full extent allowed by law, to regulate the rates, charges, fees, operations, and services of any person, utility, or entity providing water, wastewater, electricity, natural gas, telephone, telecommunications, cable television, taxicab, bus, solid waste, transportation, or similar service to the public within the city.
(Ord. No. 1178, § 1, 6-15-99; Ord. No. 1190, § 1, 8-3-99; Ord. No. 1432, § 2, 6-15-04)

Sec. 1.04. Garnishment and Execution.
(a) Except as otherwise provided for by State or Federal law, City funds are not subject to garnishment and the City is not required to answer in any garnishment proceeding.
(b) City property is not subject to any kind of execution.
(Ord. No. 1178, § 1, 6-15-99)

Sec. 1.05. Charter Commission.
The council shall appoint a charter commission as often as it deems necessary, but not less than every five years, to review the operations of city government under the Charter and determine whether revisions should be made. At the conclusion of its review, the commission shall make a written report of its recommendations of changes, if any, to the city council. The city council may submit the recommended changes, as it deems appropriate, to the voters for approval.
(Ord. No. 1178, § 1, 6-15-99)

Sec. 1.06. Severability.
If any section or part of a section of this charter shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the remainder of this charter nor the context in which such section or part of section so held invalid may appear, except to the extent that an entire section or part of section may be inseverably connected in meaning and effect with section or part of section to which such holding shall directly apply.
(Ord. No. 1178, § 1, 6-15-99)

Sec. 1.07. Non-Substantive Revisions.
(a) The City Council may, without approval of the voters, adopt an ordinance that makes the following types of revisions to the Charter:
(1) Renumbering, revising titles, and rearranging parts thereof;
(2) Correcting errors in spelling, grammar, cross-references, and punctuation; and
(3) Revising language to reflect modern usage and style.
(b) A revision adopted under this section is not intended to and is not to be interpreted as making any substantive change in any Charter provision.
(Ord. No. 1432, § 2, 6-15-04)

Sec. 1.08. Full-Purpose Annexation.
The City may by ordinance annex an area lying outside its corporate limits for the purpose of exercising therein all of its municipal powers to the fullest extent allowed by law and, upon annexation, the area so annexed and the inhabitants thereof will be a part of the City for all purposes.
(Ord. No. 1432, § 2, 6-15-04)

Sec. 1.09. Limited-Purpose Annexation.
(a) The City may annex an area for one or more of the following limited purposes:
(1) To regulate by ordinance the use of real property, including the use, construction, alteration, and maintenance of structures, buildings, and signs to the same extent the City regulates those matters by ordinance within the full-purpose corporate limits of the City; and
(2) To regulate by ordinance the health and safety of persons within the annexed area to the same extent the City regulates those matters by ordinance within the full-purpose corporate limits of the City.
(b) Any City ordinance annexing an area for limited purposes will specify the City's existing ordinances that will initially apply to the area annexed for limited purposes. The city council may by later ordinance apply other existing City ordinances to an area previously annexed for limited purposes if for a purpose specified in this section. Any amendment of a City ordinance that applies to an area annexed for limited purposes will, upon the effective date of the amendment, automatically apply to the area annexed for limited purposes.
(c) The City has the power to administer and enforce its ordinances that apply in an area annexed for limited purposes to the same extent and through the same procedures that its ordinances apply within the full-purpose corporate limits of the City. The City's municipal courts have jurisdiction within an area annexed for limited purposes to enforce the City's ordinances that apply therein to the same extent the municipal courts may enforce ordinances within the full-purpose corporate limits of the City.
(d) The City may by ordinance impose and collect reasonable charges from property owners and inhabitants of an area annexed for limited purposes to the same extent and amount that the City imposes and collects charges from property owners and inhabitants within the full-purpose corporate limits of the City for the same or similar services or regulations, but the City may not levy a municipal ad valorem tax on the personal or real property of the property owners or inhabitants of an area annexed for limited purposes.
(e) The City may impose and collect a sales and use tax in the area annexed for limited purposes to the full extent allowed by law.
(f) The property owners and inhabitants of an area annexed for limited purposes may not vote in any City election or exercise any of the other rights or privileges enjoyed by the property owners and inhabitants within the full-purpose corporate limits of the City area, except as otherwise provided for in this Charter, the ordinance annexing an area for limited purposes, or as provided by other law.
(Ord. No. 1178, § 1, 6-15-99, Ord. 1432, § 2, 6-15-04)