Same—Revocation or suspension.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-127
in effectSec. 28-127. - Same—Revocation or suspension.
(a) The city attorney shall have the authority to request the revocation of a permit for any one (1) or more of the following reasons:
(1) The owner or operator of the permitted enterprise knowingly allowed a person under 18 years of age to enter an enterprise;
(2) The permitted enterprise does not conform to the provisions of section 28-129 and section 28-130 of this Code;
(3) Three or more cumulative violations of any of the offenses contained in Chapter 21, Chapter 43, Section 22.011, or Section 22.021 of the Texas Penal Code or of the offenses contained in this article or in article VIII of this chapter have occurred on the premises of the permitted enterprise. These violations must have occurred in a consecutive period of 12 months, and the owner, operator or any manager licensed under article VIII of this chapter: (i) knowingly allowed such violations to occur; (ii) did not make a reasonable effort to prevent the occurrence of such violations; or (iii) should have known that such violations were occurring or did occur;
(4) The operator of the permitted enterprise gave materially false, fraudulent or untruthful information on the original, renewal or transfer application form;
(5) The enterprise has not been open for business for a period of 30 consecutive days, unless due to circumstances beyond the control of the owner, and the owner is proceeding with due diligence, given all attendant circumstances, to open or reopen the establishment;
(6) That there was a change of owner or operator for which a transfer application was not timely filed pursuant to section 28-126 of this Code; or
(7) That the permit was erroneously issued in contravention of the criteria of this article.
(b) The city attorney shall nave sole authority to initiate any action for revocation of a permit; provided, that the director may request that the city attorney give priority to any such action based upon the number or nature of violations involving a particular enterprise or enterprises.
(c) The director shall cause to be prepared and transmitted to the mayor and the city council, with a copy to the city attorney, a monthly report summarizing the number and type of violations set forth under subsection (a) of this section for each permitted enterprise. The city attorney shall cause to be prepared and transmitted to the mayor and city council a monthly report summarizing revocation actions filed, currently pending or decided during the reporting period; provided, that the city attorney may withhold from such report any factual information that, in the city attorney's opinion, may tend to compromise any ongoing investigation being conducted under this article or any penal law.
(d) Prior to revocation of a permit, the city attorney, with the assistance of the director, shall investigate the grounds alleged to determine whether probable cause for revocation may exist and, if so, shall notify the owner(s) and operator in writing of reasons for the proposed revocation and grant such owner(s) and operator the opportunity to appear before a hearing official to be designated by the mayor and confirmed by the city council in accordance with the procedures set forth under section 28-125(d) of this Code, at a time and place specified within such notice. The hearing official designated shall not have participated in any investigation of the alleged grounds for the revocation. Such hearing shall be held not less than 20 days after the notice is given. Hearings shall be conducted under rules issued by the director. Such rules shall be consistent with the nature of the proceedings and shall ensure that each party may present evidence, cross-examine witnesses and be represented by legal counsel. If, after the hearing, the hearing official finds that the permit should be revoked, he shall issue a written order revoking such permit which shall be effective as provided in section 28-135 of this Code. If the hearing official determines, based upon the nature of the violation, that the ends of justice would be served by a suspension in lieu of a revocation, he may suspend the operation of the permit for a period of time to be stated in the order of suspension, not to exceed two months; however, a suspension may not be ordered if the grounds are based upon item (6) or (7) of subsection (a), above.
(e) An enterprise shall be treated as having a permit for purposes of measurements under section 28-125(b)(2) of this Code, pending the final disposition of any court action involving judicial review of a permit revocation. An establishment holding a suspended permit shall be treated as having a permit for the purpose of measurements made under section 28-125(b)(2) of this Code.
(Ord. No. 97-75, § 3, 1-15-97)
Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH28MIOFPR_ARTIIISEORBU_S28-127SAEVSUFetched: 10/26/2026