S.B. No. 170
AN ACT
1-1 relating to regulation of pool and spa enclosures; authorizing
1-2 civil and criminal penalties.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 214, Local Government Code, is amended by
1-5 adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
1-6 SUBCHAPTER C. SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES
1-7 Sec. 214.101. AUTHORITY REGARDING SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES.
1-8 (a) A municipality may by ordinance establish minimum standards
1-9 for swimming pool fences and enclosures and may adopt other
1-10 ordinances as necessary to carry out this subchapter.
1-11 (b) A municipality that adopts an ordinance under this
1-12 subchapter may repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an
1-13 enclosure or fence that is damaged, deteriorated, substandard,
1-14 dilapidated, or otherwise in a state that poses a hazard to the
1-15 public health, safety, and welfare.
1-16 (c) A municipality may require the owner of the property on
1-17 which the swimming pool or enclosure or fence is situated, after
1-18 notice and hearing as provided in Sections 214.001(c) and (d), to
1-19 repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence
1-20 of a swimming pool that the municipality or an appropriate
1-21 municipal official, agent, or employee determines violates the
1-22 minimum standards adopted under this subchapter.
1-23 (d) If the enclosure or fence is on unoccupied property or
2-1 is on property occupied only by persons who do not have a right of
2-2 possession to the property, the municipality shall give notice to
2-3 the owner, in accordance with the procedures set out in Sections
2-4 214.0011(c) and (d), of the municipality's action to repair,
2-5 replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence of a
2-6 swimming pool.
2-7 (e) If a municipality incurs expenses under this subchapter,
2-8 the municipality may assess the expenses on, and the municipality
2-9 has a lien against, unless it is a homestead as protected by the
2-10 Texas Constitution, the property on which the swimming pool or the
2-11 enclosure or fence is situated. The lien is extinguished if the
2-12 property owner or another person having an interest in the legal
2-13 title to the property reimburses the municipality for the expenses.
2-14 The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice
2-15 of the lien is recorded in the office of the county clerk in the
2-16 county in which the property is situated. The notice must contain
2-17 the name and address of the owner if that information can be
2-18 determined with a reasonable effort, a legal description of the
2-19 real property on which the swimming pool or the enclosure or fence
2-20 is situated, the amount of expenses incurred by the municipality,
2-21 and the balance due. The lien is a privileged lien subordinate
2-22 only to tax liens and all previously recorded bona fide mortgage
2-23 liens attached to the real property to which the municipality's
2-24 lien attaches.
2-25 (f) An ordinance adopted under this subchapter may provide
3-1 for a penalty, not to exceed $1,000, for a violation of the
3-2 ordinance. The ordinance may provide that each day a violation
3-3 occurs constitutes a separate offense.
3-4 (g) A municipal official, agent, or employee, acting under
3-5 the authority granted by this subchapter or any ordinance adopted
3-6 under this subchapter, may enter any unoccupied premises at a
3-7 reasonable time to inspect, investigate, or enforce the powers
3-8 granted under this subchapter or any ordinance adopted pursuant to
3-9 this subchapter. After providing a minimum of 24 hours notice to
3-10 the occupant, a municipal official, agent, or employee, acting
3-11 under the authority granted by this subchapter or any ordinance
3-12 adopted under this subchapter, may enter any occupied premises to
3-13 inspect, investigate, or enforce the powers granted under this
3-14 subchapter or any ordinance adopted pursuant to this subchapter. A
3-15 municipality and its officials, agents, or employees shall be
3-16 immune from liability for any acts or omissions not knowingly done
3-17 that are associated with actions taken in an effort to eliminate
3-18 the dangerous conditions posed by an enclosure or fence that is
3-19 damaged, deteriorated, substandard, dilapidated, or otherwise in a
3-20 state that poses a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare
3-21 and for any previous or subsequent conditions on the property.
3-22 (h) The authority granted by this subchapter is in addition
3-23 to that granted by any other law.
3-24 SECTION 2. Subtitle A, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, is
3-25 amended by adding Chapter 757 to read as follows:
4-1 CHAPTER 757. POOL YARD ENCLOSURES
4-2 Sec. 757.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
4-3 (1) "Self-closing and self-latching device" means a
4-4 device that causes a gate to automatically close without human or
4-5 electrical power after it has been opened and to automatically
4-6 latch without human or electrical power when the gate closes.
4-7 (2) "Doorknob lock" means a lock that is in a doorknob
4-8 and that is operated from the exterior by a key, card, or
4-9 combination and from the interior without a key, card, or
4-10 combination.
4-11 (3) "Dwelling" or "rental dwelling" means one or more
4-12 rooms rented to one or more tenants for use as a permanent
4-13 residence under a lease. The term does not include a room rented
4-14 to overnight guests.
4-15 (4) "French doors" means double doors, sometimes
4-16 called double-hinged patio doors, that provide access from a
4-17 dwelling interior to the exterior and in which each of the two
4-18 doors are hinged and closable so that the edge of one door closes
4-19 immediately adjacent to the edge of the other door with no
4-20 partition between the doors. "French door" means either one of the
4-21 two doors.
4-22 (5) "Keyed dead bolt" means a door lock that is not in
4-23 the doorknob, that locks by a bolt in the doorjamb, that has a bolt
4-24 with at least a one-inch throw if installed after September 1,
4-25 1993, and that is operated from the exterior by a key, card, or
5-1 combination and operated from the interior by a knob or lever
5-2 without a key, card, or combination. The term includes a doorknob
5-3 lock that contains a bolt with at least a one-inch throw.
5-4 (6)(A) "Keyless bolting device" means a door lock not
5-5 in the doorknob that locks:
5-6 (i) with a bolt with a one-inch throw into
5-7 a strike plate screwed into the portion of the doorjamb surface
5-8 that faces the edge of the door when the door is closed or into a
5-9 metal doorjamb that serves as the strike plate, operable only by
5-10 knob or lever from the door's interior and not in any manner from
5-11 the door's exterior, and that is commonly known as a keyless dead
5-12 bolt;
5-13 (ii) by a drop bolt system operated by
5-14 placing a central metal plate over a metal doorjamb restraint which
5-15 protrudes from the doorjamb and which is affixed to the doorjamb
5-16 frame by means of three case-hardened screws at least three inches
5-17 in length. One half of the central plate must overlap the interior
5-18 surface of the door and the other half of the central plate must
5-19 overlap the doorjamb when the plate is placed over the doorjamb
5-20 restraint. The drop bolt system must prevent the door from being
5-21 opened unless the central plate is lifted off of the doorjamb
5-22 restraint by a person who is on the interior side of the door; or
5-23 (iii) by a metal bar or metal tube that is
5-24 placed across the entire interior side of the door and secured in
5-25 place at each end of the bar or tube by heavy-duty metal screw
6-1 hooks. The screw hooks must be at least three inches in length and
6-2 must be screwed into the door frame stud or wall stud on each side
6-3 of the door. The bar or tube must be capable of being secured to
6-4 both of the screw hooks and must be permanently attached in some
6-5 way to the door frame stud or wall stud. When secured to the screw
6-6 hooks, the bar or tube must prevent the door from being opened
6-7 unless the bar or tube is removed by a person who is on the
6-8 interior side of the door.
6-9 (B) The term does not include a chain latch,
6-10 flip latch, surface-mounted slide bolt, mortise door bolt,
6-11 surface-mounted barrel bolt, surface-mounted swing bar door guard,
6-12 spring-loaded nightlatch, foot bolt, or other lock or latch.
6-13 (7) "Multiunit rental complex" means two or more
6-14 dwelling units in one or more buildings that are under common
6-15 ownership, managed by the same owner, managing agent, or management
6-16 company, and located on the same lot or tract of land or adjacent
6-17 lots or tracts of land. The term includes a condominium project.
6-18 The term does not include:
6-19 (A) a facility primarily renting rooms to
6-20 overnight guests; or
6-21 (B) a single-family home or adjacent
6-22 single-family homes that are not part of a condominium project.
6-23 (8) "Pool" means a permanent swimming pool, permanent
6-24 wading or reflection pool, or permanent hot tub or spa over 18
6-25 inches deep, located at ground level, above ground, below ground,
7-1 or indoors.
7-2 (9) "Pool yard" means an area that contains a pool.
7-3 (10) "Pool yard enclosure" or "enclosure" means a
7-4 fence, wall, or combination of fences, walls, gates, windows, or
7-5 doors that completely surround a pool.
7-6 (11) "Property owners association" means an
7-7 association of property owners for a residential subdivision,
7-8 condominium, cooperative, town home project, or other project
7-9 involving residential dwellings.
7-10 (12) "Sliding door handle latch" means a latch or lock
7-11 that is near the handle on a sliding glass door, that is operated
7-12 with or without a key, and that is designed to prevent the door
7-13 from being opened.
7-14 (13) "Sliding door pin lock" means a pin or rod that
7-15 is inserted from the interior side of a sliding glass door at the
7-16 side opposite the door's handle and that is designed to prevent the
7-17 door from being opened or lifted.
7-18 (14) "Sliding door security bar" means a bar or rod
7-19 that can be placed at the bottom of or across the interior side of
7-20 the fixed panel of a sliding glass door and that is designed to
7-21 prevent the sliding panel of the door from being opened.
7-22 (15) "Tenant" means a person who is obligated to pay
7-23 rent or other consideration and who is authorized to occupy a
7-24 dwelling, to the exclusion of others, under a verbal or written
7-25 lease or rental agreement.
8-1 (16) "Window latch" means a device on a window or
8-2 window screen that prevents the window or window screen from being
8-3 opened and that is operated without a key and only from the
8-4 interior.
8-5 Sec. 757.002. APPLICATION. This chapter applies only to:
8-6 (1) a pool owned, controlled, or maintained by the
8-7 owner of a multiunit rental complex or by a property owners
8-8 association; and
8-9 (2) doors and windows of rental dwellings opening into
8-10 the pool yard of a multiunit rental complex or condominium,
8-11 cooperative, or town home project.
8-12 Sec. 757.003. ENCLOSURE FOR POOL YARD. (a) Except as
8-13 otherwise provided by Section 757.005, the owner of a multiunit
8-14 rental complex with a pool or a property owners association that
8-15 owns, controls, or maintains a pool shall completely enclose the
8-16 pool yard with a pool yard enclosure.
8-17 (b) The height of the pool yard enclosure must be at least
8-18 48 inches as measured from the ground on the side away from the
8-19 pool.
8-20 (c) Openings under the pool yard enclosure may not allow a
8-21 sphere four inches in diameter to pass under the pool yard
8-22 enclosure.
8-23 (d) If the pool yard enclosure is constructed with
8-24 horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the tops
8-25 of the horizontal members is at least 45 inches, the openings may
9-1 not allow a sphere four inches in diameter to pass through the
9-2 enclosure.
9-3 (e) If the pool yard enclosure is constructed with
9-4 horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the tops
9-5 of the horizontal members is less than 45 inches, the openings may
9-6 not allow a sphere 1-3/4 inches in diameter to pass through the
9-7 enclosure.
9-8 (f) The use of chain link fencing materials is prohibited
9-9 entirely for a new pool yard enclosure that is constructed after
9-10 January 1, 1994. The use of diagonal fencing members that are
9-11 lower than 49 inches above the ground is prohibited for a new pool
9-12 yard enclosure that is constructed after January 1, 1994.
9-13 (g) Decorative designs or cutouts on or in the pool yard
9-14 enclosure may not contain any openings greater than 1-3/4 inches in
9-15 any direction.
9-16 (h) Indentations or protrusions in a solid pool yard
9-17 enclosure without any openings may not be greater than normal
9-18 construction tolerances and tooled masonry joints on the side away
9-19 from the pool.
9-20 (i) Permanent equipment or structures may not be constructed
9-21 or placed in a manner that makes them readily available for
9-22 climbing over the pool yard enclosure.
9-23 (j) The wall of a building may be part of the pool yard
9-24 enclosure only if the doors and windows in the wall comply with
9-25 Sections 757.006 and 757.007.
10-1 (k) The owner of a multiunit rental complex with a pool or a
10-2 property owners association that owns, controls, or maintains a
10-3 pool is not required to:
10-4 (1) build a pool yard enclosure at specified locations
10-5 or distances from the pool other than distances for minimum
10-6 walkways around the pool; or
10-7 (2) conform secondary pool yard enclosures, located
10-8 inside or outside the primary pool yard enclosure, to the
10-9 requirements of this chapter.
10-10 Sec. 757.004. GATES. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
10-11 Section 757.005, a gate in a fence or wall enclosing a pool yard as
10-12 required by Section 757.003 must:
10-13 (1) have a self-closing and self-latching device;
10-14 (2) have hardware enabling it to be locked, at the
10-15 option of whoever controls the gate, by a padlock or a built-in
10-16 lock operated by key, card, or combination; and
10-17 (3) open outward away from the pool yard.
10-18 (b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c) and
10-19 Section 757.005, a gate latch must be installed so that it is at
10-20 least 60 inches above the ground, except that it may be installed
10-21 lower if:
10-22 (1) the latch is installed on the pool yard side of
10-23 the gate only and is at least three inches below the top of the
10-24 gate; and
10-25 (2) the gate or enclosure has no opening greater than
11-1 one-half inch in any direction within 18 inches from the latch,
11-2 including the space between the gate and the gate post to which the
11-3 gate latches.
11-4 (c) A gate latch may be located 42 inches or higher above
11-5 the ground if the gate cannot be opened except by key, card, or
11-6 combination on both sides of the gate.
11-7 Sec. 757.005. EXISTING POOL YARD ENCLOSURES. (a) If a pool
11-8 yard enclosure is constructed or modified before January 1, 1994,
11-9 and no municipal ordinance containing standards for pool yard
11-10 enclosures were applicable at the time of construction or
11-11 modification, the enclosure must comply with the requirements of
11-12 Sections 757.003 and 757.004, except that:
11-13 (1) if the enclosure is constructed with chain link
11-14 metal fencing material, the openings in the enclosure may not allow
11-15 a sphere 2-1/4 inches in diameter to pass through the enclosure; or
11-16 (2) if the enclosure is constructed with horizontal
11-17 and vertical members and the distance between the tops of the
11-18 horizontal members is at least 36 inches, the openings in the
11-19 enclosure may not allow a sphere four inches in diameter to pass
11-20 through the enclosure.
11-21 (b) If a pool yard enclosure is constructed or modified
11-22 before January 1, 1994, and if the enclosure is in compliance with
11-23 applicable municipal ordinances existing on January 1, 1994, and
11-24 containing standards for pool yard enclosures, Sections 757.003,
11-25 757.004(a)(3), and 757.004(b) do not apply to the enclosure.
12-1 Sec. 757.006. DOOR. (a) A door, sliding glass door, or
12-2 French door may not open directly into a pool yard if the date of
12-3 electrical service for initial construction of the building or pool
12-4 is on or after January 1, 1994.
12-5 (b) A door, sliding glass door, or French door may open
12-6 directly into a pool yard if the date of electrical service for
12-7 initial construction of the building or pool is before January 1,
12-8 1994, and the pool yard enclosure complies with Subsection (c),
12-9 (d), or (e), as applicable.
12-10 (c) If a door of a building, other than a sliding glass door
12-11 or screen door, opens into the pool yard, the door must have a:
12-12 (1) latch that automatically engages when the door is
12-13 closed;
12-14 (2) spring-loaded door-hinge pin, automatic door
12-15 closer, or similar device to cause the door to close automatically;
12-16 and
12-17 (3) keyless bolting device that is installed not less
12-18 than 36 inches or more than 48 inches above the interior floor.
12-19 (d) If French doors of a building open to the pool yard, one
12-20 of the French doors must comply with Subsection (c)(1) and the
12-21 other door must have:
12-22 (1) a keyed dead bolt or keyless bolting device
12-23 capable of insertion into the doorjamb above the door, and a
12-24 keyless bolting device capable of insertion into the floor or
12-25 threshold; or
13-1 (2) a bolt with at least a 3/4-inch throw installed
13-2 inside the door and operated from the edge of the door that is
13-3 capable of insertion into the doorjamb above the door and another
13-4 bolt with at least a 3/4-inch throw installed inside the door and
13-5 operated from the edge of the door that is capable of insertion
13-6 into the floor or threshold.
13-7 (e) If a sliding glass door of a building opens into the
13-8 pool yard, the sliding glass door must have:
13-9 (1) a sliding door handle latch or sliding door
13-10 security bar that is installed not more than 48 inches above the
13-11 interior floor; and
13-12 (2) a sliding door pin lock that is installed not more
13-13 than 48 inches above the interior floor.
13-14 (f) A door, sliding glass door, or French door that opens
13-15 into a pool yard from an area of a building that is not used by
13-16 residents and that has no access to an area outside the pool yard
13-17 is not required to have a lock, latch, dead bolt, or keyless
13-18 bolting device.
13-19 (g) A keyed dead bolt, keyless bolting device, sliding door
13-20 pin lock, or sliding door security bar installed before
13-21 September 1, 1993, may be installed not more than 54 inches from
13-22 the floor.
13-23 (h) A keyed dead bolt or keyless dead bolt, as described by
13-24 Section 757.001(6)(A)(i), installed in a dwelling on or after
13-25 September 1, 1993, must have a bolt with a throw of not less than
14-1 one inch.
14-2 Sec. 757.007. WINDOW AND WINDOW SCREENS. A wall of a
14-3 building constructed before January 1, 1994, may not be used as
14-4 part of a pool yard enclosure unless each window in the wall has a
14-5 latch and unless each window screen on a window in the wall is
14-6 affixed by a window screen latch, screws, or similar means. This
14-7 section does not require the installation of window screens. A
14-8 wall of a building constructed on or after January 1, 1994, may not
14-9 be used as part of a pool yard enclosure unless each ground floor
14-10 window in the wall is permanently closed and unable to be opened.
14-11 Sec. 757.008. BUILDING IN POOL YARD. Each door, sliding
14-12 glass door, window, and window screen of each dwelling unit in a
14-13 residential building located in the enclosed pool yard must comply
14-14 with Sections 757.006 and 757.007.
14-15 Sec. 757.009. INSPECTION, REPAIR, AND MAINTENANCE. (a) An
14-16 owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental dwelling in a
14-17 condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a pool or a
14-18 property owners association that owns, controls, or maintains a
14-19 pool shall exercise ordinary and reasonable care to inspect,
14-20 maintain, repair, and keep in good working order the pool yard
14-21 enclosures, gates, and self-closing and self-latching devices
14-22 required by this chapter and within the control of the owner or
14-23 property owners association.
14-24 (b) An owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental
14-25 dwelling in a condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a
15-1 pool or a property owners association that owns, controls, or
15-2 maintains a pool shall exercise ordinary and reasonable care to
15-3 maintain, repair, and keep in good working order the window
15-4 latches, sliding door handle latches, sliding door pin locks, and
15-5 sliding door security bars required by this chapter and within the
15-6 control of the owner or property owners association after request
15-7 or notice from the tenant that those devices are malfunctioning or
15-8 in need of repair or replacement. A request or notice under this
15-9 subsection may be given orally unless a written lease applicable to
15-10 the tenant or written rules governing the property owners
15-11 association require the request or notice to be in writing. The
15-12 requirement in the lease or rules must be in capital letters and
15-13 underlined or in 10-point boldfaced print.
15-14 (c) An owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental
15-15 dwelling in a condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a
15-16 pool or a property owners association that owns, controls, or
15-17 maintains a pool shall inspect the pool yard enclosures, gates, and
15-18 self-closing and self-latching devices on gates no less than once
15-19 every 31 days.
15-20 (d) An owner's or property owners association's duty of
15-21 inspection, repair, and maintenance under this section may not be
15-22 waived under any circumstances and may not be enlarged except by
15-23 written agreement with a tenant or occupant of a multiunit rental
15-24 complex or a member of a property owners association or as may be
15-25 otherwise allowed by this chapter.
16-1 Sec. 757.010. COMPLIANCE WITH CHAPTER. (a) Except as
16-2 provided by Subsection (b) and Section 757.011, a person who
16-3 constructs or modifies a pool yard enclosure to conform with this
16-4 chapter may not be required to construct the enclosure differently
16-5 by a local governmental entity, common law, or any other law.
16-6 (b) An owner of a multiunit rental complex or a rental
16-7 dwelling in a condominium, cooperative, or town home project with a
16-8 pool or a property owners association that owns, controls, or
16-9 maintains a pool may, at the person's option, exceed the standards
16-10 of this chapter or those adopted by the Texas Board of Health under
16-11 Section 757.011. A tenant or occupant in a multiunit rental
16-12 complex and a member of a property owners association may, by
16-13 express written agreement, require the owner of the complex or the
16-14 association to exceed those standards.
16-15 (c) A municipality may continue to require greater overall
16-16 height requirements for pool yard enclosures if the requirements
16-17 exist under the municipality's ordinances on January 1, 1994.
16-18 Sec. 757.011. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS BOARD OF HEALTH. The Texas
16-19 Board of Health may adopt rules requiring standards for design and
16-20 construction of pool yard enclosures that exceed the requirements
16-21 of this chapter and that apply to all pools and pool yards subject
16-22 to this chapter. An owner of a multiunit rental complex or a
16-23 rental dwelling in a condominium, cooperative, or town home project
16-24 with a pool or a property owners association that owns, controls,
16-25 or maintains a pool shall comply with and shall be liable for
17-1 failure to comply with those rules to the same extent as if they
17-2 were part of this chapter.
17-3 Sec. 757.012. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A tenant of an owner of a
17-4 multiunit rental complex, a member of a property owners
17-5 association, a governmental entity, or any other person or the
17-6 person's representative may maintain an action against the owner or
17-7 property owners association for failure to comply with the
17-8 requirements of this chapter. In that action, the person may
17-9 obtain:
17-10 (1) a court order directing the owner or property
17-11 owners association to comply with this chapter;
17-12 (2) a judgment against the owner or property owners
17-13 association for actual damages resulting from the failure to comply
17-14 with the requirements of this chapter;
17-15 (3) a judgment against the owner or property owners
17-16 association for punitive damages resulting from the failure to
17-17 comply with the requirements of this chapter if the actual damages
17-18 to the person were caused by the owner's or property owners
17-19 association's intentional, malicious, or grossly negligent actions;
17-20 (4) a judgment against the owner or property owners
17-21 association for actual damages, and if appropriate, punitive
17-22 damages, where the owner or association was in compliance with this
17-23 chapter at the time of the pool-related damaging event but was
17-24 consciously indifferent to access being repeatedly gained to the
17-25 pool yard by unauthorized persons; or
18-1 (5) a judgment against the owner or property owners
18-2 association for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 if the
18-3 owner or property owners association fails to comply with this
18-4 chapter within a reasonable time after written notice by a tenant
18-5 of the multiunit rental complex or a member of the property owners
18-6 association.
18-7 (b) A court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to
18-8 the prevailing party in an action brought under Subsection (a)(5).
18-9 (c) The attorney general, a local health department, a
18-10 municipality, or a county having jurisdiction may enforce this
18-11 chapter by any lawful means, including inspections, permits, fees,
18-12 civil fines, criminal prosecutions, injunctions, and, after
18-13 required notice, governmental construction or repair of pool yard
18-14 enclosures that do not exist or that do not comply with this
18-15 chapter.
18-16 Sec. 757.013. TENANT'S REQUEST FOR REPAIRS. A tenant in a
18-17 multiunit rental complex with a pool may verbally request repair of
18-18 a keyed dead bolt, keyless bolting device, sliding door latch,
18-19 sliding door pin lock, sliding door security bar, window latch, or
18-20 window screen latch unless a provision of a written lease executed
18-21 by the tenant requires that the request be made in writing and the
18-22 provision is in capital letters and underlined or in 10-point
18-23 boldfaced print. A request for repair may be given to the owner or
18-24 the owner's managing agent.
18-25 Sec. 757.014. APPLICATION TO OTHER BODIES OF WATER AND
19-1 RELATED FACILITIES. The owner of a multiunit rental complex or a
19-2 property owners association is not required to enclose a body of
19-3 water or construct barriers between the owner's or property owners
19-4 association's property and a body of water such as an ocean, bay,
19-5 lake, pond, bayou, river, creek, stream, spring, reservoir, stock
19-6 tank, culvert, drainage ditch, detention pond, or other flood or
19-7 drainage facility.
19-8 Sec. 757.015. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. (a) The duties
19-9 established by this chapter for an owner of a multiunit dwelling
19-10 project, an owner of a dwelling in a condominium, cooperative, or
19-11 town home project, and a property owners association supersede
19-12 those established by common law, the Property Code, the Health and
19-13 Safety Code, the Local Government Code other than Section 214.101,
19-14 and local ordinances relating to duties to inspect, install,
19-15 repair, or maintain:
19-16 (1) pool yard enclosures;
19-17 (2) pool yard enclosure gates and gate latches,
19-18 including self-closing and self-latching devices;
19-19 (3) keyed dead bolts, keyless bolting devices, sliding
19-20 door handle latches, sliding door security bars, self-latching and
19-21 self-closing devices, and sliding door pin locks on doors that open
19-22 into a pool yard area and that are owned and controlled by the
19-23 owner or property owners association; and
19-24 (4) latches on windows that open into a pool yard area
19-25 and that are owned and controlled by the owner or property owners
20-1 association.
20-2 (b) This chapter does not affect any duties of a rental
20-3 dwelling owner, lessor, sublessor, management company, or managing
20-4 agent under Subchapter D, Chapter 92, Property Code.
20-5 Sec. 757.016. NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDIES. The remedies contained
20-6 in this chapter are not exclusive and are not intended to affect
20-7 existing remedies allowed by law or other procedure.
20-8 Sec. 757.017. INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION. The
20-9 provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote
20-10 its underlying purpose which is to prevent swimming pool deaths and
20-11 injuries in this state.
20-12 SECTION 3. Section 1 of this Act takes effect on
20-13 September 1, 1993. Section 2 of this Act takes effect on
20-14 January 1, 1994.
20-15 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
20-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
20-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
20-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
20-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.