S.J.R. No. 46
                                SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
    1-1  proposing a constitutional amendment permitting an encumbrance to
    1-2  be fixed on homestead property for an owelty of partition and the
    1-3  refinance of a lien against a homestead.
    1-4        BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 50, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is
    1-6  amended to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 50.  The homestead of a family, or of a single adult
    1-8  person, shall be, and is hereby protected from forced sale, for the
    1-9  payment of all debts except for the purchase money thereof, or a
   1-10  part of such purchase money, the taxes due thereon, an owelty of
   1-11  partition imposed against the entirety of the property by a court
   1-12  order or by a written agreement of the parties to the partition,
   1-13  including a debt of one spouse in favor of the other spouse
   1-14  resulting from a division or an award of a family homestead in a
   1-15  divorce proceeding, the refinance of a lien against a homestead,
   1-16  including a federal tax lien resulting from the tax debt of both
   1-17  spouses, if the homestead is a family homestead, or from the tax
   1-18  debt of the owner, or for work and material used in constructing
   1-19  improvements thereon, and in this last case only when the work and
   1-20  material are contracted for in writing, with the consent of both
   1-21  spouses, in the case of a family homestead, given in the same
   1-22  manner as is required in making a sale and conveyance of the
   1-23  homestead; nor may the owner or claimant of the property claimed as
   1-24  homestead, if married, sell or abandon the homestead without the
    2-1  consent of the other spouse, given in such manner as may be
    2-2  prescribed by law.  No mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the
    2-3  homestead shall ever be valid, except for a debt described by this
    2-4  section <the purchase money therefor, or improvements made thereon,
    2-5  as hereinbefore provided>, whether such mortgage, or trust deed, or
    2-6  other lien, shall have been created by the owner alone, or together
    2-7  with his or her spouse, in case the owner is married.  All
    2-8  pretended sales of the homestead involving any condition of
    2-9  defeasance shall be void.  A purchaser or lender for value without
   2-10  actual knowledge may conclusively rely on an affidavit that
   2-11  designates other property as the homestead of the affiant and that
   2-12  states that the property to be conveyed or encumbered is not the
   2-13  homestead of the affiant <This amendment shall become effective
   2-14  upon its adoption>.
   2-15        SECTION 2.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
   2-16  submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 1995.
   2-17  The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
   2-18  proposition:  "The constitutional amendment permitting an
   2-19  encumbrance to be fixed on homestead property for an owelty of
   2-20  partition, including a debt of a spouse resulting from a division
   2-21  or award of a homestead in a divorce proceeding, and for the
   2-22  refinance of a lien against a homestead, including a federal tax
   2-23  lien resulting from the tax debt of the owner."