Amend CSSB 370 in Article 1 of the bill by adding a new
appropriately numbered section to read as follows and by
renumbering the existing sections as appropriate:
      SECTION 1.____.  (a)  Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Property
Code, is amended by adding Section 21.0195 to read as follows:
      Sec. 21.0195.  DISMISSAL OF CERTAIN CONDEMNATION PROCEEDINGS;
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.  (a)  This section applies only
to the dismissal of a condemnation proceeding that involves the
Texas Department of Transportation.
      (b)  The department may move to dismiss a proceeding it
files, and the court shall conduct a hearing on the motion. The
court may grant the motion only if the court determines that the
property owner's interest will not be materially affected by the
dismissal. The department may not dismiss the condemnation
proceedings merely to institute new proceedings that involve
substantially the same condemnation against the same property owner
solely to obtain a lower condemnation award.
      (c)  If a court dismisses a condemnation proceeding, the
court shall make an allowance to the property owner for the value
of the department's use of the property while in possession of the
property, any damage that the condemnation has caused to the
property owner, and any expenses the property owner has incurred in
connection with the condemnation, including reasonable and
necessary fees for attorneys.
      (b)  The changes in law made by this section apply only to
dismissal of a condemnation proceeding for which a motion is made
on or after the effective date of this section. Dismissal of a
condemnation proceeding for which a motion is made before the
effective date of this section is governed by the law in effect at
the time the motion was made, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.