By Ellis, et al.                                S.J.R. No. 38

      75R8535 PAM-D                           

                                 A JOINT RESOLUTION

 1-1     proposing a constitutional amendment permitting an encumbrance to

 1-2     be fixed on homestead property for an obligation to pay  certain

 1-3     property owners' association fees without permitting the forced

 1-4     sale of the homestead.

 1-5           BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Section 50, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is

 1-7     amended to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 50.  (a)  The homestead of a family, or of a single

 1-9     adult person, shall be, and is hereby protected  from forced sale,

1-10     for the payment of all debts except for:

1-11                 (1)  the purchase money thereof, or a part of such

1-12     purchase money;

1-13                 (2)  [,] the taxes due thereon;

1-14                 (3)  [,] an owelty of partition imposed against the

1-15     entirety of the property by a court order or by a written agreement

1-16     of the parties to the partition, including a debt of one spouse in

1-17     favor of the other spouse resulting from a division or an award of

1-18     a family homestead in a divorce proceeding;

1-19                 (4)  [,] the refinance of a lien against a homestead,

1-20     including a federal tax lien resulting from the tax debt of both

1-21     spouses, if the homestead is a family homestead, or from the tax

1-22     debt of the owner;[,] or

1-23                 (5)  [for] work and material used in constructing

1-24     improvements thereon[, and in this last case] only when the work

 2-1     and material are contracted for in writing, with the consent of

 2-2     both spouses, in the case of a family homestead, given in the same

 2-3     manner as is required in making a sale and conveyance of the

 2-4     homestead.

 2-5           (b)  The [; nor may the] owner or claimant of the property

 2-6     claimed as homestead, if married, may not sell or abandon the

 2-7     homestead  without the consent of the other spouse, given in such

 2-8     manner as may be prescribed by law.

 2-9           (c)  An obligation to pay property owners' association fees

2-10     for maintenance and ownership of common facilities and services is

2-11     a debt for which an encumbrance may be fixed on homestead property.

2-12     The homestead, however, is protected from forced sale for the

2-13     payment of a debt described by this subsection.

2-14           (d)  No mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the homestead

2-15     shall ever be valid, except for a debt described by this section,

2-16     whether such mortgage, or trust deed, or other lien, shall have

2-17     been created by the owner alone, or together with his or her

2-18     spouse, in case the owner is married.

2-19           (e)  All pretended sales of the homestead involving any

2-20     condition of defeasance shall be void.

2-21           (f)  A purchaser or lender for value without actual knowledge

2-22     may conclusively rely on an affidavit that designates other

2-23     property as the homestead of the affiant and that states that the

2-24     property to be conveyed or encumbered is not the homestead of the

2-25     affiant.

2-26           SECTION 2.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be

2-27     submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 1997.

 3-1     The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the

 3-2     proposition:  "The constitutional amendment permitting an

 3-3     encumbrance to be fixed on homestead property for an obligation to

 3-4     pay certain property owners' association fees without permitting

 3-5     the forced sale of the homestead."