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."