HBA-NLM C.S.H.B. 2823 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2823 By: Gray Land & Resource Management 5/10/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the provisions allowing a county to engage the services of a real estate broker are ambiguous as to whether or not the county can avoid the competitive bid statute by using the services of the real estate broker. The use of such a process might be an alternative to a pubic auction. C.S.H.B. 2823 authorizes the commissioners court of a county to contract with a real estate broker, rather than a person licensed under The Real Estate License Act, Article 6573a, V.T.C.S., to sell a tract of real property that is owned by the county. This bill authorizes the commissioners court, on or after the 30th day after the date the property is listed, to sell the tract of real property to a ready, willing, and able buyer produced by any real estate broker using the multiple-listing service and who submits the highest cash offer. In addition, this bill authorizes the commissioners court to sell a tract of real property under this section without complying with the requirements for conducting a public auction. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 263.008, Local Government Code, as follows: Sec. 263.008. New title: REAL ESTATE BROKER AGREEMENTS AND FEES FOR THE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY. (a) Defines "real estate broker." (b) Authorizes the commissioners court of a county to contract with a real estate broker, rather than a person licensed under The Real Estate License Act, Article 6573a, V.T.C.S., to sell a tract of real property that is owned by the county. (c) Redesignated from existing Subsection (b). Authorizes the commissioners court of a county to pay a fee if a real estate broker, rather than a person licensed under The Real Estate License Act, Article 6573a, V.T.C.S., produces a ready, willing and able buyer to purchase a tract of real property. (d) Authorizes the commissioners court, on or after the 30th day after the date the property is listed, to sell the tract of real property to a ready, willing, and able buyer produced by any real estate broker using the multiple-listing service and who submits the highest cash offer, if a contract made under Subsection (b) requires a real estate broker to list the tract of real property for sale for at least 30 days with a multiple-listing service used by other real estate brokers in the county. (e) Authorizes the commissioners court to sell a tract of real property under this section without complying with the requirements for conducting a public auction. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2823 modifies the original in SECTION 1 (Section 263.008, Local Government Code) by changing the section title to read "Real Estate Broker Agreements and Fees For the Sale of Real Property," rather than "Realtor Agreements and Fees For the Sale of Real Property." The substitute defines "real estate broker," rather than "realtor." The substitute modifies proposed Subsection (d) to authorize the commissioners court, on or after the 30th day after the date the property is listed, to sell the tract of real property to a ready, willing, and able buyer produced by any real estate broker using the multiple-listing service and who submits the highest cash offer, if a contract made under Subsection (b) requires a real estate broker to list the tract of real property for sale for at least 30 days with a multiple-listing service used by other real estate brokers in the county. The substitute adds the 30-day time limit and the provision that the property be sold to the person who submits the highest cash offer. The substitute modifies Subsection (e) to authorize the commissioners court to sell a tract of real property under this section without complying with the requirements for conducting a public auction, including the requirements of Section 263.001. The original bill authorized that action without compliance with the requirement for notice and bidding and made reference to requirements in Section 272.001. In additions, the substitute makes conforming changes to Subsections (b)-(e). C.S.H.B. 2823 removes SECTION 2 of the original, which amended Section 272.001(a), Local Government Code, Section 263.008 in the list of exceptions provided by this section. C.S.H.B. 2823 redesignates SECTION 3 (emergency clause) from the original to new SECTION 2 in the substitute.