By Solomons                                           H.B. No. 1551
         76R517 JD-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the transportation of and certain ad valorem tax liens
 1-3     on manufactured homes; providing a penalty.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 19(d), Texas Manufactured Housing
 1-6     Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is
 1-7     amended to read as follows:
 1-8           (d)  The department may not refuse to issue a document of
 1-9     title, and may not suspend or revoke a document of title, unless:
1-10                 (1)  the application contains any false or fraudulent
1-11     statement, the applicant has failed to furnish information required
1-12     by the director, or the applicant is not lawfully entitled to the
1-13     issuance of a document of title;
1-14                 (2)  the director has reasonable basis to believe that
1-15     the manufactured home has been stolen or unlawfully converted, or
1-16     the issuance of a document of title would constitute a fraud
1-17     against the rightful owner or a lienholder;
1-18                 (3)  the director has reasonable basis to believe that
1-19     the manufactured home is "salvaged" as defined in Section 8 of this
1-20     Act and a salvage title has not been applied for;
1-21                 (4)  the required fee has not been paid;
1-22                 (5)  the state sales and use tax has not been paid in
1-23     accordance with the provisions of Chapter 158, Tax Code, and its
1-24     subsequent amendments, and Subsection (j) of this section; or
 2-1                 (6)  a local tax lien was [has been] filed before
 2-2     September 1, 1999, and recorded pursuant to Section 32.015,
 2-3     [Property] Tax Code, as that section existed on the date the lien
 2-4     was filed, and that lien has not been extinguished.
 2-5           SECTION 2.  Section 32.015, Tax Code, is amended to read as
 2-6     follows:
 2-7           Sec. 32.015.  [RECORDING] TAX LIEN ON MANUFACTURED HOME.  (a)
 2-8     [The collector for a taxing unit may file notice of the unit's tax
 2-9     lien on a manufactured home with the department if the tax has not
2-10     been paid by January 31 of the year following the year for which
2-11     the tax is imposed. The notice must include:]
2-12                 [(1)  the name and address of the owner of the
2-13     manufactured home; and]
2-14                 [(2)  the amount of tax owed, the tax year for which
2-15     the tax was imposed, and the name of the taxing unit that imposed
2-16     the tax; and]
2-17                 [(3)  the complete identification number or serial
2-18     number of the manufactured home, or the Department of Housing and
2-19     Urban Development label number or state seal number.]
2-20           [(b)  The collector may simultaneously file notice of tax
2-21     liens of all the taxing units served by the collector.  However,
2-22     notice of any lien for taxes for the prior calendar year must be
2-23     filed with the department prior to September 1 of the following
2-24     year.  Any lien for which the notice is not filed by such date is
2-25     extinguished and is not enforceable.]
2-26           [(c)  If the complete identification or serial number or the
2-27     Department of Housing and Urban Development label number or state
 3-1     seal number of the home on the tax lien notice matches that of a
 3-2     title of record, the department shall record the tax lien on the
 3-3     title records of the manufactured home.  Simultaneously with the
 3-4     recording of a tax lien, the department must mail a notice of the
 3-5     tax lien to any other lienholders of record.]
 3-6           [(d)  The department shall record the tax lien under
 3-7     Subsection (c) even if the person listed as the owner on the
 3-8     department's title records is not the person who owned the
 3-9     manufactured home on the date that the tax was imposed.  Recording
3-10     of the tax lien does not invalidate a title document or a
3-11     certificate of title for the manufactured home that was previously
3-12     issued by the department.]
3-13           [(e)  For all manufactured homes sold, or to which ownership
3-14     is transferred, after December 31, 1985, the recording of a tax
3-15     lien under this section constitutes constructive notice of the
3-16     existence of the tax lien to all purchasers of the manufactured
3-17     home who purchase it after the date of recordation of the lien and
3-18     before a tax certificate or paid tax receipt is filed pursuant to
3-19     Subsection (g).]
3-20           [(f)  When the ownership of a manufactured home is
3-21     transferred, the subsequent owner and the lienholder of the home is
3-22     considered to have notice of the ad valorem taxes imposed on the
3-23     home for the current tax year or for the previous tax year if the
3-24     time for filing a notice of a tax lien under Subsection (b) has not
3-25     expired.]
3-26           [(g)]  On payment of the taxes, penalties, and interest for a
3-27     year for which a valid tax lien filed before September 1, 1999, has
 4-1     been recorded on the title records of the department, the collector
 4-2     for the taxing unit shall issue a tax certificate showing no taxes
 4-3     due or a tax paid receipt for such year to the person making
 4-4     payment.  When the tax certificate showing no taxes due or tax paid
 4-5     receipt is filed with the department, the tax lien is extinguished
 4-6     and canceled and shall be removed from the title records of the
 4-7     manufactured home.  The collector for a taxing unit may not refuse
 4-8     to issue a tax paid receipt to the person who offers to pay the
 4-9     taxes, penalties, and interest for a particular year or years, even
4-10     though taxes may also be due for another year or other years.
4-11           (b) [(h)  If a manufactured home for which a notice of a tax
4-12     lien is timely filed does not have a title recorded on the records
4-13     of the department, the tax lien is not extinguished and is
4-14     enforceable.]
4-15           [(i)]  In this section, "department[,]" ["label," "seal,"]
4-16     and "manufactured home" have the meanings assigned by Section 3,
4-17     Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's
4-18     Texas Civil Statutes);  however, the term "manufactured home" does
4-19     not include a manufactured home that has been attached to real
4-20     property and for which the document of title has been canceled
4-21     under Section 19(l) of that Act.
4-22           SECTION 3.  Section 32.03(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as
4-23     follows:
4-24           (b)  A bona fide purchaser for value or the holder of a lien
4-25     recorded on the manufactured home document of title is not required
4-26     to pay any taxes imposed in a tax year that begins before January
4-27     1, 1999, or[,] penalties[,] or interest on those taxes except for
 5-1     each year [those years] for which a valid tax lien was [has been]
 5-2     duly filed and recorded under Section 32.015, as that section
 5-3     existed on the date the lien was filed, [of this code] and each
 5-4     year [those years] for which the owner of the manufactured home had
 5-5     [has] constructive notice of the taxes under Section 32.015(e), as
 5-6     that section existed before September 1, 1999 [of this code].  The
 5-7     effect and priority of a tax lien that attaches to secure the
 5-8     payment of taxes imposed on a manufactured home in a tax year that
 5-9     begins on or after January 1, 1999, are those established by
5-10     Sections 32.01 and 32.05.  In this section, "manufactured home" has
5-11     the meaning assigned by Section 32.015(b) [32.015(i) of this code].
5-12           SECTION 4.  Section 623.093, Transportation Code, is amended
5-13     by repealing Subsections (d) and (e), as added by Chapter 791, Acts
5-14     of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, and adding a new
5-15     Subsection (e) to read as follows:
5-16           (e)  If the application is for a permit to transport a
5-17     manufactured house from a location other than the location of the
5-18     manufacturer or from the location of the retailer of the
5-19     manufactured house pursuant to the original sale, exchange, or
5-20     lease-purchase of the manufactured house to a consumer, the
5-21     application for a permit must be accompanied by a certificate from
5-22     the tax assessor-collector for each taxing unit in which the
5-23     manufactured house is located that states that there are no unpaid
5-24     ad valorem taxes on the manufactured house due that taxing unit.
5-25     If the manufactured house is not listed on the most recent tax roll
5-26     of each taxing unit in which the manufactured house is located, the
5-27     application for the permit must be accompanied by:
 6-1                 (1)  evidence satisfactory to the department showing
 6-2     that the manufactured house was moved into that taxing unit after
 6-3     January 1 of the current year; or
 6-4                 (2)  a certificate from the appraisal district for the
 6-5     county in which the manufactured house is located that states that
 6-6     the owner of the manufactured house or another person has provided
 6-7     that appraisal district with information sufficient to list the
 6-8     manufactured house in the supplemental appraisal records of that
 6-9     appraisal district.  In this subsection, "consumer,"
6-10     "manufacturer," and "retailer" have the meanings assigned by the
6-11     Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon's
6-12     Texas Civil Statutes).
6-13           SECTION 5.  Section 623.104, Transportation Code, is amended
6-14     by amending Subsection (a)  and adding Subsection (d) to read as
6-15     follows:
6-16           (a)  A person commits an offense if the person violates this
6-17     subchapter.  An offense under this subsection is a Class C
6-18     misdemeanor, except as provided by Subsection (d).
6-19           (d)  If the offense involves the movement of a manufactured
6-20     house over a highway, road, or street in this state without a
6-21     permit issued by the department, the offense is a misdemeanor
6-22     punishable by a fine of $500.  If the peace officer who arrested or
6-23     issued a citation to the defendant was employed by a law
6-24     enforcement agency of a municipality or a county,  a fine imposed
6-25     under this subsection and deposited in the treasury of the
6-26     municipality or county may be appropriated only to that law
6-27     enforcement agency.
 7-1           SECTION 6.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 7-2           (b)  The changes in law made by this Act to Section 623.093,
 7-3     Transportation Code, apply only to an application for a permit
 7-4     under that section that is filed on or after September 1, 1999.  An
 7-5     application for a permit under Section 623.093, Transportation
 7-6     Code, that was filed before September 1, 1999, is governed by the
 7-7     law in effect on the date the application was filed, and the former
 7-8     law is continued in effect for that purpose.
 7-9           (c)  The changes in law made by this Act to Section 623.104,
7-10     Transportation Code, apply only to an offense committed under that
7-11     section on or after September 1, 1999.  An offense under Section
7-12     623.104, Transportation Code, committed before September 1, 1999,
7-13     is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
7-14     committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
7-15     purpose.  For purposes of this subsection, an offense was committed
7-16     before September 1, 1999, if any element of the offense occurred
7-17     before that date.
7-18           SECTION 7.  The importance of this legislation and the
7-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.