1-1 By: Williams (Senate Sponsor - Bernsen) H.B. No. 3407 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 1999; 1-3 May 14, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on State 1-4 Affairs; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: 1-5 Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to applying the open meetings and open records laws to 1-9 certain property owners' associations. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 551, Government Code, is 1-12 amended by adding Section 551.0015 to read as follows: 1-13 Sec. 551.0015. CERTAIN PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATIONS SUBJECT 1-14 TO LAW. (a) A property owners' association is subject to this 1-15 chapter in the same manner as a governmental body if: 1-16 (1) membership in the property owners' association is 1-17 mandatory for owners or for a defined class of owners of private 1-18 real property in a defined geographic area in a county with a 1-19 population of 2.8 million or more or in a county adjacent to a 1-20 county with a population of 2.8 million or more; 1-21 (2) the property owners' association has the power to 1-22 make mandatory special assessments for capital improvements or 1-23 mandatory regular assessments; and 1-24 (3) the amount of the mandatory special or regular 1-25 assessments is or has ever been based in whole or in part on the 1-26 value at which the state or a local governmental body assesses the 1-27 property for purposes of ad valorem taxation under Section 20, 1-28 Article VIII, Texas Constitution. 1-29 (b) The governing body of the association, a committee of 1-30 the association, and members of the governing body or of a 1-31 committee of the association are subject to this chapter in the 1-32 same manner as the governing body of a governmental body, a 1-33 committee of a governmental body, and members of the governing body 1-34 or of a committee of the governmental body. 1-35 SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 552, Government Code, is 1-36 amended by adding Section 552.0035 to read as follows: 1-37 Sec. 552.0035. CERTAIN PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATIONS SUBJECT 1-38 TO LAW. A property owners' association is subject to this chapter 1-39 in the same manner as a governmental body if: 1-40 (1) membership in the property owners' association is 1-41 mandatory for owners or for a defined class of owners of private 1-42 real property in a defined geographic area in a county with a 1-43 population of 2.8 million or more or in a county adjacent to a 1-44 county with a population of 2.8 million or more; 1-45 (2) the property owners' association has the power to 1-46 make mandatory special assessments for capital improvements or 1-47 mandatory regular assessments; and 1-48 (3) the amount of the mandatory special or regular 1-49 assessments is or has ever been based in whole or in part on the 1-50 value at which the state or a local governmental body assesses the 1-51 property for purposes of ad valorem taxation under Section 20, 1-52 Article VIII, Texas Constitution. 1-53 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. Section 1-54 551.0015, Government Code, as added by this Act, applies only in 1-55 relation to a meeting of a property owners' association held on or 1-56 after that date. 1-57 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 1-58 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-59 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-60 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-61 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 1-62 * * * * *