1-1     By:  Marchant (Senate Sponsor - Carona)               H.B. No. 1995
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 30, 2001;
 1-3     April 30, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Business and Commerce; May 10, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 10, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to encumbrances that may be fixed on homestead property.
 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 41.001(b), Property Code, is amended to
1-11     read as follows:
1-12           (b)  Encumbrances may be properly fixed on homestead property
1-13     for:
1-14                 (1)  purchase money;
1-15                 (2)  taxes on the property;
1-16                 (3)  work and material used in constructing
1-17     improvements on the property if contracted for in writing as
1-18     provided by Sections 53.254(a), (b), and (c);
1-19                 (4)  an owelty of partition imposed against the
1-20     entirety of the property by a court order or by a written agreement
1-21     of the parties to the partition, including a debt of one spouse in
1-22     favor of the other spouse resulting from a division or an award of
1-23     a family homestead in a divorce proceeding; [or]
1-24                 (5)  the refinance of a lien against a homestead,
1-25     including a federal tax lien resulting from the tax debt of both
1-26     spouses, if the homestead is a family homestead, or from the tax
1-27     debt of the owner;
1-28                 (6)  an extension of credit that meets the requirements
1-29     of Section 50(a)(6), Article XVI, Texas Constitution; or
1-30                 (7)  a reverse mortgage that meets the requirements of
1-31     Sections 50(k)-(p), Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
1-32           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-33                                  * * * * *