By:  Farrar                                                       H.B. No. 1129



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to enforcement of certain types of restrictions in certain 
municipalities.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 212.132, Local Government Code, as 
redesignated by Chapter 1420, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular 
Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 212.132.  DEFINITION.  In this subchapter, 
"restriction" means a land-use regulation [limitation] that:
		(1)  affects the character of the use to which real 
property, including residential and rental property, may be put;
		(2)  fixes the distance that a structure must be set 
back from property lines, street lines, or lot lines;  [or]
		(3)  affects the size of a lot or the size, type, and 
number of structures that may be built on the lot;
		(4)  regulates or restricts the type of activities that 
may take place on the property, including commercial activities, 
keeping of animals, use of fire, nuisance activities, vehicle 
storage, and parking;
		(5)  regulates architectural features of a structure, 
construction of fences, landscaping, garbage disposal, or noise 
levels; or
		(6)  specifies the type of maintenance that must be 
performed on a lot or structure, including maintenance of a yard or 
fence.
	SECTION 2.  Section 212.133, Local Government Code, as 
redesignated by Chapter 1420, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular 
Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 212.133.  SUIT TO ENFORCE RESTRICTIONS.  (a)  Except as 
provided by Subsection (b), the [The] municipality may sue in any 
court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin or abate a violation of a 
restriction contained or incorporated by reference in a properly 
recorded plan, plat, or other instrument that affects a subdivision 
located inside the boundaries of the municipality.
	(b)  The municipality may not initiate or maintain a suit to 
enjoin or abate a violation of a restriction if a property owners' 
association with the authority to enforce the restriction files 
suit to enforce the restriction.
	(c)  In a suit by a property owners' association to enforce a 
restriction, the association may not submit into evidence or 
otherwise use the work product of the municipality's legal counsel.
	SECTION 3.  Section 212.133, Local Government Code, as 
redesignated by Chapter 1420, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular 
Session, 2001, and amended by this Act, applies only to a suit filed 
on or after the effective date of this Act.  A suit filed before the 
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect 
immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect 
for that purpose.
	SECTION 4.  Subchapter E, Chapter 212, Local Government 
Code, as redesignated by Chapter 1420, Acts of the 77th 
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended by adding Section 
212.1335 to read as follows:
	Sec. 212.1335.  FORECLOSURE BY PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION.  
(a) A municipality may not participate in a suit or other proceeding 
to foreclose a property owners' association's lien on real 
property.
	(b)  In a suit or other proceeding to foreclose a property 
owners' association's lien on real property in the subdivision, the 
association may not submit into evidence or otherwise use the work 
product of the municipality's legal counsel.
	SECTION 5.  Section 212.1335, Local Government Code, as 
added by this Act, applies only to a suit filed on or after the 
effective date of this Act.  A suit filed before the effective date 
of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that 
date, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.