78R14604 JD-F
By: Elkins, Hegar H.B. No. 2176
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2176:
By: McReynolds C.S.H.B. No. 2176
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to ad valorem tax sales of real and personal property
following foreclosure or seizure of the property; authorizing a
sale by on-line auction.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.25, Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 33.25. [NOTICE OF] TAX SALE: NOTICE; METHOD;
DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS. (a) After [Except as provided by
Subsection (c), after] a seizure of personal property, the
collector shall make a reasonable inquiry to determine the identity
and to ascertain the address of any person having an interest in the
property other than the person against whom the tax warrant is
issued. The collector shall provide in writing the name and address
of each other person the collector identifies as having an interest
in the property to the peace officer charged with executing the
warrant. The peace officer shall deliver as soon as possible a
written notice stating the time and place of the sale and briefly
describing the property seized to the person against whom the
warrant is issued and to any other person having an interest in the
property whose name and address the collector provided to the peace
officer. The posting of the notice and the sale of the property
shall be conducted:
(1) in a county other than a county to which
Subdivision (2) applies, by the peace officer in the manner
required for the sale under execution of personal property; or
(2) in a county having a population of three million or
more:
(A) by the peace officer or collector, as
specified in the warrant, in the manner required for the sale under
execution of personal property; or
(B) under an agreement authorized by Subsection
(b).
(b) The commissioners court of a county having a population
of three million or more by official action may authorize a peace
officer or the collector for the county charged with selling
property under this subchapter by public auction to enter into an
agreement with a person who holds an auctioneer's license to
advertise the auction sale of the property and to conduct the
auction sale of the property. The agreement may provide for on-line
bidding and sale.
(c) The commissioners court of a county that authorizes a
peace officer or the collector for the county to enter into an
agreement under Subsection (b) may by official action authorize the
peace officer or collector to enter into an agreement with a service
provider to advertise the auction and to conduct the auction sale of
the property or to accept bids during the auction sale of the
property under Subsection (b) using the Internet.
(d) The terms of an agreement entered into under Subsection
(b) or (c) must be approved in writing by the collector for each
taxing unit entitled to receive proceeds from the sale of the
property. An agreement entered into under Subsection (b) or (c) is
presumed to be commercially reasonable, and the presumption may not
be rebutted by any person.
(e) Failure to send or receive a [the] notice required
[provided] by this section does not affect the validity of the sale
or title to the seized property.
(f) The proceeds of a sale of property under this section
shall be applied to:
(1) any compensation owed to or any expense advanced
by the licensed auctioneer under an agreement entered into under
Subsection (b) or a service provider under an agreement entered
into under Subsection (c);
(2) all usual costs, expenses, and fees of the seizure
and sale, payable to the peace officer conducting the sale;
(3) all additional expenses incurred in advertising
the sale or in removing, storing, preserving, or safeguarding the
seized property pending its sale;
(4) all usual court costs payable to the clerk of the
court that issued the tax warrant; and
(5) taxes, penalties, and interest included in the
application for warrant.
(g) The peace officer or licensed auctioneer conducting the
sale shall pay all proceeds from the sale to the collector
designated in the tax warrant for distribution as required by
Subsection (f).
(h) [(c)] After a seizure of personal property defined by
Sections 33.21(d)(2)-(5), the collector shall apply the seized
property toward the payment of the taxes, penalties, and interest
included in the application for warrant and all costs of the seizure
as required by Subsection (f).
SECTION 2. Sections 34.01(a) and (r), Tax Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) Real property [Property] seized or ordered sold
pursuant to foreclosure of a tax lien shall be sold by the officer
charged with selling the property, unless otherwise directed by the
taxing unit that requested the order of sale or by an authorized
agent or attorney for that unit. The sale shall be conducted in the
manner similar property is sold under execution except as otherwise
provided by this subtitle.
(r) Except as provided by this subsection, a [A] sale of
real property under this section must take place at the county
courthouse in the county in which the land is located. The
commissioners court of the county may designate an [the] area in the
county courthouse or another location in the county where sales
under this section must take place and shall record any designated
area or other location in the real property records of the county.
If the commissioners court designates an area in the courthouse or
another location in the county for sales, a sale must occur in that
area or at that location. If the commissioners court does not
designate an area in the courthouse or another location in the
county for sales, a sale must occur in the same area in the
courthouse that is designated by the commissioners court for the
sale of real property under Section 51.002, Property Code.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and
applies only to the sale of tax foreclosed property pursuant to an
order of sale issued on or after the effective date of this Act.