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.