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78R6391 SGA-D
By: Bohac H.B. No. 2182
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to common and public nuisances and the creation of and
allocation of money from a nuisance abatement fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 125.001(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person who knowingly maintains a place to which
persons habitually go for the following purposes maintains a common
nuisance:
(1) prostitution or gambling in violation of the Penal
Code;
(2) discharge of a firearm in a public place in
violation of Section 42.01(a)(9), Penal Code;
(3) reckless discharge of a firearm as described by
Section 42.12, Penal Code;
(4) engaging in organized criminal activity as a
member of a combination as described by Section 71.02, Penal Code;
[or]
(5) delivery, possession, manufacture, or use of a
controlled substance in violation of Chapter 481, Health and Safety
Code;
(6) engaging in acts of public lewdness as described
by Section 21.07, Penal Code; or
(7) engaging in acts of indecent exposure as described
by Section 21.08, Penal Code.
SECTION 2. Section 125.002(b), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) If judgment is in favor of the petitioner, the court
shall grant an injunction ordering the defendant to abate the
nuisance and enjoining the defendant from maintaining or
participating in the nuisance. The judgment must order that the
place where the nuisance exists be closed for at least one year but
not more than two years after the date of judgment unless the
defendant or the real property owner, lessee, or tenant of the
property posts bond.
SECTION 3. Section 125.003(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) If a condition of a bond filed or an injunctive order
entered under this subchapter is violated, the district, county, or
city attorney of the county in which the property is located or the
attorney general shall sue on the bond in the name of the state. In
the event the attorney general originates the suit, the whole sum
shall be forfeited as a penalty to the state. In the event the suit
is originated by any office other than the attorney general, the
whole sum shall be forfeited as a penalty to the originating entity
for deposit in the entity's nuisance abatement fund. On violation
of any condition of the bond or of the injunctive order and
subsequent to forfeiture of the bond, the place where the nuisance
exists shall be ordered closed for one year from the date of the
order of bond forfeiture.
SECTION 4. Section 125.021, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, as reenacted and amended by Section 28, Chapter 318, Acts of
the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, and as amended by
Section 5, Chapter 663, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1995, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 125.021. PUBLIC NUISANCE. The habitual use or the
threatened or contemplated habitual use of any place for any of the
following purposes is a public nuisance:
(1) gambling, gambling promotion, or communicating
gambling information prohibited by law;
(2) prostitution or promotion or aggravated promotion
of prostitution;
(3) compelling prostitution;
(4) commercial manufacture, commercial distribution,
or commercial exhibition of obscene material;
(5) commercial exhibition of live dances or other acts
depicting real or simulated sexual intercourse or deviate sexual
intercourse;
(6) engaging in a voluntary fight between a man and a
bull if the fight is for a thing of value or a championship, if a
thing of value is wagered on the fight, or if an admission fee for
the fight is directly or indirectly charged, as prohibited by law;
(7) discharge of a firearm in a public place in
violation of Section 42.01(a)(9), Penal Code;
(8) engaging in organized criminal activity as a
member of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang as
described by Section 71.02, Penal Code; [or]
(9) [(8)] reckless discharge of a firearm as described
by Section 42.12, Penal Code;
(10) delivering or using a controlled substance in
violation of Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code;
(11) engaging in acts of public lewdness as described
by Section 21.07, Penal Code; or
(12) engaging in acts of indecent exposure as
described by Section 21.08, Penal Code.
SECTION 5. Section 125.045, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) If a condition of a bond filed or an injunctive order
entered under this subchapter is violated, the district, county, or
city attorney of the county in which the property is located or the
attorney general may sue on the bond in the name of the state. In
the event the attorney general originates the suit, the whole sum
shall be forfeited as a penalty to the state. In the event the suit
is originated by any office other than the attorney general, the
whole sum shall be forfeited as a penalty to the originating entity
for deposit in the entity's nuisance abatement fund.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 125, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 125.047 to read as
follows:
Sec. 125.047. NUISANCE ABATEMENT FUND. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Fund" means a nuisance abatement fund.
(2) "Nuisance abatement" means an activity taken by a
political subdivision to reduce the occurrences of:
(A) a common nuisance as described by Section
125.001;
(B) a public nuisance as described by Section
125.021; or
(C) conduct described by Section 125.062 or
125.063.
(3) "Political subdivision" means a municipality or
county.
(b) A political subdivision shall create a fund as a
separate account in the treasury of the political subdivision.
(c) The fund consists of:
(1) money awarded the political subdivision in an
action under this chapter;
(2) money awarded the political subdivision under a
settlement to an action under this chapter;
(3) fines resulting from code enforcement citations
issued by the political subdivision for conduct defined as a common
or public nuisance under this chapter, or for conduct under Section
125.062 or 125.063;
(4) bonds forfeited to the political subdivision under
this chapter; and
(5) donations or grants made to the political
subdivision for the purpose of nuisance abatement.
(d) The money in the fund may be used only for the purpose of
ongoing nuisance abatement. That purpose includes:
(1) regular and overtime compensation for nuisance
abatement or enforcement personnel; and
(2) hiring additional personnel for nuisance
abatement as needed.
SECTION 7. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
only to an action that accrues on or after the effective date of
this Act. An action that accrued before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the cause of action
accrued, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) This Act applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act, except that evidence of conduct that
occurred before the effective date of this Act may be considered for
the purpose of determining whether a place is a place to which
persons habitually go or is habitually used for engaging in acts of
prostitution, public lewdness, or indecent exposure. Conduct that
occurred before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect at the time the conduct occurred, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.