By:  Jackson                                                      S.B. No. 1341


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the duty of a seller to give notice of certain purchases 
of land; providing an administrative penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 232, Local Government 
Code, is amended by adding Section 232.011 to read as follows:
	Sec. 232.011.  NOTICE TO COUNTY REGARDING CERTAIN PURCHASES.  
(a)  This section applies only to a purchase of a tract of land that 
is located in a county that:
		(1)  has a population of 150,000 or more and is adjacent 
to an international border;
		(2)  has a population of 700,000 or more; or                           
		(3)  is adjacent to a county with a population of 
700,000 or more.   
	(b)  A seller of a tract of land of less than 10 acres that is 
the direct product of a subdivision of land shall give written 
notice of the sale of the tract to the department that oversees 
engineering for the county in which the tract of land is located not 
later than the 10th day after the date of the closing of the sale of 
the tract of land.
	(c)  The commissioners court may impose an administrative 
penalty not to exceed $500 on a seller that does not provide the 
notice of sale in accordance with Subsection (b).
	(d)  The amount of the penalty authorized by Subsection (c) 
shall be based on:
		(1)  the harm resulting from the failure to give notice 
or failure to give adequate or timely notice;
		(2)  the seller's history of previous violations of 
this section, if any;
		(3)  any efforts by the seller to correct the 
violation; and         
		(4)  any other factors that the commissioners court 
considers appropriate.
	(e)  A seller may appeal an administrative penalty imposed 
under this section to the district court in the county in which the 
tract of land is located.  The enforcement of the penalty may be 
stayed during the time the imposition of the penalty is under 
judicial review by the district court if the seller pays the penalty 
to the clerk of the district court or files a supersedeas bond with 
the court in the amount of the penalty.  A person who cannot afford 
to pay the penalty or file the bond may stay the enforcement by 
filing an affidavit in the manner required by the Texas Rules of 
Civil Procedure for a party who cannot afford to file security for 
costs, subject to the right of the commissioners court to contest 
the affidavit as provided by those rules.
	(f)  The commissioners court may sue to collect the penalty 
imposed under this section.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act to Chapter 
232, Local Government Code, applies only to a purchase of a tract of 
land that is completed on or after November 1, 2003.  A purchase of a 
tract of land that is completed before November 1, 2003, is governed 
by the law in effect immediately preceding the effective date of 
this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that 
purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.