79R10357 AJA-F


By:  Smith of Harris                                              H.B. No. 961

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 961:                                    

By:  Naishtat                                                 C.S.H.B. No. 961



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the location of a sale of real property under a contract 
lien.  
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 51.002, Property Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (h) to read as 
follows:
	(a)  A sale of real property under a power of sale conferred 
by a deed of trust or other contract lien must be a public sale at 
auction held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. of the first Tuesday of a 
month.  Except as provided by Subsection (h), the [The] sale must 
take place at the county courthouse in the county in which the land 
is located, or if the property is located in more than one county, 
the sale may be made at the courthouse in any county in which the 
property is located.  The commissioners court shall designate the 
area at the courthouse where the sales are to take place and shall 
record the designation in the real property records of the county.  
The sale must occur in the designated area.  If no area is 
designated by the commissioners court, the notice of sale must 
designate the area [at the courthouse] where the sale covered by 
that notice is to take place, and the sale must occur in that area.
	(h)  For the purposes of Subsection (a), the commissioners 
court of a county may designate an area other than an area at the 
courthouse where sales under this section will take place that is in 
a public place within a reasonable proximity of the county 
courthouse and in a location as accessible to the public as the 
courthouse door.  The commissioners court shall record that 
designation in the real property records of the county.  The posting 
of the notice required by Subsection (b)(1) of a sale designated 
under this subsection to take place at an area other than an area of 
the courthouse remains at the courthouse door of the appropriate 
county.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.