79R2822 KCR-D
By: Harper-Brown H.B. No. 1770
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the power of a property owners' association to levy
certain fines.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 209.006(a), Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Before a property owners' association may suspend an
owner's right to use a common area, file a suit against an owner
other than a suit to collect a regular or special assessment or
foreclose under an association's lien, charge an owner for property
damage, or levy a fine for a violation of the restrictions or bylaws
or rules of the association other than a violation described by
Section 206.0061, the association or its agent must give written
notice to the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested.
SECTION 2. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
Section 209.0061 to read as follows:
Sec. 209.0061. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE LEVYING FINE FOR
SPEEDING. (a) This section applies only to a violation of the
posted speed limit on a private road in a subdivision in which a
property owners' association may exercise the association's
authority.
(b) Before a property owners' association may levy a fine
for a violation described by Subsection (a), the association or its
agent must give written notice to an owner alleged to have committed
the violation by certified mail, return receipt requested. The
notice must:
(1) describe the violation that is the basis for the
fine and state any amount due the association from the owner; and
(2) inform the owner that, except as provided by
Subsection (c), the owner may:
(A) avoid the fine by entering into a signed,
written agreement with the association promising to obey all posted
speed limits in the subdivision; and
(B) request a hearing under Section 209.007 on or
before the 30th day after the date the owner receives the notice.
(c) An owner who commits a violation described by Subsection
(a) may not avoid a fine under Subsection (b) if:
(1) the owner was given notice of another speeding
violation as required by Subsection (b) within the preceding year;
or
(2) the violation giving rise to the fine is
exceeding, by 10 or more miles per hour, the posted speed limit on a
private road in the subdivision.
(d) In this section, "private road" has the meaning assigned
by Section 541.302, Transportation Code.
SECTION 3. Sections 209.007(b) and (d), Property Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) If a hearing is to be held before a committee, the
notice prescribed by Section 209.006 or 209.0061(b) must state that
the owner has the right to appeal the committee's decision to the
board by written notice to the board.
(d) The notice and hearing provisions of Sections [Section]
209.006 and 209.0061 and this section do not apply if the
association files a suit seeking a temporary restraining order or
temporary injunctive relief, [or] files a suit that includes
foreclosure as a cause of action, or levies a fine for a violation
described by Section 209.0061. If a suit is filed relating to a
matter to which those sections apply, a party to the suit may file a
motion to compel mediation. The notice and hearing provisions of
Section 209.006 and this section do not apply to a temporary
suspension of a person's right to use common areas if the temporary
suspension is the result of a violation that occurred in a common
area and involved a significant and immediate risk of harm to others
in the subdivision. The temporary suspension is effective until
the board makes a final determination on the suspension action
after following the procedures prescribed by this section.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a fine that is levied on or after the effective date of this Act. A
fine that is levied before the effective date of this Act is covered
by the law in effect at the time the fine was levied, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.