79R6920 JD-F
By: Elkins H.B. No. 2924
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the seizure and sale of property pursuant to an ad
valorem tax warrant.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.23(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) After a tax warrant is issued, the [collector or] peace
officer shall take possession of the property pending its sale. The
person against whom a tax warrant is issued or another person having
possession of property of the person against whom a tax warrant is
issued shall surrender the property on demand. Pending the sale of
the property, the [collector or] peace officer may secure the
property at the location where it is seized or may move the property
to another location.
SECTION 2. Section 33.25, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a)-(d) and (f) and adding Subsection (i) to read as
follows:
(a) 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 hold,
advertise, and conduct an on-line auction on the Internet, to enter
into an agreement with a person who holds an auctioneer's license to
advertise and conduct the auction sale of the property, or do both
[and to conduct the auction sale of the property]. An [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 conduct an
on-line auction on the Internet or 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.
(f) The proceeds of a sale of property under this section
shall be applied in the order prescribed by this subsection to:
(1) all usual costs, expenses, and fees of the seizure
and sale, payable to the peace officer conducting the sale;
(2) 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.
(i) To the extent of a conflict between this section and a
provision of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure that relates to an
execution, this section prevails.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
the seizure and sale of property pursuant to an ad valorem tax
warrant that is issued on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.