By: Brown of Kaufman H.B. No. 1626
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to assessment of damages in a condemnation proceeding.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 21.042, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c)-(e) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to
read as follows:
       (c)  If a portion of a tract or parcel of real property is
condemned and the property owner seeks an award for damage caused by
the condemnation to the property owner's remaining property, the
total amount of the award for damage to the property condemned and
to the remaining property is based on the difference in the local
market value of the entire property immediately before the
condemnation and the local market value of the remaining property
immediately after the condemnation, considering any benefit or
injury that the construction or operation of the condemnor's
project has on the market value of the remaining property[, the
special commissioners shall determine the damage to the property
owner after estimating the extent of the injury and benefit to the
property owner, including the effect of the condemnation on the
value of the property owner's remaining property].
       (d)  Any increase or decrease in the market value of an
entire tract or parcel of real property caused by the condemnor's
proposed project before the condemnation may not be considered in
estimating the market value of that property before condemnation.
Any increase or decrease in the market value of any remaining real
property caused by the condemnor's proposed project after the
condemnation shall be considered in estimating the market value of
that property after the condemnation [In estimating injury or
benefit under Subsection (c), the special commissioners shall
consider an injury or benefit that is peculiar to the property owner
and that relates to the property owner's ownership, use, or
enjoyment of the particular parcel of real property, but they may
not consider an injury or benefit that the property owner
experiences in common with the general community].
       (e)  In the case of a condemnation by or for the Texas
Department of Transportation of real property for a state or
federal highway, in estimating the market value of the property
condemned and of any remaining property if [If] a portion of a tract
or parcel of real property is condemned, the special commissioners
shall consider all factors considered in the marketplace that may
affect the property's market value, including:
             (1)  vehicular and pedestrian access to and from and on
and off the property;
             (2)  traffic circulation and count in and around the
property;
             (3)  visibility and appearance of and from the
property;
             (4)  productivity and convenience of use of the
property, including its highest and best use; and
             (5)  the property's access to utilities and drainage
[for the use, construction, operation, or maintenance of the state
highway system or of a county toll project described by Chapter 304,
Acts of the 50th Legislature, Regular Session, 1947 (Article
6795b-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), that is eligible for
designation as part of the state highway system, or for the use,
construction, development, operation, or maintenance of an
improvement or project by a metropolitan rapid transit authority
created before January 1, 1980, with a principal city having a
population of less than 1,200,000 and established under Chapter
141, Acts of the 63rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1973 (Article
1118x, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), the special commissioners
shall determine the damage to the property owner regardless of
whether the property owner makes a claim for damages to the
remaining property. In awarding compensation or assessing the
damages, the special commissioners shall consider any special and
direct benefits that arise from the highway improvement or the
transit authority improvement or project that are peculiar to the
property owner and that relate to the property owner's ownership,
use, or enjoyment of the particular parcel of remaining real
property].
       (f)  The effect that the condemnation has on any of the
market value characteristics required to be considered under
Subsection (e) shall be considered in estimating the market value
of any remaining portion of a tract or parcel of real property that
is condemned regardless of whether any other property in the area is
similarly affected by the condemnation.
       (g)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if
the property condemned is owned by a public entity or by a person
organized and operated on a non-profit basis and the property is
devoted to and needed by the property owner in good faith to perform
a public function or to provide a non-profit educational,
charitable, or eleemosynary service, the damage award may not be
less than the financial cost of replacing the property.
       SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
assessment of damages in a condemnation proceeding for which a
special commissioners' hearing begins on or after the effective
date of this Act. Assessment of damages in a condemnation
proceeding for which a special commissioners' hearing began before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed
at the time the hearing began, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
       SECTION 3.  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, 2007.