By: England Senate Sponsor-Harris H.B. No. 1899

(In the Senate - Received from the House April 10, 2007; April 11, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental Relations; May 19, 2007, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 3, Nays 0; May 19, 2007, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1899 By: Nichols

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the sale of certain real property at an ad valorem tax sale and to the right of redemption in connection with that real property.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 33, Tax Code, is amended by adding Section 33.58 to read as follows:

Sec. 33.58. ALTERNATIVE NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE FOR PARCELS IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section may be invoked and used by one or more taxing units if there are delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and attorney's fees owing to a taxing unit on a parcel of real property and there are five or more years for which delinquent taxes are owed on the parcel, if the parcel is located in a municipality having a population of more than 100,000 that is situated in two or more counties, at least two of which have a population of more than one million, and in a subdivision having an average lot size of one-fifth of an acre or less.

(b) If a taxing unit invokes this section, the procedures and other provisions of Section 33.57 apply except as otherwise provided by this section.

(c) Notwithstanding Section 33.57(c), a petition for foreclosure under this section is sufficient if it is in substantially the form prescribed by Section 33.43 and further alleges the grounds for invoking this section provided by Subsection (a).

(d) Notwithstanding Section 33.57(e), a court shall approve a motion under Section 33.57(d) if the documents in support of the motion show that the grounds for invoking this section provided by Subsection (a) exist.

(e) If a taxing unit's petition includes multiple parcels of property and if requested by the taxing unit, the court's order of sale shall provide that the officer conducting the sale shall sell the parcels in solido, regardless of whether the parcels adjoin one another or have common ownership.

(f) If the officer conducting the sale of the property is ordered to sell the property in solido under Subsection (e), the officer shall use, in calculating the minimum bid amount under Section 33.50(b) or (c), as appropriate:

(1) the aggregate of all amounts awarded against the multiple parcels of property as the aggregate amount of the judgments; or

(2) the aggregate of the adjudged market values of the multiple parcels of property as the market value of the property stated in the judgment.

(g) If multiple parcels of property are sold in solido under an order of sale issued under Subsection (e), the amounts prescribed by Section 34.21 that must be paid in redeeming property shall, for the purpose of redeeming an individual parcel of property, be in an amount equal to the taxes, penalties, interest, and attorney's fees adjudged against that individual parcel.

(h) This section expires September 1, 2017.

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an action brought on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.

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