By: Ellis S.B. No. 352
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the method of providing notice in the enforcement of
certain municipal ordinances involving substandard buildings and
conditions.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 54.035, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
       (a)  Notice of all proceedings before the commission panels
must be given:
             (1)  by personal delivery, [or] by certified mail
with[,] return receipt requested, or by delivery by the United
States Postal Service using signature confirmation service, to the
record owners of the affected property, and each holder of a
recorded lien against the affected property, as shown by the
records in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the
affected property is located if the address of the lienholder can be
ascertained from the deed of trust establishing the lien and/or
other applicable instruments on file in the office of the county
clerk; and
             (2)  to all unknown owners, by posting a copy of the
notice on the front door of each improvement situated on the
affected property or as close to the front door as practicable.
       SECTION 2.  Subsection (a), Section 54.039, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
       (a)  Any owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of record jointly or
severally aggrieved by any decision of a commission panel may
present a petition to a district court, duly verified, setting
forth that the decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and
specifying the grounds of the illegality. The petition must be
presented to the court within 30 calendar days after the date a copy
of the final decision of the commission panel is personally
delivered, [or] mailed by first class mail with[,] certified return
receipt requested, or delivered by the United States Postal Service
using signature confirmation service, to all persons to whom notice
is required to be sent under Section 54.035. The commission panel
shall [personally] deliver or mail that copy promptly after the
decision becomes final. In addition, an abbreviated copy of the
order shall be published one time in a newspaper of general
circulation in the municipality within 10 calendar days after the
date of the delivery or mailing of the copy as provided by this
subsection, including the street address or legal description of
the property; the date of the hearing, a brief statement indicating
the results of the order, and instructions stating where a complete
copy of the order may be obtained, and, except in a municipality
with a population of 1.9 million or more, a copy shall be filed in
the office of the municipal secretary or clerk.
       SECTION 3.  Subsections (d) and (g), Section 214.001, Local
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
       (d)  After the public hearing, if a building is found in
violation of standards set out in the ordinance, the municipality
may order that the building be vacated, secured, repaired, removed,
or demolished by the owner within a reasonable time as provided by
this section. The municipality also may order that the occupants be
relocated within a reasonable time. If the owner does not take the
ordered action within the allotted time, the municipality shall
make a diligent effort to discover each mortgagee and lienholder
having an interest in the building or in the property on which the
building is located. The municipality shall personally deliver,
[or] send by certified mail with[,] return receipt requested, or
deliver by the United States Postal Service using signature
confirmation service, to each identified mortgagee and lienholder a
notice containing:
             (1)  an identification, which is not required to be a
legal description, of the building and the property on which it is
located;
             (2)  a description of the violation of municipal
standards that is present at the building; and
             (3)  a statement that the municipality will vacate,
secure, remove, or demolish the building or relocate the occupants
of the building if the ordered action is not taken within a
reasonable time.
       (g)  After the hearing, the municipality shall promptly mail
by certified mail with[,] return receipt requested, deliver by the
United States Postal Service using signature confirmation service, 
or personally deliver a copy of the order to the owner of the
building and to any lienholder or mortgagee of the building. The
municipality shall use its best efforts to determine the identity
and address of any owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of the building.
       SECTION 4.  Subsection (a), Section 214.0012, Local
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
       (a)  Any owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of record of
property jointly or severally aggrieved by an order of a
municipality issued under Section 214.001 may file in district
court a verified petition setting forth that the decision is
illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the
illegality. The petition must be filed by an owner, lienholder, or
mortgagee within 30 calendar days after the respective dates a copy
of the final decision of the municipality is personally delivered
to them, [or] mailed to them by first class mail with[,] certified
return receipt requested, or delivered to them by the United States
Postal Service using signature confirmation service, or such
decision shall become final as to each of them upon the expiration
of each such 30 calendar day period.
       SECTION 5.  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.