TO: | Honorable Anna Mowery, Chair, House Committee on Land & Resource Management |
FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | HB1054 by Orr (Relating to the assessment of costs, attorney's fees, and additional damages in condemnation proceedings.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Property Code to require a condemnor to pay the costs for an eminent domain proceeding, any reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the property owner, and additional damages of 10 percent of the damages awarded by the special commissioners or the court if a court hearing a suit finds that the amount awarded by the court or the special commissioners is more than 20 percent of the amount the condemnor offered to the property owner prior to the start of a proceeding.
The bill would amend the Government Code to require the district court clerk or the statutory county court clerk, as applicable, to collect court costs and attorney's fees in an eminent domain proceeding.
Although a negative fiscal impact would be realized for any eminent domain proceedings where an amount awarded by the court or the special commissioners would exceed 20 percent of the amount the condemnor offered to the property owner prior to the start of a proceeding, the number of such proceedings can not be determined.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2007.
Source Agencies: | 601 Department of Transportation
|
LBB Staff: | JOB, WK, JB, DB, MW, TG
|