By: Turner H.B. No. 364
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to condominiums in certain municipalities, including the
  exercise of eminent domain authority by those municipalities with
  respect to certain condominiums.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 2206.001, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  Subsection (b)(3) does not prohibit the taking of
  private property through the use of eminent domain for economic
  development purposes if the economic development is a secondary
  purpose resulting from the elimination of urban blight under
  Subchapter I, Chapter 214, Local Government Code. This subsection
  expires December 31, 2016.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 82.118, Property Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 82.118.  SERVICE OF PROCESS ON UNIT OWNERS IN CERTAIN
  MUNICIPALITIES; CHANGE OF ADDRESS REQUIRED.
         SECTION 3.  Section 82.118, Property Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  Not later than the 90th day after the date a unit owner
  changes the unit owner's mailing address, the owner must provide
  written notice of the owner's new address to the appraisal district
  in which the condominium is located.
         SECTION 4.  Section 82.153(a), Property Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A condominium information statement must contain or
  accurately disclose:
               (1)  the name and principal address of the declarant
  and of the condominium;
               (2)  a general description of the condominium that
  includes the types of units and the maximum number of units;
               (3)  the minimum and maximum number of additional
  units, if any, that may be included in the condominium;
               (4)  a brief narrative description of any development
  rights reserved by a declarant and of any conditions relating to or
  limitations upon the exercise of development rights;
               (5)  copies of the declaration, articles of
  incorporation of the association, the bylaws, any rules of the
  association, and amendments to any of them, and copies of leases and
  contracts, other than loan documents, that are required by the
  declarant to be signed by purchasers at closing;
               (6)  a projected or pro forma budget for the
  association that complies with Subsection (b) for the first fiscal
  year of the association following the date of the first conveyance
  to a purchaser, identification of the person who prepared the
  budget, and a statement of the budget's assumptions concerning
  occupancy and inflation factors;
               (7)  a general description of each lien, lease, or
  encumbrance on or affecting the title to the condominium after
  conveyance by the declarant;
               (8)  a copy of each written warranty provided by the
  declarant;
               (9)  a description of any unsatisfied judgments against
  the association and any pending suits to which the association is a
  party or which are material to the land title and construction of
  the condominium of which a declarant has actual knowledge;
               (10)  a general description of the insurance coverage
  provided for the benefit of unit owners;
               (11)  current or expected fees or charges to be paid by
  unit owners for the use of the common elements and other facilities
  related to the condominium; and
               (12)  for a condominium located wholly or partly in a
  municipality with a population of more than 1.9 million a statement
  that a unit owner:
                     (A)  as an alternative to personal service, may be
  served with process by the municipality or the municipality's agent
  for a judicial or administrative proceeding initiated by the
  municipality and directly related to the unit owner's property
  interest in the condominium by serving the unit owner at the unit
  owner's last known address, according to the records of the
  appraisal district in which the condominium is located, by any
  means permitted by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
                     (B)  shall [promptly] notify the appraisal
  district in writing of a change in the unit owner's mailing address
  not later than the 90th day after the date the unit owner changes
  the address; and
                     (C)  may not offer proof in the judicial or
  administrative proceeding, or in a subsequent related proceeding,
  that otherwise proper service by mail of the notice was not received
  not later than three days after the date the notice was deposited in
  a post office or official depository under the care and custody of
  the United States Postal Service.
         SECTION 5.  Chapter 214, Local Government Code, is amended
  by adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER I.  EMINENT DOMAIN AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES
  TO TAKE ABANDONED CONDOMINIUMS
         Sec. 214.301.  APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
  to a municipality with a population of more than 1.9 million.
         Sec. 214.302.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter,
  "condominium" means a condominium as defined by Section 81.002 or
  82.003, Property Code.
         Sec. 214.303.  EMINENT DOMAIN AUTHORITY. A municipality may
  take a condominium through the use of eminent domain for the purpose
  of the elimination of urban blight if a tract or unit of real
  property on which the condominium sits presents the following
  conditions for at least one year after the date on which notice of
  the conditions is reasonably attempted to be provided to the
  property owner:
               (1)  all lawful occupation of or construction activity
  for the condominium has ceased;
               (2)  the property contains uninhabitable, unsafe, and
  unsanitary units that are not fit for their intended use because the
  utilities, sewerage, plumbing, or heating or a similar service or
  facility of the units has been destroyed, removed, or rendered
  ineffective; and
               (3)  the property has been the location of
  substantiated and repeated illegal activity of which the property
  owner knew or should have known.
         Sec. 214.304.  EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER.  This subchapter
  expires December 31, 2016.
         SECTION 6.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a condemnation proceeding in which the condemnation petition is
  filed on or after the effective date of this Act and to any property
  condemned through the proceeding. A condemnation proceeding in
  which the condemnation petition is filed before the effective date
  of this Act and any property condemned through the proceeding are
  governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
  of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.