85S10195 PMO-F
 
  By: Bell H.B. No. 308
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the acquisition of property by an entity with eminent
  domain authority.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 21.0111, Property Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
         (a-1)  After making an offer to which Subsection (a) applies,
  the entity shall disclose to the property owner any new, amended, or
  updated appraisal report produced or acquired by or on behalf of the
  entity after making the offer and used in determining the entity's
  opinion of value.  A disclosure required by this subsection must be
  made not later than the earlier of:
               (1)  the 10th day after the date the entity receives the
  appraisal report; or
               (2)  the third business day before the date of a special
  commissioner's hearing if the appraisal report is to be used at the
  hearing.
         SECTION 2.  Section 21.012, Property Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  In accordance with Section 21.019(b-1), a court shall
  dismiss a condemnation proceeding unless the entity that files a
  petition under this section proves to the court that:
               (1)  the petition meets the requirements of Subsection
  (b); and
               (2)  the entity complied with Subsection (c).
         SECTION 3.  Section 21.019, Property Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1)
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A party that files a condemnation petition may move to
  dismiss, wholly or partly, the proceedings, and the court shall
  conduct a hearing on the motion. However, after the special
  commissioners have made an award, in an effort to obtain a lower
  award a condemnor may not dismiss, wholly or partly, the
  condemnation proceedings merely to institute new proceedings that
  involve substantially the same condemnation against the same
  property owner.
         (b)  A court that hears and grants a motion to dismiss,
  wholly or partly, a condemnation proceeding made by a condemnor
  under Subsection (a) shall make an allowance to the property owner
  for reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and
  photographers and for the other expenses incurred by the property
  owner to the date of the hearing.
         (b-1)  The court shall dismiss a condemnation proceeding if
  the court finds that the party that filed the condemnation petition
  failed to comply with any provision of Section 21.0111, 21.0112,
  21.0113, or 21.012. A court that grants a motion to dismiss under
  this subsection shall make an allowance to the property owner for
  reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and
  photographers and for the other expenses incurred by the property
  owner to the date of the hearing.
         (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a [A] court that
  hears and grants a motion to dismiss a condemnation proceeding made
  by a property owner seeking a judicial denial of the right to
  condemn or that otherwise renders a judgment denying the right to
  condemn may make an allowance to the property owner for reasonable
  and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and photographers and
  for the other expenses incurred by the property owner to the date of
  the hearing or judgment.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 21.0195(b) and (c), Property Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The department may move to dismiss, wholly or partly, a
  proceeding it files, and the court shall conduct a hearing on the
  motion. The court may grant the motion only if the court determines
  that the property owner's interest will not be materially affected
  by the dismissal. The department may not dismiss, wholly or partly,
  the condemnation proceedings merely to institute new proceedings
  that involve substantially the same condemnation against the same
  property owner solely to obtain a lower condemnation award.
         (c)  If a court dismisses, wholly or partly, a condemnation
  proceeding on the motion of the department or as a result of the
  failure of the department to bring the proceeding properly, the
  court shall make an allowance to the property owner for the value of
  the department's use of the property while in possession of the
  property, any damage that the condemnation has caused to the
  property owner, and any expenses the property owner has incurred in
  connection with the condemnation, including reasonable and
  necessary fees for attorneys.
         SECTION 5.  Section 21.047(d), Property Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 6.  (a) Section 21.0111, Property Code, as amended
  by this Act, applies only to the acquisition of real property in
  connection with an initial offer made under Section 21.0113,
  Property Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. An
  acquisition of real property in connection with an initial offer
  made under Section 21.0113, Property Code, before the effective
  date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the
  acquisition immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
  that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  Sections 21.012, 21.019, and 21.0195, Property Code, as
  amended by this Act, and the repeal of Section 21.047(d), Property
  Code, by this Act apply only to an eminent domain proceeding
  commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. An eminent
  domain proceeding commenced before the effective date of this Act
  is governed by the law applicable to the proceeding immediately
  before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect December 1, 2017.