BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1467

By: Jetton

Business & Industry

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

While a property owner's association's board meetings may be held electronically, there currently is no such authority for an annual meeting of association members to be held electronically. The COVID-19 public health crisis highlighted the need for increased flexibility with respect to remote meetings. C.S.H.B. 1467 seeks to provide this flexibility by providing for an electronic annual members meeting.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1467 amends the Property Code to authorize an annual meeting of a property owners' association's members to be held by any method of communication provided that the following conditions are met:

·       each person in attendance at the meeting may hear and be heard by every other person at the meeting; and

·       the notice of the meeting sent to association members includes instructions to access any communication method required to attend the meeting remotely.

The bill designates an electronic ballot as one of the voting methods that a property owners' association may provide to owners.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1467 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the original authorized the annual meeting of an association's members to be held by electronic or telephonic means, the substitute expands this authorization to provide that the meeting may be held by any method of communication.

The substitute includes provisions not in the original including an electronic ballot among the voting methods that must be made available to association members.