BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1252

By: Shaheen

Business & Industry

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There is a lack of transparency in property owners' association (POA) finances in Texas. Under current law, a POA is not required to perform an annual independent audit of its financial records. C.S.H.B. 1252 seeks to require a POA to perform an annual audit of its financial records and provide a copy of the audit to each of the POA's members.

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. 1252 amends the Property Code to require a property owners' association (POA) to annually obtain an independent audit of its financial records and provide a copy of the audit to each of the POA's members. The bill requires this audit to be performed by a certified public accountant if required by the POA's bylaws, a vote of the POA's board, or a majority vote of the POA's members voting at a meeting of the POA. For purposes of a vote of members at a POA meeting, the bill limits to one the number of votes each member may make, regardless of the number of lots the member owns and notwithstanding any contrary provision in a POA dedicatory instrument relating to the allocation of votes to POA members.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1252 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision not in the introduced instituting a one-member, one-vote policy for the vote of members at a POA meeting to require the audit to be conducted by a certified public accountant.