BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3777

By: Jetton

Business & Industry

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There are calls to ensure and promote the confidentiality of ballots and to protect the identity of proxies in an election or vote held under the Uniform Condominium Act or under the Texas Residential Property Owners Act. H.B. 3777 seeks to preserve the privacy of applicable association members and their proxies in order to prevent their harassment by establishing ballot tabulation and access requirements that address these issues.

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

H.B. 3777 amends the Property Code, with respect to the Uniform Condominium Act and applicable, as provided by the bill, to a condominium for which the declaration was recorded before January 1, 1994, to prohibit a person who is a candidate in a condominium unit owners' association election or who is otherwise the subject of an association vote, or a person related to that person within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity, from tabulating or otherwise being given access to the ballots cast in or proxies submitted to the association for that election or vote. The bill provides the following with respect to a person the bill expressly authorizes to tabulate votes in an association election or vote:

· the authorized person may not disclose to any other person how an individual voted or to whom an individual assigned their proxy; and

· only the authorized person may be given access to the ballots cast in or proxies submitted to the association for the election or vote.

The bill further provides that its changes to the Uniform Condominium Act may not be construed to affect a person's obligation to comply with a court order for the release of ballots or other voting records and that its provisions supersede any contrary provision in a dedicatory instrument.

H.B. 3777 expands the scope of the provisions in the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act that, in the manner similarly provided by the bill's changes to the Uniform Condominium Act previously described, currently restrict a candidate's access to the ballots cast in a property owners' association election or vote and similarly prohibit disclosure of how an individual voted. The bill, in that expansion, does the following:

· makes the restriction on access also applicable to the proxies submitted to the association for the election or vote; and

· prohibits an authorized person from disclosing to whom an individual assigned their proxy.

The bill further provides that its changes to the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act regarding proxies and the provisions under that act currently restricting a candidate's access to the applicable ballots supersede any contrary provision in a dedicatory instrument.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.