BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 62
88R783 DRS-D	By: Zaffirini
	Local Government
	2/27/2023
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Current law requires county clerks to post notice of a foreclosure sale on the county's website, but it does not require the notice to include crucial details such as time and location. This lack of accessible information decreases sales prospects.

Relatedly, some counties require persons interested in bidding at a tax foreclosure auction to obtain a statement of delinquent taxes from the county tax assessor-collector before they are eligible to bid. What's more, while the comptroller of public accounts has a standardized form for this statement, some counties use their form in lieu of the comptroller's one. Although larger counties typically post the appropriate form on their website, most smaller counties often do not, making it difficult for the public to obtain the correct form.

S.B. 62 would improve transparency and processes relating to foreclosure sales and delinquent ad valorem taxes, by ensuring counties provide relevant information on their websites.

As proposed, S.B. 62 amends current law relating to posting certain documents and information related to certain real property sales on a county's Internet website.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 51.002(f-1), Property Code, as follows:

(f-1) Requires a county, rather than a county that maintains an Internet website, to prominently post a notice of sale filed with the county clerk under Subsection (b)(2) (relating to filing in the office of the county clerk in which the property is located a copy of the notice of sale) on the county's Internet website on a page where the county posts other auction information and that is publicly available for viewing without charge or registration. Requires the county, along with each notice of sale posted under this subsection, to post the following information on the same website page on which the notice is posted:

(1) the date, time, and location of the sale;

(2) requirements for bidder eligibility; and

(3) where and to whom to make a payment for the property.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 34.015, Tax Code, by adding Subsection (c-1), as follows:

(c-1) Requires the county assessor-collector for each county to post on the county's Internet website the form a person is required to use in that county to request a statement under Subsection (c) (relating to a county assessor-collector's issuance of a written statement regarding whether there are delinquent taxes owed to the county), except that if the county assessor-collector permits a person to use a form prescribed by the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas (comptroller) for that purpose, the county assessor-collector is authorized to post a link to the location on the comptroller's Internet website where the form may be viewed instead of posting the form.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2023.