| 1 | 1 | | 81R4589 PMO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Giddings H.B. No. 2257 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to mandatory sales price disclosure in certain real |
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| 8 | 8 | | property sales; providing a civil penalty. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Property Code, is amended by adding |
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| 11 | 11 | | Section 12.0012 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 12.0012. MANDATORY SALES PRICE DISCLOSURE. (a) In |
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| 13 | 13 | | this section: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Commercial property" means real property that is |
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| 15 | 15 | | primarily used in the course of a business that provides items or |
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| 16 | 16 | | services for sale to the general public. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) "Multifamily residential property" means real |
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| 18 | 18 | | property that includes two or more residential units under single |
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| 19 | 19 | | ownership. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (3) "Vacant land" means unimproved real property. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (b) A person may not file for record or have recorded in the |
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| 22 | 22 | | county clerk's office an instrument conveying commercial property, |
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| 23 | 23 | | multifamily residential property, or vacant land under a contract |
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| 24 | 24 | | for sale unless the instrument discloses the sales price of the |
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| 25 | 25 | | property. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (c) The purchaser of any property for which an instrument is |
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| 27 | 27 | | recorded in violation of Subsection (b) is liable to the state for a |
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| 28 | 28 | | civil penalty for each violation in an amount equal to five percent |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the sales price of the property. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (d) The attorney general or the county or district attorney |
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| 31 | 31 | | for the county in which the property is located may bring suit to |
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| 32 | 32 | | recover a penalty under this section. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (e) This section does not apply to an instrument conveying |
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| 34 | 34 | | only a mineral interest in real property. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 36 | 36 | | an instrument recorded on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 37 | 37 | | An instrument recorded before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 38 | 38 | | covered by the law in effect when the instrument was recorded, and |
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| 39 | 39 | | the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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