Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4637 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R14501 E
2	2	By: Lucio III H.B. No. 4637
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to unenforceable restrictive covenants affecting
8	8	residential homes.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 202, Property Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Sections 202.014, 202.015, 202.016, and 202.017 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 202.014. FLAG DISPLAY. (a) A property owners'
13	13	association may not, except as provided in this section, adopt or
14	14	enforce a dedicatory instrument provision that prohibits,
15	15	restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting a
16	16	property owner from the display of:
17	17	(1) the flag of the United States of America;
18	18	(2) the flag of the State of Texas;
19	19	(3) an official or replica flag of the United States
20	20	Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or other United
21	21	States armed forces branch.
22	22	(b) A property owners' association may adopt or enforce
23	23	reasonable dedicatory instrument provisions:
24	24	(1) that require:
25	25	(A) the flag of the United States be displayed in
26	26	accordance with the federal flag code, 4 U.S.C. Sections 5-10, or
27	27	successor laws;
28	28	(B) a flagpole attached to a dwelling or a
29	29	freestanding flagpole be constructed of permanent, long-lasting
30	30	materials, with a finish appropriate to the materials used in the
31	31	construction of the flagpole and harmonious with the dwelling;
32	32	(C) the display of a flag, or the location and
33	33	construction of the supporting flagpole, to comply with applicable
34	34	zoning ordinances, easements, and setbacks of record;
35	35	(D) a displayed flag and the flagpole on which it
36	36	is flown be maintained in good condition and that any deteriorated
37	37	flag or deteriorated or structurally unsafe flagpole be repaired,
38	38	replaced, or removed;
39	39	(2) that regulate the location of the flagpole on
40	40	which a flag is displayed, but no such regulation may prevent the
41	41	flag from being seen or a flagpole from being installed or erected;
42	42	(3) that govern the size of a displayed flag;
43	43	(4) that regulate the size, location, and intensity of
44	44	any lights used to illuminate a displayed flag.
45	45	(c) In this section, "owner" has the meaning assigned by
46	46	Section 201.003 and includes a relative or tenant of an owner.
47	47	Sec. 202.015. RADIO APPARATUS. (a) A property owners'
48	48	association may not, except as provided in this section, adopt or
49	49	enforce a dedicatory instrument provision that prohibits,
50	50	restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting a
51	51	property owner from owning, operating, installing, or maintaining
52	52	any radio apparatus operated pursuant to federal authorization or
53	53	with the consent of the holder of a federal license.
54	54	(b) In this section, "apparatus" means any item, equipment,
55	55	component, element, or structure used or usable for carrying on
56	56	radiocommunications or facilitating the carrying on of
57	57	radiocommunications.
58	58	(c) A property owners' association may adopt or enforce
59	59	reasonable dedicatory instrument provisions requiring radio
60	60	apparatus located exterior to a structure:
61	61	(1) be constructed and installed in compliance with
62	62	applicable zoning ordinances, easements, setbacks of record, and
63	63	national or governmental building codes;
64	64	(2) be constructed of permanent, long-lasting
65	65	materials, with a finish appropriate to the materials used in the
66	66	construction of the apparatus;
67	67	(3) be maintained in good condition and that any
68	68	deteriorated or structurally unsafe apparatus be repaired,
69	69	replaced, or removed;
70	70	(4) other than radio apparatus made of wire, not
71	71	extend closer than the front setback line from any street on which
72	72	the dwelling on the lot faces;
73	73	(5) be removed if the property on which it is located
74	74	is sold to a person who does not have federal authorization to
75	75	operate the radio apparatus installed on the property.
76	76	(d) In this section, "owner" has the meaning assigned by
77	77	Section 201.003 and includes a relative or tenant of an owner.
78	78	Sec. 202.016. SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS. (a) A property owners'
79	79	association may not, except as provided in this section, adopt or
80	80	enforce a dedicatory instrument provision that prohibits,
81	81	restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting a
82	82	property owner from owning, operating, installing, or maintaining a
83	83	solar energy system.
84	84	(b) In this section, "solar energy system" means:
85	85	(1) equipment, accessories, structures, and fixtures
86	86	that collect or convert radiant energy from the sun into thermal,
87	87	mechanical, or electrical energy; and
88	88	(2) any structural design feature of a building, whose
89	89	primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and
90	90	distribution of the radiant energy of the sun in order to generate
91	91	thermal, mechanical, or electrical energy.
92	92	(c) A property owners' association may adopt or enforce
93	93	reasonable dedicatory instrument provisions:
94	94	(1) that require a solar energy system to be installed
95	95	and maintained in compliance with:
96	96	(A) the manufacturer's specifications; and
97	97	(B) applicable zoning ordinances, health,
98	98	safety, electrical, and building codes;
99	99	(2) that regulate the location and appearance of the
100	100	publicly viewable components of the solar energy system;
101	101	(3) that prohibit the location of a solar energy
102	102	system by the property owner on property:
103	103	(A) owned or maintained by the property owners'
104	104	association;
105	105	(B) owned in common by the members of the
106	106	property owners' association.
107	107	(d) A property owners' association dedicatory instrument
108	108	provision that increases the cost of a solar energy system by more
109	109	than 10 percent or decreases the efficiency of the solar energy
110	110	system by more than 10 percent is void and unenforceable.
111	111	(e) In this section, "owner" has the meaning assigned by
112	112	Section 201.003 and includes a relative or tenant of an owner.
113	113	Sec. 202.017. STANDBY ELECTRIC GENERATORS. (a) A property
114	114	owners' association may not, except as provided in this section,
115	115	adopt or enforce a dedicatory instrument provision that prohibits,
116	116	restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting a
117	117	property owner from owning, operating, installing, or maintaining a
118	118	permanently installed standby electric generator.
119	119	(b) In this section, "standby electric generator" means a
120	120	device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy and:
121	121	(1) is powered by natural gas, liquefied petroleum
122	122	gas, diesel fuel, biodiesel fuel, or hydrogen;
123	123	(2) is fully enclosed in an integral
124	124	manufacturer-supplied sound attenuating enclosure;
125	125	(3) is connected to the main electrical panel of a
126	126	residence by a manual or automatic transfer switch; and
127	127	(4) is rated for a generating capacity of not less than
128	128	seven kilowatts.
129	129	(c) A property owners' association may adopt or enforce
130	130	reasonable dedicatory instrument provisions:
131	131	(1) that require:
132	132	(A) a standby electric generator to be installed
133	133	and maintained in compliance with the manufacturer's
134	134	specifications;
135	135	(B) a standby electric generator be installed and
136	136	maintained in compliance with applicable health, safety,
137	137	electrical codes, and building codes;
138	138	(C) all electrical, plumbing, and fuel line
139	139	connections be installed only by licensed contractors;
140	140	(D) all electrical and fuel line connections be
141	141	installed underground;
142	142	(E) nonintegral standby electric generator fuel
143	143	tanks be installed and maintained to comply with applicable zoning
144	144	ordinances, health, safety, electrical, and building codes;
145	145	(F) the standby electric generator, its
146	146	electrical lines, and its fuel lines be maintained in good
147	147	condition and that any deteriorated or unsafe components be
148	148	repaired, replaced, or removed;
149	149	(2) that set reasonable times for the periodic testing
150	150	of a standby electric generator;
151	151	(3) that prohibit the use of the standby electric
152	152	generator to generate all or substantially all of the electrical
153	153	power to a residence except when utility-generated electrical power
154	154	is not available or is intermittent;
155	155	(4) that regulate the location and exterior appearance
156	156	of the standby electric generator.
157	157	(d) A property owners' association dedicatory instrument
158	158	provision regulating the location of a standby electrical generator
159	159	that increases the cost of installing the standby electric
160	160	generator by more than 10 percent or the cost of installing and
161	161	connecting the electrical and fuel lines by more than 20 percent is
162	162	void and unenforceable.
163	163	(e) In this section, "owner" has the meaning assigned by
164	164	Section 201.003 and includes a relative or tenant of an owner.
165	165	SECTION 2. Sections 202.014, 202.015, 202.016, and 202.017,
166	166	Property Code, as added by this Act, apply to a dedicatory
167	167	instrument adopted before, on, or after the effective date of this
168	168	Act.
169	169	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
170	170	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
171	171	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
172	172	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
173	173	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.