Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1126 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R5401 AJA-F
2	2	By: Averitt S.B. No. 1126
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the operation of property owners' associations.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 209.005, Property Code, is amended by
10	10	amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding Subsections (c) and
11	11	(d) to read as follows:
12	12	(a) A property owners' association shall make the books and
13	13	records of the association, including financial records and
14	14	invoices, reasonably available to an owner in accordance with
15	15	Section B, Article 2.23, Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article
16	16	1396-2.23, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
17	17	(a-1) A property owners' association described by Section
18	18	552.0036(2), Government Code, shall make the books and records of
19	19	the association, including financial records and invoices,
20	20	reasonably available to any person requesting access to the books
21	21	or records in accordance with Chapter 552, Government
22	22	Code. Subsection (a) does not apply to a property owners'
23	23	association to which this subsection applies.
24	24	(c) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (a), a
25	25	property owners' association shall maintain a copy of the
26	26	association's books and records, including financial records and
27	27	invoices, at a location:
28	28	(1) on property commonly owned by the association
29	29	within the boundaries of the subdivision governed by the
30	30	association; or
31	31	(2) if there is no commonly owned association property
32	32	within the subdivision, at a location:
33	33	(A) in a municipality or extraterritorial
34	34	jurisdiction of a municipality in which all or part of the
35	35	subdivision is located or in whose extraterritorial jurisdiction
36	36	the subdivision is located; or
37	37	(B) if the subdivision is not located in a
38	38	municipality or extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality,
39	39	in a county in which all or part of the subdivision is located.
40	40	(d) Documents maintained under Subsection (c) must be
41	41	readily available for review without charge or time limitation
42	42	during regular business hours by any member of the association. A
43	43	member is entitled to copies of the documents for a reasonable
44	44	charge that does not exceed five cents for each page.
45	45	SECTION 2. Section 209.0055, Property Code, is amended to
46	46	read as follows:
47	47	Sec. 209.0055. VOTING RIGHTS IN CERTAIN ASSOCIATION
48	48	ELECTIONS. (a) In addition to applying to a property owners'
49	49	association that is subject to this chapter under Section 209.003,
50	50	this [This] section applies [only] to a property owners'
51	51	association that:
52	52	(1) provides maintenance, preservation, and
53	53	architectural control of residential and commercial property
54	54	within a defined geographic area in a county with a population of
55	55	2.8 million or more or in a county adjacent to a county with a
56	56	population of 2.8 million or more; and
57	57	(2) is a corporation that:
58	58	(A) is governed by a board of trustees who may
59	59	employ a general manager to execute the association's bylaws and
60	60	administer the business of the corporation;
61	61	(B) does not require membership in the
62	62	corporation by the owners of the property within the defined area;
63	63	and
64	64	(C) was incorporated before January 1, 2006.
65	65	(b) A property owners' association [described by Subsection
66	66	(a)] may not bar a property owner from voting in an association
67	67	election solely based on the fact that:
68	68	(1) there is a pending enforcement action against the
69	69	property owner; or
70	70	(2) the property owner owes the association any
71	71	delinquent assessments, fees, or fines.
72	72	SECTION 3. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
73	73	Section 209.0056 to read as follows:
74	74	Sec. 209.0056. ALLOCATION OF VOTES. (a) Before a majority
75	75	of lots in a subdivision have been sold or otherwise conveyed by the
76	76	developer, the allocation of votes on any particular issue or
77	77	motion in a regular or specially called property owners'
78	78	association election is governed by the dedicatory instrument or by
79	79	any other applicable provision of this title.
80	80	(b) After a majority of the lots in the subdivision have
81	81	been sold or otherwise conveyed by the developer, the allocation of
82	82	votes on any particular issue or motion in a regular or specially
83	83	called property owners' association election is subject to the
84	84	following:
85	85	(1) a property owner may not cast more than one vote,
86	86	regardless of the number of lots or percentage of subdivision
87	87	property owned by the property owner;
88	88	(2) if more than one person owns an interest in a lot,
89	89	the owners may cast only one vote for that lot; and
90	90	(3) a person is not entitled to vote in the election
91	91	solely by virtue of holding a lien on property in the subdivision
92	92	governed by the association.
93	93	(c) After the provisions of Subsections (b)(1), (2), and (3)
94	94	become applicable to the allocation of votes, the reacquisition by
95	95	the developer of a majority of the lots in the subdivision does not
96	96	affect the applicability of those provisions.
97	97	SECTION 4. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
98	98	Sections 209.014 and 209.015 to read as follows:
99	99	Sec. 209.014. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST PROHIBITED. A member
100	100	of a governing board of a property owners' association, or a
101	101	subcommittee or other body granted authority by the board, may not
102	102	vote on a matter before the board, subcommittee, or other body in
103	103	which the outcome has the effect of financially benefiting:
104	104	(1) that member;
105	105	(2) a business in which that member has an interest;
106	106	(3) a person related to that member within the third
107	107	degree of consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter
108	108	573, Government Code; or
109	109	(4) that member's employer or a person who employed the
110	110	member for any period during the one-year period before the date of
111	111	the vote.
112	112	Sec. 209.015. EXPANSION OR TRANSFER OF ASSOCIATION POWERS
113	113	PROHIBITED. (a) The bylaws of a property owners' association may
114	114	not expand the powers of the association beyond the powers
115	115	specifically granted in the dedicatory instrument creating the
116	116	association.
117	117	(b) A board of a property owners' association may not
118	118	transfer any power of the board to amend covenants or restrictions
119	119	governing the subdivision to an individual or any other entity.
120	120	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.