81R5401 AJA-F
By: Averitt S.B. No. 1126
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of property owners' associations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 209.005, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding Subsections (c) and
(d) to read as follows:
(a) A property owners' association shall make the books and
records of the association, including financial records and
invoices, reasonably available to an owner in accordance with
Section B, Article 2.23, Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article
1396-2.23, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
(a-1) A property owners' association described by Section
552.0036(2), Government Code, shall make the books and records of
the association, including financial records and invoices,
reasonably available to any person requesting access to the books
or records in accordance with Chapter 552, Government
Code. Subsection (a) does not apply to a property owners'
association to which this subsection applies.
(c) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (a), a
property owners' association shall maintain a copy of the
association's books and records, including financial records and
invoices, at a location:
(1) on property commonly owned by the association
within the boundaries of the subdivision governed by the
association; or
(2) if there is no commonly owned association property
within the subdivision, at a location:
(A) in a municipality or extraterritorial
jurisdiction of a municipality in which all or part of the
subdivision is located or in whose extraterritorial jurisdiction
the subdivision is located; or
(B) if the subdivision is not located in a
municipality or extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality,
in a county in which all or part of the subdivision is located.
(d) Documents maintained under Subsection (c) must be
readily available for review without charge or time limitation
during regular business hours by any member of the association. A
member is entitled to copies of the documents for a reasonable
charge that does not exceed five cents for each page.
SECTION 2. Section 209.0055, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 209.0055. VOTING RIGHTS IN CERTAIN ASSOCIATION
ELECTIONS. (a) In addition to applying to a property owners'
association that is subject to this chapter under Section 209.003,
this [This] section applies [only] to a property owners'
association that:
(1) provides maintenance, preservation, and
architectural control of residential and commercial property
within a defined geographic area in a county with a population of
2.8 million or more or in a county adjacent to a county with a
population of 2.8 million or more; and
(2) is a corporation that:
(A) is governed by a board of trustees who may
employ a general manager to execute the association's bylaws and
administer the business of the corporation;
(B) does not require membership in the
corporation by the owners of the property within the defined area;
and
(C) was incorporated before January 1, 2006.
(b) A property owners' association [described by Subsection
(a)] may not bar a property owner from voting in an association
election solely based on the fact that:
(1) there is a pending enforcement action against the
property owner; or
(2) the property owner owes the association any
delinquent assessments, fees, or fines.
SECTION 3. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
Section 209.0056 to read as follows:
Sec. 209.0056. ALLOCATION OF VOTES. (a) Before a majority
of lots in a subdivision have been sold or otherwise conveyed by the
developer, the allocation of votes on any particular issue or
motion in a regular or specially called property owners'
association election is governed by the dedicatory instrument or by
any other applicable provision of this title.
(b) After a majority of the lots in the subdivision have
been sold or otherwise conveyed by the developer, the allocation of
votes on any particular issue or motion in a regular or specially
called property owners' association election is subject to the
following:
(1) a property owner may not cast more than one vote,
regardless of the number of lots or percentage of subdivision
property owned by the property owner;
(2) if more than one person owns an interest in a lot,
the owners may cast only one vote for that lot; and
(3) a person is not entitled to vote in the election
solely by virtue of holding a lien on property in the subdivision
governed by the association.
(c) After the provisions of Subsections (b)(1), (2), and (3)
become applicable to the allocation of votes, the reacquisition by
the developer of a majority of the lots in the subdivision does not
affect the applicability of those provisions.
SECTION 4. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
Sections 209.014 and 209.015 to read as follows:
Sec. 209.014. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST PROHIBITED. A member
of a governing board of a property owners' association, or a
subcommittee or other body granted authority by the board, may not
vote on a matter before the board, subcommittee, or other body in
which the outcome has the effect of financially benefiting:
(1) that member;
(2) a business in which that member has an interest;
(3) a person related to that member within the third
degree of consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter
573, Government Code; or
(4) that member's employer or a person who employed the
member for any period during the one-year period before the date of
the vote.
Sec. 209.015. EXPANSION OR TRANSFER OF ASSOCIATION POWERS
PROHIBITED. (a) The bylaws of a property owners' association may
not expand the powers of the association beyond the powers
specifically granted in the dedicatory instrument creating the
association.
(b) A board of a property owners' association may not
transfer any power of the board to amend covenants or restrictions
governing the subdivision to an individual or any other entity.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.