By: Ellis S.B. No. 2214
(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2009; March 31, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence; May 4, 2009,
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 4, 2009, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2214 By: Carona
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a filing fee imposed on a notice of foreclosure sale to
fund civil legal services for indigents.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 118, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 118.026 to read as follows:
Sec. 118.026. NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE. (a) A county
clerk shall collect a $150 fee for a notice of sale filed under
Section 51.002(b)(2), Property Code, from the holder of the
security instrument, unless the holder is the original grantee of
the security instrument. If a property has more than one notice of
sale filed for the property and the fee has not been refunded under
Subsection (e), the county clerk may not collect more than one $150
fee from the holder of the security instrument under this
subsection.
(b) The county clerk shall keep a separate record of the
fees collected under this section and shall remit the fees to the
county treasurer not later than the deadline provided by Section
113.022. The county may retain not more than five percent of the
fees for the county's costs for implementing and administering this
section.
(c) On or before the last day of the month following each
calendar quarter, the county treasurer shall remit to the
comptroller the money from all fees collected during the preceding
quarter, except as provided by Subsection (b) or (e).
(d) The comptroller shall deposit the money received under
Subsection (c) in the judicial fund for programs approved by the
supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to the
indigent.
(e) The county treasurer shall refund a $150 fee collected
under Subsection (a) not later than the 60th day after the date the
refund is requested if:
(1) the foreclosure sale is canceled; and
(2) the holder of the security instrument provides to
the county clerk:
(A) documentation establishing that the
foreclosure sale was canceled; and
(B) an affidavit signed by a designated
representative of the holder of the security instrument indicating
that the holder has not received reimbursement from the mortgagor
for the fee.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by Section 118.026, Local
Government Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a notice of
sale filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A notice
filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect when the notice was filed, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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