82R9086 AJA-F
By: Thompson H.B. No. 2501
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to voting in property owners' association elections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
Section 209.00593 to read as follows:
Sec. 209.00593. VOTING; QUORUM. (a) The voting rights of
an owner may be cast or given:
(1) in person or by proxy at a meeting of the property
owners' association;
(2) by absentee ballot in accordance with this
section;
(3) by any method of representative or delegated
voting provided by a dedicatory instrument; or
(4) by electronic ballot in accordance with this
section.
(b) An absentee or electronic ballot:
(1) may be counted as an owner present and voting for
the purpose of establishing a quorum only for items appearing on the
ballot;
(2) may be withdrawn by an owner if the owner attends a
meeting at which votes on the ballot items are cast; and
(3) may not be counted, except for quorum purposes, on
the final vote of a proposal if the motion was amended at the
meeting to be different from the exact language on the absentee or
electronic ballot.
(c) A solicitation for votes by absentee or electronic
ballot must include:
(1) an absentee or electronic ballot that contains
each proposed action and provides an opportunity to vote for or
against each proposed action;
(2) instructions for delivery of the completed
absentee or electronic ballot, including the delivery location; and
(3) the following language: "By casting your vote via
absentee or electronic ballot you will forgo the opportunity to
consider and vote on any action from the floor on these proposals,
if a meeting is held. This means that if there are amendments to
these proposals your votes will not be counted on the final vote on
these measures. If you desire to retain this ability, please attend
any meeting in person. You may submit an absentee or electronic
ballot and later choose to attend any meeting in person, in which
case any in-person vote will prevail."
(d) For the purposes of this section, "electronic ballot"
means a ballot:
(1) conveyed in an electronic manner and format
prescribed by the property owners' association board;
(2) for which the identity of the property owner
submitting the ballot can be reasonably established; and
(3) for which the property owner may receive a receipt
of the electronic transmission and receipt of the owner's ballot.
(e) If an electronic ballot is posted on an Internet
website, a notice shall be provided to each owner that contains
instructions on obtaining access to the posting on the website.
(f) The property owners' association board has the sole
authority to prescribe or cause to be prescribed all proxy and
ballot forms.
(g) This section supersedes any contrary provision in a
dedicatory instrument.
(h) Except as provided by Subsection (i), this section
applies to all property owners' associations and controls over any
other law not specifically applicable to a property owners'
association.
(i) This section does not apply to a property owners'
association that is subject to Chapter 552, Government Code, by
application of Section 552.0036, Government Code.
SECTION 2. Section 209.00593, Property Code, as added by
this Act, applies to a provision in a dedicatory instrument enacted
before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.