Texas 2011 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB364 Comm Sub / Bill

                    82R976 NC-F
 By: Turner H.B. No. 364


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to condominiums in certain municipalities, including the
 exercise of eminent domain authority by those municipalities with
 respect to certain condominiums.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  Section 2206.001(b), Government Code, is amended
 to read as follows:
 (b)  A governmental or private entity may not take private
 property through the use of eminent domain if the taking:
 (1)  confers a private benefit on a particular private
 party through the use of the property;
 (2)  is for a public use that is merely a pretext to
 confer a private benefit on a particular private party; or
 (3)  is for economic development purposes, unless the
 economic development is a secondary purpose resulting from:
 (A)  municipal community development or municipal
 urban renewal activities to eliminate an existing affirmative harm
 on society from slum or blighted areas under:
 (i) [(A)]  Chapter 373 or 374, Local
 Government Code, other than an activity described by Section
 373.002(b)(5), Local Government Code; or
 (ii) [(B)]  Section 311.005(a)(1)(I), Tax
 Code; or
 (B)  the elimination of urban blight under
 Subchapter I, Chapter 214, Local Government Code.
 SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 82.118, Property Code, is
 amended to read as follows:
 Sec. 82.118.  SERVICE OF PROCESS ON UNIT OWNERS IN CERTAIN
 MUNICIPALITIES; CHANGE OF ADDRESS REQUIRED.
 SECTION 3.  Section 82.118, Property Code, is amended by
 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
 (c)  Not later than the 90th day after the date a unit owner
 changes the unit owner's mailing address, the owner must provide
 written notice of the owner's new address to the appraisal district
 in which the condominium is located.
 SECTION 4.  Section 82.153(a), Property Code, is amended to
 read as follows:
 (a)  A condominium information statement must contain or
 accurately disclose:
 (1)  the name and principal address of the declarant
 and of the condominium;
 (2)  a general description of the condominium that
 includes the types of units and the maximum number of units;
 (3)  the minimum and maximum number of additional
 units, if any, that may be included in the condominium;
 (4)  a brief narrative description of any development
 rights reserved by a declarant and of any conditions relating to or
 limitations upon the exercise of development rights;
 (5)  copies of the declaration, articles of
 incorporation of the association, the bylaws, any rules of the
 association, and amendments to any of them, and copies of leases and
 contracts, other than loan documents, that are required by the
 declarant to be signed by purchasers at closing;
 (6)  a projected or pro forma budget for the
 association that complies with Subsection (b) for the first fiscal
 year of the association following the date of the first conveyance
 to a purchaser, identification of the person who prepared the
 budget, and a statement of the budget's assumptions concerning
 occupancy and inflation factors;
 (7)  a general description of each lien, lease, or
 encumbrance on or affecting the title to the condominium after
 conveyance by the declarant;
 (8)  a copy of each written warranty provided by the
 declarant;
 (9)  a description of any unsatisfied judgments against
 the association and any pending suits to which the association is a
 party or which are material to the land title and construction of
 the condominium of which a declarant has actual knowledge;
 (10)  a general description of the insurance coverage
 provided for the benefit of unit owners;
 (11)  current or expected fees or charges to be paid by
 unit owners for the use of the common elements and other facilities
 related to the condominium; and
 (12)  for a condominium located wholly or partly in a
 municipality with a population of more than 1.9 million a statement
 that a unit owner:
 (A)  as an alternative to personal service, may be
 served with process by the municipality or the municipality's agent
 for a judicial or administrative proceeding initiated by the
 municipality and directly related to the unit owner's property
 interest in the condominium by serving the unit owner at the unit
 owner's last known address, according to the records of the
 appraisal district in which the condominium is located, by any
 means permitted by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
 (B)  shall [promptly] notify the appraisal
 district in writing of a change in the unit owner's mailing address
 not later than the 90th day after the date the unit owner changes
 the address; and
 (C)  may not offer proof in the judicial or
 administrative proceeding, or in a subsequent related proceeding,
 that otherwise proper service by mail of the notice was not received
 not later than three days after the date the notice was deposited in
 a post office or official depository under the care and custody of
 the United States Postal Service.
 SECTION 5.  Chapter 214, Local Government Code, is amended
 by adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
 SUBCHAPTER I.  EMINENT DOMAIN AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES
 TO TAKE ABANDONED CONDOMINIUMS
 Sec. 214.301.  APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
 to a municipality with a population of more than 1.9 million.
 Sec. 214.302.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter,
 "condominium" means a condominium as defined by Section 81.002 or
 82.003, Property Code.
 Sec. 214.303.  EMINENT DOMAIN AUTHORITY. A municipality may
 take a condominium through the use of eminent domain if:
 (1)  all lawful occupation of or construction activity
 for the condominium has ceased, or reasonably appears to have
 ceased, for more than 365 consecutive days; and
 (2)  the taking is for the elimination of urban blight
 on the particular parcel of property where the condominium is
 located.
 SECTION 6.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
 to a condemnation proceeding in which the condemnation petition is
 filed on or after the effective date of this Act and to any property
 condemned through the proceeding. A condemnation proceeding in
 which the condemnation petition is filed before the effective date
 of this Act and any property condemned through the proceeding are
 governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
 of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
 SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.