84R5862 CAE-F
By: Schofield H.B. No. 3459
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to service of process in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 30, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Section 30.023 to read as follows:
Sec. 30.023. PROCESS SERVERS. (a) Notwithstanding the
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and except as provided by Subsection
(b), any process in a suit, including citation and other notices,
writs, orders, and other papers issued by a court, may be served by
any individual who:
(1) is 18 years of age or older; and
(2) is not a party to the suit or interested in the
outcome of the suit.
(b) Unless otherwise authorized by written court order,
only a sheriff or constable may serve:
(1) a citation in an action of forcible entry and
detainer;
(2) a writ that requires the actual taking of
possession of a person, property, or thing; or
(3) a writ requiring that an enforcement action be
physically enforced by the person delivering the process.
SECTION 2. This Act applies to the service of process on or
after the effective date of this Act, without regard to whether the
suit commenced before, on, or after that date.
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, 2015.