85R7684 TJB-F
By: Kacal H.B. No. 3062
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sale of property for delinquent ad valorem taxes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 34.0445(a) and (c), Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) An officer conducting a sale of real property under this
subchapter may not execute or deliver a deed to the purchaser of the
property unless the purchaser or the individual submitting the
successful bid on behalf of the purchaser exhibits to the officer:
(1) an unexpired written statement issued to the
purchaser [person] in the manner prescribed by Section 34.015, Tax
Code[, showing that the county assessor-collector of the county in
which the sale is conducted has determined that:
[(A) there are no delinquent ad valorem taxes
owed by the person to that county; and
[(B) for each school district or municipality
having territory in the county there are no known or reported
delinquent ad valorem taxes owed by the person to that school
district or municipality]; or
(2) the written registration statement issued to the
person in the manner prescribed by Section 34.011, Tax Code,
showing that the person is a registered bidder at the sale at which
the property is sold.
(c) The deed executed by the officer conducting the sale
must name the purchaser [successful bidder] as the grantee and
recite that the purchaser or the individual submitting the
successful bid on behalf of the purchaser [successful bidder]
exhibited to that officer:
(1) an unexpired written statement issued to the
person in the manner prescribed by Section 34.015, Tax Code[,
showing that the county assessor-collector of the county in which
the sale was conducted determined that:
[(A) there are no delinquent ad valorem taxes
owed by the person to that county; and
[(B) for each school district or municipality
having territory in the county there are no known or reported
delinquent ad valorem taxes owed by the person to that school
district or municipality]; or
(2) the written registration statement issued to the
person in the manner prescribed by Section 34.011, Tax Code,
showing that the person is a registered bidder at the sale at which
the property is sold.
SECTION 2. Section 34.01, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (a-1), (b), (f), and (r) and adding Subsection
(r-1) to read as follows:
(a) Real or personal property seized under a tax warrant
issued under Subchapter E, Chapter 33, or ordered sold pursuant to a
judgment for foreclosure of a tax lien shall be sold by the officer
charged with selling the property, unless otherwise directed by the
taxing unit that requested the warrant or order of sale or by an
authorized agent or attorney for that unit. The sale shall be
conducted in the manner similar property is sold under execution
except as otherwise provided by this subtitle.
(a-1) The commissioners court of a county, or the board of
directors of the appraisal district established for the county if
the appraisal district collects taxes imposed by the county, by
official action may authorize the officer charged with selling
property under this section to conduct [a] public auctions
[auction] using online bidding and sale. The officer, in
consultation with the assessor-collector for the county, if the
commissioners court authorized the officer to conduct the auctions,
or with the chief appraiser, if the board of directors of the
appraisal district authorized the officer to conduct the auctions,
shall propose rules governing the auctions. The governing body
that authorized the officer to conduct the auctions [commissioners
court] may adopt rules governing the [online] auctions, including
the rules proposed by the officer [authorized under this
subsection]. Rules adopted by a governing body [the commissioners
court] under this subsection take effect on the 90th day after the
date the rules are published in the real property records of the
county.
(b) On receipt of an order of sale of real or personal
property, the officer charged with selling the property shall
endorse on the order the date and exact time when the officer
received the order. The endorsement is a levy on the property
without necessity for going upon the ground. The officer shall
calculate the total amount due under the judgment, including all
taxes, penalties, and interest, plus any other amount awarded by
the judgment, court costs, and the costs of the sale. The costs of a
sale include the costs of advertising, and any deed recording fees
anticipated to be paid in connection with the sale of the property.
To assist the officer in making the calculation, the collector of
any taxing unit that is party to the judgment may provide the
officer with a certified tax statement showing the amount of the
taxes included in the judgment that remain due that taxing unit and
all penalties, interest, and attorney's fees provided by the
judgment as of the date of the proposed sale. If a certified tax
statement is provided to the officer, the officer shall rely on the
amount included in the statement and is not responsible or liable
for the accuracy of the applicable portion of the calculation. A
certified tax statement is not required to be sworn to and is
sufficient if the tax collector or the collector's deputy signs the
statement.
(f) A notice of sale of real property is not required to
include field notes describing the property. A description of the
property is sufficient if the notice:
(1) states the number of acres and identifies the
original survey;
(2) as to property located in a platted subdivision or
addition, regardless of whether the subdivision or addition is
recorded, states the name by which the land is generally known with
reference to that subdivision or addition; or
(3) by reference adopts the description of the
property contained in the judgment.
(r) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1) and this
subsection, a sale of real property under this section must take
place at the county courthouse in the county in which the real
property [land] is located. The commissioners court of the county
may designate an area other than an area at the county courthouse
where sales under this section will take place that is in a public
place within a reasonable proximity of the county courthouse as
determined by the commissioners court and in a location as
accessible to the public as the courthouse door. The commissioners
court shall record that designation in the real property records of
the county. A designation by a commissioners court under this
section is not a ground for challenging or invalidating any sale. A
sale must be held at an area designated under this subsection if the
sale is held on or after the 90th day after the date the designation
is recorded.
(r-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (r), the sale of personal
property, including a manufactured home, may be conducted at the
same place as the sale of real property under Subsection (r) or at
the location of the personal property.
SECTION 3. Section 34.015, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (b), (k-1), and (l) and adding Subsections (b-1)
and (q) to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Person" [, "person"] does not include a taxing
unit or an individual acting on behalf of a taxing unit.
(2) "Purchaser" includes the legal spouse of a
successful bidder authorized to be named as a grantee under this
section.
(b) An officer conducting a sale of real property under
Section 34.01 may not execute a deed in the name of or deliver a deed
to any person other than:
(1) the person who was:
(A) the successful bidder at the sale; and
(B) on request of the successful bidder, the
legal spouse of the successful bidder regardless of whether the
spouse is physically present at the sale or has provided written
authorization to the successful bidder; or
(2) a business, religious, charitable, or civic
organization that has authorized in writing an individual to submit
the successful bid on behalf of the organization.
(b-1) The officer conducting a sale of real property under
Section 34.01 may not execute or deliver a deed to the purchaser of
the property unless the purchaser or the individual submitting the
successful bid on behalf of the purchaser exhibits to the officer an
unexpired written statement issued under this section to each [the]
person that will be a grantee on the deed by the county
assessor-collector of the county in which the sale is conducted
showing that:
(1) there are no delinquent taxes owed by the person to
that county; and
(2) for each school district or municipality having
territory in the county there are no known or reported delinquent ad
valorem taxes owed by the person to that school district or
municipality.
(k-1) If within six months of the date of a sale of real
property under Section 34.01, the purchaser or the individual
submitting the successful bid on behalf of the purchaser
[successful bidder] does not exhibit to the officer who conducted
the sale each required and [an] unexpired statement that complies
with Subsection (k), the officer who conducted the sale shall
provide a copy of the officer's return to the county
assessor-collector for each county in which the real property is
located. On receipt of the officer's return, the county
assessor-collector shall file the copy with the county clerk of the
county in which the county assessor-collector serves. The county
clerk shall record the return in records kept for that purpose and
shall index and cross-index the return in the name of the purchaser
[successful bidder] at the auction and each former owner of the
property. The chief appraiser of each appraisal district that
appraises the real property for taxation may list the purchaser
[successful bidder] in the appraisal records of that district as
the owner of the property.
(l) The deed executed by the officer conducting the sale
must name the purchaser [successful bidder] as the grantee and
recite that the purchaser or the individual submitting the
successful bid on behalf of the purchaser [successful bidder]
exhibited to that officer an unexpired written statement issued to
the purchaser [person] in the manner prescribed by this section[,
showing that the county assessor-collector of the county in which
the sale was conducted determined that:
[(1) there are no delinquent ad valorem taxes owed by
the person to that county; and
[(2) for each school district or municipality having
territory in the county there are no known or reported delinquent ad
valorem taxes owed by the person to that school district or
municipality].
(q) The chief appraiser for an appraisal district
established for a county shall perform the duties assigned to the
assessor-collector for that county under this section if the
appraisal district collects the taxes imposed by the county.
SECTION 4. Section 34.0445(b), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is repealed.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
the sale of property under Subchapter C, Chapter 34, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code, or Section 34.01, Tax Code, on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.