86R4934 PMO-F
By: Bell of Montgomery H.B. No. 1157
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the acquisition of property by an entity with eminent
domain authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.0111, Property Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) After making an offer to which Subsection (a) applies,
the entity shall disclose to the property owner any new, amended, or
updated appraisal report produced or acquired by or on behalf of the
entity after making the offer and used in determining the entity's
opinion of value. A disclosure required by this subsection must be
made not later than the earlier of:
(1) the 10th day after the date the entity receives the
appraisal report; or
(2) the third business day before the date of a special
commissioner's hearing if the appraisal report is to be used at the
hearing.
SECTION 2. Section 21.012, Property Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) In accordance with Section 21.019(b-1), a court shall
dismiss a condemnation proceeding unless the entity that files a
petition under this section proves to the court that:
(1) the petition meets the requirements of Subsection
(b); and
(2) the entity complied with Subsection (c).
SECTION 3. Section 21.019, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1)
to read as follows:
(a) A party that files a condemnation petition may move to
dismiss, wholly or partly, the proceedings, and the court shall
conduct a hearing on the motion. However, after the special
commissioners have made an award, in an effort to obtain a lower
award a condemnor may not dismiss, wholly or partly, the
condemnation proceedings merely to institute new proceedings that
involve substantially the same condemnation against the same
property owner.
(b) A court that hears and grants a motion to dismiss,
wholly or partly, a condemnation proceeding made by a condemnor
under Subsection (a) shall make an allowance to the property owner
for reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and
photographers and for the other expenses incurred by the property
owner to the date of the hearing.
(b-1) The court shall dismiss a condemnation proceeding if
the court finds that the party that filed the condemnation petition
failed to comply with any provision of Section 21.0111, 21.0112,
21.0113, or 21.012. A court that grants a motion to dismiss under
this subsection shall make an allowance to the property owner for
reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and
photographers and for the other expenses incurred by the property
owner to the date of the hearing.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a [A] court that
hears and grants a motion to dismiss a condemnation proceeding made
by a property owner seeking a judicial denial of the right to
condemn or that otherwise renders a judgment denying the right to
condemn may make an allowance to the property owner for reasonable
and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and photographers and
for the other expenses incurred by the property owner to the date of
the hearing or judgment.
SECTION 4. Sections 21.0195(b) and (c), Property Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department may move to dismiss, wholly or partly, a
proceeding it files, and the court shall conduct a hearing on the
motion. The court may grant the motion only if the court determines
that the property owner's interest will not be materially affected
by the dismissal. The department may not dismiss, wholly or partly,
the condemnation proceedings merely to institute new proceedings
that involve substantially the same condemnation against the same
property owner solely to obtain a lower condemnation award.
(c) If a court dismisses, wholly or partly, a condemnation
proceeding on the motion of the department or as a result of the
failure of the department to bring the proceeding properly, the
court shall make an allowance to the property owner for the value of
the department's use of the property while in possession of the
property, any damage that the condemnation has caused to the
property owner, and any expenses the property owner has incurred in
connection with the condemnation, including reasonable and
necessary fees for attorneys.
SECTION 5. Section 21.047(d), Property Code, is repealed.
SECTION 6. (a) Section 21.0111, Property Code, as amended
by this Act, applies only to the acquisition of real property in
connection with an initial offer made under Section 21.0113,
Property Code, on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Sections 21.012, 21.019, and 21.0195, Property Code, as
amended by this Act, and the repeal of Section 21.047(d), Property
Code, by this Act apply only to an eminent domain proceeding
commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. An eminent
domain proceeding commenced before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law applicable to the proceeding immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect December 1, 2019.