86R6641 TJB-F
By: Wray H.B. No. 3917
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the collection of delinquent ad valorem taxes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.06, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 31.061, taxes are payable
only as provided by this section. Except as provided by Subsection
(e), a [A] collector shall accept United States currency or a check
or money order in payment of taxes and shall accept payment by
credit card or electronic funds transfer.
(e) A collector may adopt a written policy that requires
payment of taxes, penalties, interest, attorney's fees, court
costs, and other costs and expenses, including costs and expenses
under Section 33.48, only with United States currency, a cashier's
check, or a certified check if the payment relates to:
(1) personal property seized under Subchapter B,
Chapter 33;
(2) property subject to an order of sale under
Subchapter C, Chapter 33; or
(3) real property seized under Subchapter E, Chapter
33.
SECTION 2. Section 33.56, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to read
as follows:
(c) If [The taxing unit may not file a petition if] a tax
sale of the property subject to a petition filed under this section
has not occurred, a copy of the petition must be served in a manner
authorized by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, on each
party named in the judgment for foreclosure of the tax lien on the
property. The court in which the petition is filed may grant the
petition only if no party named in the judgment files an objection
to granting the petition with the court on or before the 30th day
after the date the notice is served on each party [unless:
[(1) the tax sale has been vacated by an order of a
court;
[(2) the property was bid off to a taxing unit under
Section 34.01(j) and has not been resold; or
[(3) the tax sale or resale purchaser, or the
purchaser's heirs, successors, or assigns, consents to the
petition].
(d) If a tax sale of the property subject to a petition filed
under this section has occurred, the court in which the petition is
filed must conduct a hearing on the petition unless the purchaser of
the property at the tax sale or from the taxing unit to which the
property was bid off, as applicable, consents to the court's
granting of the petition [Consent of the purchaser to a petition may
be shown by:
[(1) a written memorandum signed by the purchaser and
filed with the court;
[(2) the purchaser's joinder in the taxing unit's
petition;
[(3) a statement of the purchaser made in open court on
the record in a hearing on the petition; or
[(4) the purchaser's signature of approval to an
agreed order to grant the petition].
(e) For the purpose of Subsection (d), the consent of a
purchaser may be demonstrated by:
(1) a written memorandum or answer of the purchaser
filed with the court;
(2) the purchaser's joinder in the petition; or
(3) the signature of the purchaser to an agreed order
to grant the petition [A copy of the petition must be served in a
manner authorized by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, on
each party to the delinquent tax suit].
(f) If the purchaser does not consent to the granting of a
petition filed under this section, a copy of the petition shall be
served on the purchaser in:
(1) the manner provided by Rule 106, Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure; or
(2) a manner provided by the Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, the Business Organizations Code, or the Estates
Code.
(g) If a court grants a [the] petition filed under this
section, the court shall enter an order providing that:
(1) the judgment, any tax sale based on that judgment,
and any subsequent resale are vacated;
(2) any applicable tax deed or applicable resale deed
is canceled;
(3) the delinquent tax suit is revived; [and]
(4) except in a case in which judgment is vacated under
Subsection (a)(4), the taxes, penalties, interest, and attorney's
fees and costs, and the liens that secure each of those items, are
reinstated; and
(5) if the property subject to the petition has been
sold at a tax sale or by the taxing unit to which the property was
bid off, the purchaser is refunded the amount paid for the property
at the sale or to the taxing unit not later than the 60th day after
the date the order is signed.
SECTION 3. Section 34.01, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsections (a), (b), (f), and (r) and adding Subsection (r-3) to
read as follows:
(a) Real or personal property seized under a tax warrant
issued under Subchapter B or 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.
(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-3) 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 4. Section 33.56, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a petition to vacate a judgment for foreclosure of a
tax lien that is filed under that section on or after the effective
date of this Act. A petition to vacate a judgment for foreclosure of
a tax lien that is filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the petition is filed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. 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, 2019.