Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3917 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R6641 TJB-F
2	2	By: Wray H.B. No. 3917
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the collection of delinquent ad valorem taxes.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 31.06, Tax Code, is amended by amending
10	10	Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
11	11	(a) Except as provided by Section 31.061, taxes are payable
12	12	only as provided by this section. Except as provided by Subsection
13	13	(e), a [A] collector shall accept United States currency or a check
14	14	or money order in payment of taxes and shall accept payment by
15	15	credit card or electronic funds transfer.
16	16	(e) A collector may adopt a written policy that requires
17	17	payment of taxes, penalties, interest, attorney's fees, court
18	18	costs, and other costs and expenses, including costs and expenses
19	19	under Section 33.48, only with United States currency, a cashier's
20	20	check, or a certified check if the payment relates to:
21	21	(1) personal property seized under Subchapter B,
22	22	Chapter 33;
23	23	(2) property subject to an order of sale under
24	24	Subchapter C, Chapter 33; or
25	25	(3) real property seized under Subchapter E, Chapter
26	26	33.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 33.56, Tax Code, is amended by amending
28	28	Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to read
29	29	as follows:
30	30	(c) If [The taxing unit may not file a petition if] a tax
31	31	sale of the property subject to a petition filed under this section
32	32	has not occurred, a copy of the petition must be served in a manner
33	33	authorized by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, on each
34	34	party named in the judgment for foreclosure of the tax lien on the
35	35	property. The court in which the petition is filed may grant the
36	36	petition only if no party named in the judgment files an objection
37	37	to granting the petition with the court on or before the 30th day
38	38	after the date the notice is served on each party [unless:
39	39	[(1) the tax sale has been vacated by an order of a
40	40	court;
41	41	[(2) the property was bid off to a taxing unit under
42	42	Section 34.01(j) and has not been resold; or
43	43	[(3) the tax sale or resale purchaser, or the
44	44	purchaser's heirs, successors, or assigns, consents to the
45	45	petition].
46	46	(d) If a tax sale of the property subject to a petition filed
47	47	under this section has occurred, the court in which the petition is
48	48	filed must conduct a hearing on the petition unless the purchaser of
49	49	the property at the tax sale or from the taxing unit to which the
50	50	property was bid off, as applicable, consents to the court's
51	51	granting of the petition [Consent of the purchaser to a petition may
52	52	be shown by:
53	53	[(1) a written memorandum signed by the purchaser and
54	54	filed with the court;
55	55	[(2) the purchaser's joinder in the taxing unit's
56	56	petition;
57	57	[(3) a statement of the purchaser made in open court on
58	58	the record in a hearing on the petition; or
59	59	[(4) the purchaser's signature of approval to an
60	60	agreed order to grant the petition].
61	61	(e) For the purpose of Subsection (d), the consent of a
62	62	purchaser may be demonstrated by:
63	63	(1) a written memorandum or answer of the purchaser
64	64	filed with the court;
65	65	(2) the purchaser's joinder in the petition; or
66	66	(3) the signature of the purchaser to an agreed order
67	67	to grant the petition [A copy of the petition must be served in a
68	68	manner authorized by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, on
69	69	each party to the delinquent tax suit].
70	70	(f) If the purchaser does not consent to the granting of a
71	71	petition filed under this section, a copy of the petition shall be
72	72	served on the purchaser in:
73	73	(1) the manner provided by Rule 106, Texas Rules of
74	74	Civil Procedure; or
75	75	(2) a manner provided by the Civil Practice and
76	76	Remedies Code, the Business Organizations Code, or the Estates
77	77	Code.
78	78	(g) If a court grants a [the] petition filed under this
79	79	section, the court shall enter an order providing that:
80	80	(1) the judgment, any tax sale based on that judgment,
81	81	and any subsequent resale are vacated;
82	82	(2) any applicable tax deed or applicable resale deed
83	83	is canceled;
84	84	(3) the delinquent tax suit is revived; [and]
85	85	(4) except in a case in which judgment is vacated under
86	86	Subsection (a)(4), the taxes, penalties, interest, and attorney's
87	87	fees and costs, and the liens that secure each of those items, are
88	88	reinstated; and
89	89	(5) if the property subject to the petition has been
90	90	sold at a tax sale or by the taxing unit to which the property was
91	91	bid off, the purchaser is refunded the amount paid for the property
92	92	at the sale or to the taxing unit not later than the 60th day after
93	93	the date the order is signed.
94	94	SECTION 3. Section 34.01, Tax Code, is amended by amending
95	95	Subsections (a), (b), (f), and (r) and adding Subsection (r-3) to
96	96	read as follows:
97	97	(a) Real or personal property seized under a tax warrant
98	98	issued under Subchapter B or E, Chapter 33, or ordered sold pursuant
99	99	to a judgment for foreclosure of a tax lien shall be sold by the
100	100	officer charged with selling the property, unless otherwise
101	101	directed by the taxing unit that requested the warrant or order of
102	102	sale or by an authorized agent or attorney for that unit. The sale
103	103	shall be conducted in the manner similar property is sold under
104	104	execution except as otherwise provided by this subtitle.
105	105	(b) On receipt of an order of sale of real or personal
106	106	property, the officer charged with selling the property shall
107	107	endorse on the order the date and exact time when the officer
108	108	received the order. The endorsement is a levy on the property
109	109	without necessity for going upon the ground. The officer shall
110	110	calculate the total amount due under the judgment, including all
111	111	taxes, penalties, and interest, plus any other amount awarded by
112	112	the judgment, court costs, and the costs of the sale. The costs of a
113	113	sale include the costs of advertising, and any deed recording fees
114	114	anticipated to be paid in connection with the sale of the property.
115	115	To assist the officer in making the calculation, the collector of
116	116	any taxing unit that is party to the judgment may provide the
117	117	officer with a certified tax statement showing the amount of the
118	118	taxes included in the judgment that remain due that taxing unit and
119	119	all penalties, interest, and attorney's fees provided by the
120	120	judgment as of the date of the proposed sale. If a certified tax
121	121	statement is provided to the officer, the officer shall rely on the
122	122	amount included in the statement and is not responsible or liable
123	123	for the accuracy of the applicable portion of the calculation. A
124	124	certified tax statement is not required to be sworn to and is
125	125	sufficient if the tax collector or the collector's deputy signs the
126	126	statement.
127	127	(f) A notice of sale of real property is not required to
128	128	include field notes describing the property. A description of the
129	129	property is sufficient if the notice:
130	130	(1) states the number of acres and identifies the
131	131	original survey;
132	132	(2) as to property located in a platted subdivision or
133	133	addition, regardless of whether the subdivision or addition is
134	134	recorded, states the name by which the land is generally known with
135	135	reference to that subdivision or addition; or
136	136	(3) by reference adopts the description of the
137	137	property contained in the judgment.
138	138	(r) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1) and this
139	139	subsection, a sale of real property under this section must take
140	140	place at the county courthouse in the county in which the real
141	141	property [land] is located. The commissioners court of the county
142	142	may designate an area other than an area at the county courthouse
143	143	where sales under this section will take place that is in a public
144	144	place within a reasonable proximity of the county courthouse as
145	145	determined by the commissioners court and in a location as
146	146	accessible to the public as the courthouse door. The commissioners
147	147	court shall record that designation in the real property records of
148	148	the county. A designation by a commissioners court under this
149	149	section is not a ground for challenging or invalidating any sale. A
150	150	sale must be held at an area designated under this subsection if the
151	151	sale is held on or after the 90th day after the date the designation
152	152	is recorded.
153	153	(r-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (r), the sale of personal
154	154	property, including a manufactured home, may be conducted at the
155	155	same place as the sale of real property under Subsection (r) or at
156	156	the location of the personal property.
157	157	SECTION 4. Section 33.56, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
158	158	applies only to a petition to vacate a judgment for foreclosure of a
159	159	tax lien that is filed under that section on or after the effective
160	160	date of this Act. A petition to vacate a judgment for foreclosure of
161	161	a tax lien that is filed before the effective date of this Act is
162	162	governed by the law in effect on the date the petition is filed, and
163	163	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
164	164	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
165	165	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
166	166	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
167	167	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
168	168	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.