By: Ortega H.B. No. 167
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to common and public nuisances.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 125.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) and amending
Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(c-1) Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), a court may
issue a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, or
permanent injunction in a suit under this section.
(c-2) A court may not issue a temporary restraining order in
a suit under this section to enjoin and abate a common nuisance if:
(1) the only activity that creates the common nuisance
is described by Section 125.0015(a)(1), (2), (14), or (23); or
(2) the only activity that creates the common nuisance
under Section 125.0015(a)(24) is the display of a firearm or other
deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm.
(d) A person who violates a temporary restraining order,
temporary injunction, or permanent injunction issued [injunctive
order] under this subchapter is subject to the following sentences
for civil contempt:
(1) a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than
$10,000;
(2) confinement in jail for a term of not less than 10
or more than 30 days; or
(3) both fine and confinement.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 125, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 125.0451 to read as
follows:
Sec. 125.0451. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER. (a) A court
may issue a temporary restraining order without a formal hearing in
a suit under Section 125.002 only if the person seeking the
temporary restraining order shows in a hearing that a place is
maintained in a manner that is a common nuisance or about to become
a common nuisance.
(b) A temporary restraining order issued under this section
may not last for a period of more than 14 days.
(c) A temporary restraining order issued under this section
is not:
(1) an injunctive order for the purposes of Section
125.003 or 125.045; or
(2) a determination by the court that a person is
maintaining a common nuisance for the purposes of Section 125.046.
(d) A temporary restraining order may not be issued under
this section unless the person whose conduct or omission is sought
to be restrained receives notice of the hearing.
SECTION 3. Sections 125.047(c) and (d), Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) A municipality may [shall] create a fund as a separate
account in the treasury of the municipality.
(d) If a municipality creates a fund under this section, the
[The] fund consists of:
(1) money awarded the municipality in an action under
this chapter;
(2) money awarded the municipality under a settlement
to an action under this chapter;
(3) fines resulting from code enforcement citations
issued by the municipality for conduct defined as a common or public
nuisance under this chapter;
(4) bonds forfeited to the municipality under this
chapter; and
(5) donations or grants made to the municipality for
the purpose of nuisance abatement.
SECTION 4. Section 125.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 125.0451, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a cause of
action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A
cause of action that accrues before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective
date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.