87R11244 NC-D
By: Paxton S.B. No. 1951
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to property owners' associations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 11, Property Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 216 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 216. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATIONS AND
BOARDS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 216.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors, or the body,
regardless of the name, designated to act on behalf of a property
owners' association.
(2) "Dedicatory instrument," "property owners'
association," "petition," and "restrictive covenant" have the
meanings assigned by Section 202.001.
(3) "Development period" means a period stated in a
declaration during which a declarant reserves:
(A) a right to facilitate the planning,
construction, and marketing of the development; or
(B) a right to direct the size, shape, and
composition of the development.
Sec. 216.0002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. (a) This chapter
applies to all dedicatory instruments regardless of the date on
which the dedicatory instruments were created.
(b) This chapter does not apply during the development
period.
Sec. 216.0003. CONFLICT WITH DEDICATORY INSTRUMENT. This
chapter supersedes any contrary requirement in a dedicatory
instrument.
Sec. 216.0004. CONFLICTS WITH OTHER LAW. To the extent of
any conflict between this chapter and any other law, this chapter
prevails.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD
Sec. 216.0021. POWER TO AMEND BYLAWS. A board may not amend
the bylaws unless the board is expressly granted the power to amend
the bylaws in the declaration.
Sec. 216.0022. REMOVAL OR RESTRICTION OF VOTING POWER OF
BOARD MEMBER. A board may not remove, or limit the voting power of,
a board member unless the board member is ineligible for office due
to a conviction or under the declaration.
SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PROPERTY OWNERS
Sec. 216.0041. VOTING RIGHTS OF PROPERTY OWNERS. (a) A
provision in a dedicatory instrument that disqualifies a property
owner from voting in a property owners' association election of
board members or on any matter concerning the rights or
responsibilities of the owner is void.
(b) A property owners' association may not bar a property
owner from voting on any matter because:
(1) an association enforcement action is pending
against the owner; or
(2) the owner owes a delinquent assessment, fee, or
other charge to the association.
(c) This section does not apply to a property owners'
association that is subject to Chapter 552, Government Code, by
application of Section 552.0036, Government Code.
(d) In a residential development with 10 or fewer lots for
which the declaration was recorded before January 1, 2015, a person
may not vote in a property owners' association election unless the
person is subject to a dedicatory instrument governing the
association through which the association exercises its authority.
Sec. 216.0042. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS. Property owners may
amend the bylaws by a vote of owners having a majority of the voting
power in the property owners' association, or by a lesser amount
provided in the declaration.
Sec. 216.0043. REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBERS. Property owners
may remove board members, with or without cause, by a vote of owners
having a majority of the voting power in the property owners'
association, or by a lesser amount provided in the declaration, at a
special meeting called under Subchapter D.
SUBCHAPTER D. SPECIAL MEETINGS
Sec. 216.0061. SPECIAL MEETINGS. Property owners of a
property owners' association may call a special meeting of the
association to vote on any matter by submitting a petition to the
association under this subchapter.
Sec. 216.0062. PETITION FOR SPECIAL MEETING. (a) Property
owners having at least 20 percent of the voting power in a property
owners' association may call a special meeting by submitting a
petition to an officer or registered agent of the association.
(b) If the petition includes a proposal to remove a board
member, the board member may not participate in any vote of the
association concerning the petition.
(c) In any 12-month period, a property owner may not sign
more than:
(1) one petition for a special meeting to remove one or
more board members; and
(2) one petition for a special meeting on any other
matter.
Sec. 216.0063. COURT ORDER TO COMPEL MEETING. (a) A
property owner who signed a petition under Section 216.0062, may
seek an order in any trial court to compel a property owners'
association to hold a special meeting if the property owners'
association does not hold the special meeting requested by the
petition on or before the 30th day after the date the petition is
submitted to the association.
(b) An application for relief from a court under this
section is presented in the same manner as an application for a
temporary restraining order. The application must include the
completed petition on which the right to a special meeting is based.
If the court determines that the petition contains signatures and
proxies representing 20 percent of the voting power in the property
owners' association, the court shall set the matter for hearing not
later than the 10th day after the date the court makes the
determination. The court may appoint a presiding officer for the
special meeting and order the meeting to be held.
SECTION 2. Sections 209.0055 and 209.0059, Property Code,
are repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.