| 1 | 1 | | 88R6609 KBB-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Vasut H.B. No. 1367 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the violation of certain laws and provisions of |
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| 8 | 8 | | governing instruments by, and the recall by property owners of, a |
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| 9 | 9 | | property owners' association board member. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sections 209.00595 and 209.018 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 209.00595. RECALL OF BOARD MEMBERS. (a) Owners |
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| 14 | 14 | | holding at least 20 percent of all voting interests in a property |
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| 15 | 15 | | owners' association may petition the association and require a |
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| 16 | 16 | | special meeting to be called for the sole purpose of conducting a |
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| 17 | 17 | | recall election to recall a member of the board. The petition may |
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| 18 | 18 | | not name more than one board member to be subject to recall. Each |
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| 19 | 19 | | owner signing the petition shall provide the owner's printed name |
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| 20 | 20 | | and residential address and the date the owner signs the petition. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The petition must be sent by certified mail, return receipt |
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| 22 | 22 | | requested, to the registered agent of the property owners' |
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| 23 | 23 | | association and to the association at the address for the |
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| 24 | 24 | | association according to the most recently filed management |
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| 25 | 25 | | certificate. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (b) Not later than the 90th day after the date the property |
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| 27 | 27 | | owners' association receives the petition, the association shall |
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| 28 | 28 | | hold a meeting for the sole purpose of conducting the recall |
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| 29 | 29 | | election. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (c) If the majority of votes received in a recall election |
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| 31 | 31 | | are for the recall of the named board member, the member's position |
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| 32 | 32 | | on the board becomes vacant immediately. The board shall fill the |
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| 33 | 33 | | vacancy as provided by Section 209.00593. |
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| 34 | 34 | | Sec. 209.018. BOARD MEMBER VIOLATION OF CHAPTER OR |
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| 35 | 35 | | DEDICATORY INSTRUMENT. (a) An owner may bring an action against a |
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| 36 | 36 | | property owners' association for a violation of this chapter or a |
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| 37 | 37 | | provision of the association's dedicatory instruments by a board |
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| 38 | 38 | | member acting in the board member's official capacity. The owner |
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| 39 | 39 | | may file a petition against the association with the justice of the |
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| 40 | 40 | | peace of a justice precinct in which all or part of the property |
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| 41 | 41 | | that is governed by the association is located requesting relief |
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| 42 | 42 | | under this section. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (b) If the justice of the peace finds that the board member |
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| 44 | 44 | | violated this chapter or a dedicatory instrument while acting |
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| 45 | 45 | | individually or with other board members, the justice of the peace |
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| 46 | 46 | | may grant one or more of the following remedies: |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) a judgment ordering the property owners' |
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| 48 | 48 | | association to immediately remove the board member from the board; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) a judgment against the property owners' |
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| 50 | 50 | | association for damages incurred by the owner resulting from the |
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| 51 | 51 | | violation; or |
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| 52 | 52 | | (3) a judgment authorizing the owner to deduct the |
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| 53 | 53 | | amounts awarded to the owner under Subdivision (2) or Subsection |
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| 54 | 54 | | (c) from any future regular or special assessments payable to the |
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| 55 | 55 | | property owners' association. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (c) The prevailing party in an action under this section is |
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| 57 | 57 | | entitled to a judgment for court costs and reasonable attorney's |
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| 58 | 58 | | fees incurred by the party in connection with the action. |
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| 59 | 59 | | (d) On or before the 10th business day before the date an |
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| 60 | 60 | | owner brings an action against a property owners' association under |
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| 61 | 61 | | this section, the owner must send written notice to the association |
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| 62 | 62 | | of the owner's intent to bring the action. The notice must: |
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| 63 | 63 | | (1) be sent certified mail, return receipt requested, |
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| 64 | 64 | | or delivered by the United States Postal Service with signature |
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| 65 | 65 | | confirmation service to the mailing address of the association or |
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| 66 | 66 | | authorized representative as reflected on the most current |
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| 67 | 67 | | management certificate filed under Section 209.004; and |
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| 68 | 68 | | (2) describe with sufficient detail the alleged |
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| 69 | 69 | | violation. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (e) For the purposes of this section, "business day" means a |
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| 71 | 71 | | day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a state or federal holiday. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 2. Section 209.018, Property Code, as added by this |
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| 73 | 73 | | Act, applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the |
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| 74 | 74 | | effective date of this Act. A violation that occurs before the |
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| 75 | 75 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed |
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| 76 | 76 | | immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is |
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| 77 | 77 | | continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, |
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| 78 | 78 | | a violation occurred before the effective date of this Act if any |
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| 79 | 79 | | element of the violation occurred before that date. |
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| 80 | 80 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September l, 2023. |
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