Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1450 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R21600 DRS-F
2	2	By: Collier H.B. No. 1450
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1450:
4	4	By: González of Dallas C.S.H.B. No. 1450
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the confidentiality of eviction case information.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Chapter 24, Property Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Section 24.012 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 24.012. CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS RELATED TO EVICTION CASE
14	14	INFORMATION. (a) In this section:
15	15	(1) "Consumer reporting agency" has the meaning
16	16	assigned by Section 20.01, Business & Commerce Code.
17	17	(2) "Eviction case" means a lawsuit brought under this
18	18	chapter to recover possession of leased or rented real property
19	19	from a tenant, including a tenant at will or a tenant at sufferance.
20	20	(3) "Eviction case information" means all records and
21	21	files related to a filing of an eviction case, including petitions
22	22	and their dispositions.
23	23	(b) Concurrently with a judgment or order of dismissal in an
24	24	eviction case, a court shall enter an order making confidential the
25	25	eviction case information pertaining to a defendant if:
26	26	(1) a judgment is entered in favor of the defendant;
27	27	(2) the case is dismissed without any relief granted
28	28	to the plaintiff; or
29	29	(3) the defendant is a residential tenant not
30	30	otherwise in default and the eviction case is brought by the
31	31	successor in interest following foreclosure.
32	32	(c) On petition of a defendant in an eviction case after a
33	33	judgment or order of dismissal has been entered, a court shall enter
34	34	an order making confidential the eviction case information
35	35	pertaining to a defendant if a confidentiality order was not issued
36	36	and:
37	37	(1) a judgment was entered in favor of the defendant;
38	38	or
39	39	(2) the case was dismissed without any relief granted
40	40	to the plaintiff.
41	41	(d) On perfection of appeal by any party in an eviction
42	42	case, a court shall enter an order making confidential the eviction
43	43	case information of the trial court during the pendency of the
44	44	appeal.
45	45	(e) If an order is entered making eviction case information
46	46	confidential under this section:
47	47	(1) a court or clerk may not disclose the eviction case
48	48	information, except:
49	49	(A) to any judge or court staff of the trial court
50	50	presiding over the eviction case;
51	51	(B) to the parties to the suit or the parties'
52	52	counsel; or
53	53	(C) in a form that omits any personal identifying
54	54	information of the parties, to any other person, agency, or
55	55	institution approved by the court with a legitimate and
56	56	noncommercial interest in the work of the court; and
57	57	(2) except to the extent permitted by federal law, a
58	58	consumer reporting agency, a person, other than a landlord, who
59	59	regularly collects and disseminates eviction case information, or a
60	60	person who sells eviction case information may not:
61	61	(A) disclose the existence of the eviction case;
62	62	or
63	63	(B) use the eviction case information as a factor
64	64	in determining a score or recommendation in a tenant screening
65	65	report regarding the defendant.
66	66	(f) A person who knowingly violates Subsection (e)(2) is
67	67	liable to an injured party for:
68	68	(1) actual damages; and
69	69	(2) reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
70	70	(g) This section does not prohibit a party to an eviction
71	71	case from abstracting the judgment in the case.
72	72	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.