88R13425 PRL-D
By: Hayes H.B. No. 2906
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the expenses and fees awarded to a property owner in
certain eminent domain proceedings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 21.047(a) and (d), Property Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Special commissioners may adjudge the costs of an
eminent domain proceeding against any party. If the commissioners
award greater damages than the condemnor offered to pay before the
proceedings began or if the decision of the commissioners is
appealed and a court awards greater damages than the commissioners
awarded, the condemnor shall pay all costs, expenses, and fees
incurred by the property owner. If the commissioners' award or the
court's determination of the damages is less than or equal to the
amount the condemnor offered before proceedings began, the property
owner shall pay the costs.
(d) If a court hearing a suit under this chapter determines
that a condemnor did not make a bona fide offer to acquire the
property from the property owner voluntarily as required by Section
21.0113, the court shall abate the suit, order the condemnor to make
a bona fide offer, and order the condemnor to pay:
(1) all costs, expenses, and fees incurred by the
property owner as provided by Subsection (a); and
(2) any reasonable attorney's fees and other
professional fees incurred by the property owner that are directly
related to the violation.
SECTION 2. Section 21.047, Property Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an eminent domain proceeding commenced on
or after the effective date of this Act. An eminent domain
proceeding commenced before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law applicable to the proceeding immediately before
the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.