Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2223 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R7020 JBD-F
2	2	By: Collier H.B. No. 2223
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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 EVICTION CASE INFORMATION. (a)
14	14	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 protecting the
25	25	confidentiality of the eviction case information pertaining to a
26	26	defendant if:
27	27	(1) a judgment is entered in favor of the defendant;
28	28	(2) the case is dismissed without any relief granted
29	29	to the plaintiff; or
30	30	(3) the defendant is a residential tenant not
31	31	otherwise in default and the eviction case is brought by the
32	32	successor in interest following foreclosure.
33	33	(c) On petition of a defendant in an eviction case after a
34	34	judgment or order of dismissal has been entered, a court shall enter
35	35	an order protecting the confidentiality of the eviction case
36	36	information pertaining to a defendant if a confidentiality order
37	37	was not issued and:
38	38	(1) a judgment was entered in favor of the defendant;
39	39	or
40	40	(2) the case was dismissed without any relief granted
41	41	to the plaintiff.
42	42	(d) On perfection of appeal by any party in an eviction
43	43	case, a court shall enter an order protecting during the pendency of
44	44	the appeal the confidentiality of the eviction case information
45	45	presented in the trial court.
46	46	(e) If an order is entered to protect the confidentiality of
47	47	eviction case information under this section:
48	48	(1) a court or clerk may not disclose the eviction case
49	49	information, except:
50	50	(A) to a judge or court personnel of the trial
51	51	court presiding over the eviction case;
52	52	(B) to the parties to the suit or the parties'
53	53	counsel; or
54	54	(C) in a form that omits any personal identifying
55	55	information of the parties, to any other person, agency, or
56	56	institution approved by the court with a legitimate and
57	57	noncommercial interest in the decisions of the court; and
58	58	(2) except to the extent permitted by federal law, a
59	59	consumer reporting agency, a person, other than a landlord, who
60	60	regularly collects and disseminates eviction case information, or a
61	61	person who sells eviction case information may not:
62	62	(A) disclose the existence of the eviction case;
63	63	or
64	64	(B) use the eviction case information as a factor
65	65	in determining a score or recommendation in a tenant screening
66	66	report regarding the defendant.
67	67	(f) A person who knowingly violates Subsection (e)(2) is
68	68	liable to an injured party for:
69	69	(1) actual damages; and
70	70	(2) reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
71	71	(g) This section does not prohibit a party to an eviction
72	72	case from abstracting the judgment in the case.
73	73	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.