89R7020 JBD-F
By: Collier H.B. No. 2223
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the confidentiality of eviction case information.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 24, Property Code, is amended by adding
Section 24.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 24.012. CONFIDENTIAL EVICTION CASE INFORMATION. (a)
In this section:
(1) "Consumer reporting agency" has the meaning
assigned by Section 20.01, Business & Commerce Code.
(2) "Eviction case" means a lawsuit brought under this
chapter to recover possession of leased or rented real property
from a tenant, including a tenant at will or a tenant at sufferance.
(3) "Eviction case information" means all records and
files related to a filing of an eviction case, including petitions
and their dispositions.
(b) Concurrently with a judgment or order of dismissal in an
eviction case, a court shall enter an order protecting the
confidentiality of the eviction case information pertaining to a
defendant if:
(1) a judgment is entered in favor of the defendant;
(2) the case is dismissed without any relief granted
to the plaintiff; or
(3) the defendant is a residential tenant not
otherwise in default and the eviction case is brought by the
successor in interest following foreclosure.
(c) On petition of a defendant in an eviction case after a
judgment or order of dismissal has been entered, a court shall enter
an order protecting the confidentiality of the eviction case
information pertaining to a defendant if a confidentiality order
was not issued and:
(1) a judgment was entered in favor of the defendant;
or
(2) the case was dismissed without any relief granted
to the plaintiff.
(d) On perfection of appeal by any party in an eviction
case, a court shall enter an order protecting during the pendency of
the appeal the confidentiality of the eviction case information
presented in the trial court.
(e) If an order is entered to protect the confidentiality of
eviction case information under this section:
(1) a court or clerk may not disclose the eviction case
information, except:
(A) to a judge or court personnel of the trial
court presiding over the eviction case;
(B) to the parties to the suit or the parties'
counsel; or
(C) in a form that omits any personal identifying
information of the parties, to any other person, agency, or
institution approved by the court with a legitimate and
noncommercial interest in the decisions of the court; and
(2) except to the extent permitted by federal law, a
consumer reporting agency, a person, other than a landlord, who
regularly collects and disseminates eviction case information, or a
person who sells eviction case information may not:
(A) disclose the existence of the eviction case;
or
(B) use the eviction case information as a factor
in determining a score or recommendation in a tenant screening
report regarding the defendant.
(f) A person who knowingly violates Subsection (e)(2) is
liable to an injured party for:
(1) actual damages; and
(2) reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
(g) This section does not prohibit a party to an eviction
case from abstracting the judgment in the case.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.