Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5522 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1062 DRS-D
2	2	By: Schofield H.B. No. 5522
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the unauthorized occupancy of real property and a
10	10	credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed on the real property;
11	11	creating a criminal offense.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 30, Penal Code, is amended by adding
14	14	Section 30.08 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 30.08. SQUATTING. (a) A person commits an offense if
16	16	the person:
17	17	(1) occupies the property of another without the
18	18	effective consent of the owner or other person authorized by a lease
19	19	or other agreement to occupy the property; and
20	20	(2) knows or reasonably should know that the person
21	21	does not have the effective consent of the owner or other person
22	22	authorized by a lease or other agreement to occupy the property.
23	23	(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
24	24	except that the offense is:
25	25	(1) a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of
26	26	the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted one
27	27	time of an offense under this section; or
28	28	(2) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
29	29	trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been
30	30	convicted two or more times of an offense under this section.
31	31	SECTION 2. Title 4, Property Code, is amended by adding
32	32	Chapter 24B to read as follows:
33	33	CHAPTER 24B. PROPERTY OWNER REMEDIES FOR UNAUTHORIZED OCCUPANCY OF
34	34	REAL PROPERTY
35	35	Sec. 24B.001. ACTION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.
36	36	Notwithstanding any other law, if a person entered and is occupying
37	37	real property without the consent of the owner or the person
38	38	authorized by a lease or other agreement to occupy the property, the
39	39	property owner may bring an action in a court of competent
40	40	jurisdiction in the county in which the property is located to
41	41	restrain the person from occupying the property by a temporary
42	42	restraining order or by a permanent or temporary injunction.
43	43	Sec. 24B.002. MANDAMUS. A property owner may seek a writ of
44	44	mandamus from a court of competent jurisdiction:
45	45	(1) to compel a district attorney, criminal district
46	46	attorney, or county attorney who fails or refuses to prosecute
47	47	conduct constituting an offense under Section 30.08, Penal Code, to
48	48	transfer prosecution of the offense to the appropriate prosecutor
49	49	in an adjoining county; or
50	50	(2) to compel a court that fails or refuses to set a
51	51	date for hearing an action brought by a property owner under Section
52	52	24B.001 to initiate or resume proceedings in the case.
53	53	SECTION 3. Chapter 31, Tax Code, is amended by adding
54	54	Section 31.039 to read as follows:
55	55	Sec. 31.039. TAX CREDIT FOR UNAUTHORIZED OCCUPANCY OF REAL
56	56	PROPERTY. (a) A person who owns real property that during all or a
57	57	portion of a tax year is occupied by a person who entered the
58	58	property without the consent of the owner is entitled to a credit
59	59	against the taxes imposed on the property by each taxing unit that
60	60	taxes the property.
61	61	(b) The amount of the credit to which a property owner is
62	62	entitled under this section against the taxes imposed on the
63	63	property by a taxing unit in a tax year is:
64	64	(1) if the chief appraiser determines that the
65	65	property was occupied by a person who entered the property without
66	66	the consent of the owner for a period of six months or less in the
67	67	tax year, the amount computed by:
68	68	(A) dividing the amount of taxes imposed on the
69	69	property by the taxing unit in the tax year by 12;
70	70	(B) multiplying the quotient computed under
71	71	Paragraph (A) by two;
72	72	(C) multiplying the quotient computed under
73	73	Paragraph (A) by the number of months for which the chief appraiser
74	74	determines that the property was occupied by the person for all or
75	75	part of the month; and
76	76	(D) adding the product computed under Paragraph
77	77	(B) to the product computed under Paragraph (C); or
78	78	(2) if the chief appraiser determines that the
79	79	property was occupied by a person who entered the property without
80	80	the consent of the owner for more than six months in the tax year, an
81	81	amount equal to the total amount of taxes imposed on the property by
82	82	the taxing unit in the tax year.
83	83	(c) To receive a credit under this section, a property owner
84	84	must:
85	85	(1) file an application with the chief appraiser of
86	86	the appraisal district in which the property is located; and
87	87	(2) submit with the application evidence sufficient to
88	88	establish that the owner is entitled to the credit.
89	89	(d) The chief appraiser shall approve or deny an application
90	90	under this section for each taxing unit for which the appraisal
91	91	district appraises property. A determination of the chief
92	92	appraiser is subject to protest and appeal in the same manner as a
93	93	determination to approve or deny an application for an exemption.
94	94	(e) The chief appraiser shall forward a copy of the
95	95	application to the assessor for each taxing unit that imposes taxes
96	96	on the property and certify to the assessor whether the chief
97	97	appraiser has approved or denied the application.
98	98	(f) The comptroller shall adopt rules for the
99	99	administration of this section, including rules prescribing the
100	100	form of an application for the credit.
101	101	SECTION 4. Section 31.039, Tax Code, as added by this Act,
102	102	applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year beginning on
103	103	or after the effective date of this Act.
104	104	SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
105	105	section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
106	106	(b) Section 31.039, Tax Code, as added by this Act, takes
107	107	effect January 1, 2026, but only if the constitutional amendment
108	108	proposed by the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, to
109	109	authorize the legislature to provide for a credit against the ad
110	110	valorem taxes imposed on real property occupied by a person who
111	111	entered the property without the consent of the owner is approved by
112	112	the voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters,
113	113	Section 31.039, Tax Code, as added by this Act, has no effect.