Texas POA Bills    84th Legislature (2015)

A Periodic Report by Sharon Reuler 

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Issued February 5, 2015  
  

Dear Good People, Let the Games Begin!  

 

 The landmark session for HOA laws in 2011 is becoming a distant memory. Many of today's lawmakers weren't in office when busloads of constituents on all sides of HOA issues descended on the Capitol ~ session after session ~ mostly locked in a stalemate until the "HOA Reform Session" of 2011. It's too soon to know whether it's "good" or "bad" that fresh faces will be dealing with historic issues.

 

It's also too soon to know who will ramrod POA legislation in the House and in the Senate. Senator Royce West is still in the saddle with his wealth of experience handling the POA "shareholders." POA manager Senator Carona has been replaced by POA developer Senator Don Huffines (my Senator!). Representative Solomons retired. Who  will lead the charge in the House?

 

There was a time when Houston lawmakers, like Lindsay, Whitmire, and Echols, were the lightning rods for POA bills. I wonder if the power shifted to Dallas lawmakers because most of their constituents don't live in POAs, so it's less "political" for them. In the Houston area, "everyone and his dog" lives in a POA.

 

Enough meaningless musing. Let's get down to business. I've attached a 3-page report - 2015 TEXAS POA BILLS - my first of this Session, so you haven't missed anything. The first two pages cover 8 POA-Specific bills. The third page touches on 6 "Sundry Bills" which may interest some of you, but which aren't POA-specific. [click on link]

 

As I've done since 2005, I will periodically report on bills that seem likely to affect the creation and operation of common interest developments in Texas - subdivisions and condominiums - anything with mandatory membership and assessments.

 

Here's hoping for such an uneventful session (POA-wise) that I won't have much to write about. :-)

TLO Website
  

The Texas Legislature Online website is the second best thing about our Legislature. (The first being the hiatus between sessions.) TLO is chock full of information and fueled by a powerful search engine that's easy to learn and use. Open 24/7 for free. If you have any interest in legislation, you'll love exploring this amazing website. Look for the "My TLO" tab next to "Home" in the top left corner. Here you can sign up for automatic email alerts of bills that interest you, or topics, or committee meetings.   

Numbers
  
Since the Session started 4 weeks ago, 804 bills have been filed ~ on par with last Session ~ and only a fraction of more than 5,000 bills that we expect to see filed by March 13.  In 2013, of the 5,868 bills filed, 1,437 became law. The passage rate of 25% is fairly typical.
Trivia
  
The Texas Legislature first created a subject category for HOA\POA bills in the 1999 Session, when an astounding 25 bills were filed. That was the beginning of the furor at the Capitol that culminated in the 2011 HOA Reform Laws. The original subject category was named "Property Owners' and Homeowners Associations (S0093)".  Although that category still exists on the TLO pulldown menu, it hasn't been used since 2005. Since 2001 the Lege has used the category of "Property Interests - Property Owners Associations (I0618)". Since 1999, an average of 29 POA bills have been filed each session - the banner years being 2009 and 2011, with 51 and 52 bills filed, respectively. 


 

Dates of Interest 


January 13, 2015 - Opening day of 84th Regular Session
March 13, 2015 - Deadline for filing bills (with some exceptions)
June 1, 2015 - Last day of Session (no exceptions)
June 21, 2015 - Last day Governor can veto a bill that passed
August 31, 2015 - Effective date for bills without specific effective dates

Sharon's Perspective 

 

All views expressed are entirely my own, and my views have been known to change. I receive no income for my legislative reporting. I'm not a lobbyist ~ don't head any group or promote any cause ~ don't expect to go to Austin for hearings.

 

I'm a Texas real estate lawyer who works with developers of common interest developments. I write the "HOA docs" for new communities and advise developers on HOA issues that arise during build-out. My developer practice is enriched by an earlier decade of representing established homeowner-controlled POAs.

 

Before becoming a lawyer in 1987, I was a real estate broker specializing in the resales of condominiums and townhomes. Also, I have the sensitivities of a homeowner from 38 years of living in common interest communities, and three bumpy HOA experiences as a home buyer.  

 

My interest in POAs began in 1977. Four years later I was drawn to POA legislation by the then proposed Texas Uniform Condominium Act. I was privileged to play a pivotal role in TUCA's passage in 1993.

 

My nearly 40 years (omg!) of involvement with POA legislation has always been as a volunteer. In recent years I have done little more than report on what's going on under the dome.  I try to call it like I see it.        


Permission

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contact info
Although I aspire to be active on social media, I'm still old school. I can be reached at the street address below, by email sreuler@txlandlaw.com, and by phone (972) 720-9727. If I'm not responsive, it's because my day job keeps me plenty busy.
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