HBA-SEB S.B. 337 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 337 By: Madla Urban Affairs 3/30/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, excess proceeds of a property tax sale, pursuant to a foreclosure of a tax lien, are held by the clerk of a court for a period of seven years, and a person is authorized to file a petition to claim those proceeds during that time. S.B. 337 requires the clerk, if the amount of the proceeds exceeds $25, to notify the former owner of the property about the excess proceeds and about the person's rights to claim the proceeds. It also decreases from seven to two the number of years the court clerk is required to hold the proceeds from a property tax sale. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sections 34.03(a) and (b), Tax Code, as follows: (a) Requires a clerk of a court to send by certified mail, return receipt requested, a written notice to the former owner of property that states the amount of excess proceeds from the sale of the property at a property foreclosure sale. Establishes that the notice must inform the former owner of the owner's rights to claim the excess proceeds and must include a copy or the complete text of this section (Disposition of Excess Proceeds) and Section 34.04 (Claims for Excess Proceeds). Provides that the written notice must be sent if the amount of the excess proceeds is more than $25. Requires the clerk to send the notice before the 31st day after the clerk receives the proceeds. Establishes that regardless of the amount of the proceeds, the clerk of the court is required to keep the excess proceeds for a period of two, rather than seven, years after the date of sale unless otherwise ordered by the court. Makes a nonsubstantive change. (b) Makes a conforming change. SECTION 2. Amends Sections 34.04(a) and (d), Tax Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 3. (a) Effective date: September 1, 1999. (b) Provides that the change in law made by this Act applies to the disposition of excess proceeds of a property tax foreclosure sale paid into court, regardless of the date on which the foreclosure sale occurred or the date on which the proceeds were paid into the court. Requires a clerk of a court to mail a notice required by Section 34.03(a), Tax Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act if the clerk is retaining excess proceeds on that date. Prohibits the clerk from distributing those proceeds before the second anniversary of the date the notice is mailed. Provides that a claim for the proceeds made on or before that second anniversary is considered to have been made within the period provided by Section 34.03(b), Tax Code, as amended by this Act. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.