Bill Text: TX HB1450 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the confidentiality of eviction case information.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-05-05 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB1450 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB1450-Comm_Sub.html
88R21600 DRS-F | |||
By: Collier | H.B. No. 1450 | ||
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1450: | |||
By: González of Dallas | C.S.H.B. No. 1450 |
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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 RECORDS RELATED TO 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 making confidential 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 making confidential 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 making confidential the eviction | ||
case information of the trial court during the pendency of the | ||
appeal. | ||
(e) If an order is entered making eviction case information | ||
confidential under this section: | ||
(1) a court or clerk may not disclose the eviction case | ||
information, except: | ||
(A) to any judge or court staff 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 work 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, 2023. |