Issue 89.3
Every member. Every member will have a voice” – new Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows
Director of Regulatory Affairs
In first round voting Rep. Burrows fell five votes short of the necessary 76 votes to become Texas Speaker among the three candidates. The second-round vote was restricted to only the top two vote recipients, both Republicans. Nine Democrats who voted for their party candidate in the first round chose not to vote in the second round and one more was marked absent. Here is the party breakdown on second and decisive round of voting.
| Candidate | Total votes | Republican votes | Democratic votes |
| Rep. Dustin Burrows | 85 | 36 | 49 |
| Rep. David Cook | 55 | 52 | 3 |
Speaker Burrows was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas and has served House District 83 for ten years. Three sessions ago Rep. Burrows chaired the important Ways and Means Committee that deals with issues such as property taxes. For the past two sessions he held what many consider the most powerful position following the speaker, chairing the Calendars Committee. Officially this committee oversees the timeline and the order for bills to reach the House floor for final votes. Calendars is a comparatively secretive committee. It is where bills are easiest to kill without leaving behind fingerprints.
The Speaker will soon make committee assignments based on members preference cards. It will be interesting to see what happens to the number of committees chaired by Democrats. Also, the Speaker’s appointment of chair and vice chair to several key committees including Calendars, Public Education and Higher Education may be our first indication of how cooperative the House will be this session with the ultra-conservative agenda of other state leaders. Will the House continue to frustrate Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s senate priorities for education including: school vouchers, putting the Ten Commandments in school classrooms, and banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the state’s colleges?
Weekly Highlight
To read the full text of any of these bills you can go to Texas Legislature Online.
Bills on the Move
None until committee activity begins in March.
New Bills
HB 329 Bell, Cecil (HB 329 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 5133 it was left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to a requirement that an appraisal review board rely on an appraisal of residential real property prepared by an appraiser and submitted to the board by the property owner.
HB 360 Vasut, Cody (HB 360 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 523 it was left pending in Committee without a hearing.) Relating to the authority of an appraisal review board to direct changes in the appraisal roll and related appraisal records if a residence homestead is sold for less than the appraised value.
HB 533 Cortez, Philip Relating to imposing liens for labor and supplies provided by cleaners.
HB 851 Schofield, Mike Relating to the determination and reporting of the number of residence homesteads of certain property owners for which the owner is receiving certain ad valorem tax benefits.
HB 1139 Oliverson, Tom Relating to venue in certain actions involving a contract for an improvement to real property.
HB 1243 Guillen, Ryan Relating to the authority of spouses who occupy separate properties as their principal residences to each qualify the property in which they reside as their residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes.
HB 1623 Louderback, AJ Relating to the eligibility of certain foreign individuals or entities for a limitation on the taxable value of property for school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax purposes.
HB 1743 Little, Mitch Relating to the holding or acquisition of an interest in real property by or on behalf of certain foreign individuals or entities.
HB 1753 Manuel, Christian Relating to a court order for the exclusive occupancy of the primary residence or other residential property by a spouse during the pendency of a suit for dissolution of a marriage.
HB 1766 Landgraf, Brooks Relating to a requirement that an appraisal district rely on an appraisal of real property prepared by an appraiser and submitted to the district by the property owner when determining the value of the property.
HJR 102 Gervin-Hawkins, Barbara Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the amount of the market value of residential real property.
SB 693 West, Royce Relating to creating a criminal offense for the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument.
Previously Reported Bills
HB 191 Spiller, David Relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by certain foreign entities. (Companion HB 1566)
HB 243 Spiller, David (HB 243 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 3470 but both that bill and its companion SB1441 were left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to the authority of the attorney general to acquire by eminent domain certain real property owned by aliens or foreign entities.
HB 287 Harris Davila, Caroline Relating to an annual study by the Texas A&M University Texas Real Estate Research Center of the purchase and sale of single-family homes by certain institutional buyers.
HB 402 Cain, Briscoe Relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by certain aliens or foreign entities.
HB 414 Leo-Wilson, Terri Relating to the unauthorized entry, occupancy, sale, rental, lease, advertisement for sale, rental, or lease, or conveyance of real property, including the removal of certain unauthorized occupants of a dwelling. (Companion HB 1076)
HB 518 Leo-Wilson, Terri Relating to the ownership of agricultural land by nonresident aliens or foreign entities.
HB 576 Shaheen, Matt (HB 576 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 2565 it was left pending in Committee without a vote. Its companion SB1568 passed both chambers but was vetoed by the Governor.) Relating to the persons authorized or appointed to exercise the power of sale under the terms of a contract lien on real property. (Companion SB 372)
HB 733 Bell, Cecil Relating to verification of citizenship or legal residency for purposes of certain contracts for or concerning the purchase of residential real property located in platted subdivisions.
HB 957 Toth, Steve (HB 957 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 264 passing the House but was not assigned to a committee in the Senate.) Relating to requirements for the physical presence of a borrower for signing certain documents related to a home equity loan.
HB 963 Toth, Steve (HB 963 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 295 it was left pending in Committee without a vote. It was also filed in the 87th Session as HB 2284) Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes.
HB 998 Toth, Steve (HB 998 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 4513 it was left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to the authority of an individual, before purchasing real property to be used as the individual’s residence homestead, to request from the chief appraiser.
HB 1043 Bhojani, Salman Relating to a study by the General Land Office on the establishment and implementation by the General Land Office of a distributed ledger-based title registry pilot program.
HB 1076 Pierson, Katrina Relating to the unauthorized entry, occupancy, sale, rental, lease, advertisement for sale, rental, or lease, or conveyance of real property, including the removal of certain unauthorized occupants of a dwelling. (Companions HB 414 and SB465)
HB 1104 Cole, Sheryl (HB 1104 was previously filed in 88th Session as HB 1168 it was left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to a program to provide housing vouchers to emergency medical services personnel in certain counties.
HB 1129 Lopez, Janie Relating to the eligibility of mental health professionals for the Homes for Texas Heroes home loan program.
HB 1566 Patterson, Jared Relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by certain foreign entities. (Companion HB 191)
HJR 40 Swanson, Valoree (HJR 40 was previously filed in 88th Session as HJR 124 it was left pending in Committee without a vote.) Proposing a constitutional amendment to remove the requirement that a home equity loan be closed only at the office of the lender, an attorney at law, or a title company.
HJR 71 Schofield, Mike Proposing a constitutional amendment providing that a residence homestead is not subject to seizure or sale for delinquent ad valorem taxes.
HJR 75 Toth, Steve Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for exceptions to the requirement that a home equity loan be closed only at the office of the lender, an attorney at law, or a title company.
SB 74 Zaffirini, Judith (SB 74 was previously filed in 88th Session as SB 2426 it was left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to an exemption from residential mortgage loan originator licensing requirements.
SB 103 Hall, Bob Relating to prohibiting the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by and contracts or other agreements with certain aliens or foreign entities.
SB 208 West, Royce Relating to the establishment of the workforce housing capital investment fund program to fund the development of workforce housing in this state.
SB 234 Johnson, Nathan Relating to the establishment of the workforce housing program by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
SB 244 Flores, Pete Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes.
SB 307 Kolkhorst, Lois Relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by certain aliens or foreign entities.
SB 372 Campbell, Donna (SB372 was previously filed in 88th Session as SB 1568 it passed both chambers but was vetoed by the Governor.) Relating to the persons authorized or appointed to exercise the power of sale under the terms of a contract lien on real property. (Companion HB 576)
SB 443 Hinojosa, Chuy Relating to single-family homes held by corporate owners for rental purposes.
SB 465 Campbell, Donna Relating to the unauthorized entry, occupancy, sale, rental, lease, advertisement for sale, rental, or lease, or conveyance of real property, including the removal of certain unauthorized occupants. (Companion HB 1076)
SB 477 Middleton, Mayes (SB477 was previously filed in 88th Session as SB1065 it was left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes.
SB 534 Kolkhorst, Lois Relating to the statutes of limitations for certain suits to recover real property held by another in adverse possession.
SB 583 West, Royce Relating to lists of public real property suitable for use or to be developed for use as affordable housing by certain municipalities and counties.
SB 647 West, Royce Relating to the filing or recording of documents or instruments conveying or purporting to convey an interest in real or personal property.
SB 648 West, Royce Relating to recording requirements for certain instruments concerning real property.
If you have questions about these specific bills or the Texas legislative process in general, please reach out to Doug Foster or one of our firm’s attorneys or representatives at: https://www.mortgagelaw.com/our-team/