H.B. No. 1407

AN ACT relating to the redemption of real property sold at an ad valorem
tax sale.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 34.21, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as follows:
(f) The owner of real property sold at a tax sale may redeem
the real property by paying the required amount as prescribed by
this section to the assessor-collector for the county in which the
property was sold, if [If] the owner of the real property makes an
affidavit stating:
(1) that the period in which the owner’s right of
redemption must be exercised has not expired; and
(2) that the owner has made diligent search in the
county in which the property is located for the purchaser at the tax
sale or for the purchaser at resale, and has failed to find the
purchaser, that the purchaser is not a resident of the county in
which the property is located, that the owner and the purchaser
cannot agree on the amount of redemption money due, or that the
purchaser refuses to give the owner a quitclaim deed to the
property[, the owner may redeem the land by paying the required
amount as prescribed by this section to the assessor-collector for
the county in which the property described has been redeemed].
(f-1) An assessor-collector who receives an affidavit and
payment under Subsection (f) shall accept that the assertions set
out in the affidavit are true and correct. The assessor-collector
receiving the payment shall give the owner a signed receipt
witnessed by two persons. The receipt, when recorded, is notice to
all persons that the property described has been redeemed. The
assessor-collector shall on demand pay the money received by the
assessor-collector to the purchaser. An assessor-collector is not
liable to any person for performing the assessor-collector’s duties
under this subsection in reliance on the assertions contained in an
affidavit.
SECTION 2. Section 34.21, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
applies to a redemption of real property on or after the effective
date of this Act, regardless of whether the property that is the
subject of the redemption was sold for ad valorem taxes under a
judgment rendered or tax warrant issued before, on, or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.

______________________________                 ______________________________
President of the Senate                            Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 1407 was passed by the House on April
21, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.

______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 1407 was passed by the Senate on May
21, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED:

_____________________
Date

_____________________
Governor