By: Ortega	H.B. No. 167

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to common and public nuisances.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 125.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) and amending
	Subsection (d) to read as follows:
	(c-1)  Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), a court may
	issue a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, or
	permanent injunction in a suit under this section.
	(c-2)  A court may not issue a temporary restraining order in
	a suit under this section to enjoin and abate a common nuisance if:
	(1)  the only activity that creates the common nuisance
	is described by Section 125.0015(a)(1), (2), (14), or (23); or
	(2)  the only activity that creates the common nuisance
	under Section 125.0015(a)(24) is the display of a firearm or other
	deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm.
	(d)  A person who violates a temporary restraining order,
	temporary injunction, or permanent injunction issued [injunctive
	order] under this subchapter is subject to the following sentences
	for civil contempt:
	(1)  a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than
	$10,000;
	(2)  confinement in jail for a term of not less than 10
	or more than 30 days; or
	(3)  both fine and confinement.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 125, Civil Practice and
	Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 125.0451 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 125.0451.  TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER. (a)  A court
	may issue a temporary restraining order without a formal hearing in
	a suit under Section 125.002 only if the person seeking the
	temporary restraining order shows in a hearing that a place is
	maintained in a manner that is a common nuisance or about to become
	a common nuisance.
	(b)  A temporary restraining order issued under this section
	may not last for a period of more than 14 days.
	(c)  A temporary restraining order issued under this section
	is not:
	(1)  an injunctive order for the purposes of Section
	125.003 or 125.045; or
	(2)  a determination by the court that a person is
	maintaining a common nuisance for the purposes of Section 125.046.
	(d)  A temporary restraining order may not be issued under
	this section unless the person whose conduct or omission is sought
	to be restrained receives notice of the hearing.
	SECTION 3.  Sections 125.047(c) and (d), Civil Practice and
	Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(c)  A municipality may [shall] create a fund as a separate
	account in the treasury of the municipality.
	(d)  If a municipality creates a fund under this section, the
	[The] fund consists of:
	(1)  money awarded the municipality in an action under
	this chapter;
	(2)  money awarded the municipality under a settlement
	to an action under this chapter;
	(3)  fines resulting from code enforcement citations
	issued by the municipality for conduct defined as a common or public
	nuisance under this chapter;
	(4)  bonds forfeited to the municipality under this
	chapter; and
	(5)  donations or grants made to the municipality for
	the purpose of nuisance abatement.
	SECTION 4.  Section 125.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 125.0451, Civil Practice
	and Remedies Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a cause of
	action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A
	cause of action that accrues before the effective date of this Act
	is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective
	date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
	purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.