HB2223 - Relating to the confidentiality of eviction case information.

  89R7020 JBD-F     By: Collier H.B. No. 2223       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   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 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 protecting the   confidentiality of 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 protecting the confidentiality of 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 protecting during the pendency of   the appeal the confidentiality of the eviction case information   presented in the trial court.           (e)     If an order is entered to protect the confidentiality of   eviction case information under this section:                 (1)     a court or clerk may not disclose the eviction case   information, except:                       (A)     to a judge or court personnel 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 decisions 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, 2025.