Latest news with #CarolineHarrisDavila
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Texas House passes bill restricting HOA fines for brown lawns
The Brief The Texas House passed HB 517 on April 24 HB 517 would prevent HOAs from fining homeowners for brown grass or vegetation Next up, the bill is headed to a senate committee AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas House passed a bill on Thursday to restrict HOAs from issuing fines when lawns turn brown. If the bill becomes law, it could impact almost every major city in Texas. RELATED: Texas bill aims to protect homeowners from getting fined for brown lawns during water restrictions The backstory The bill, filed by Round Rock State Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, would prevent HOAs from fining homeowners for brown grass or vegetation when their water supplier asks them to cut back on usage during a drought. "I'm so excited, and the whole time I've been working on this, I've received nothing but overwhelming support," said Harris Davila. "I think that many members have heard about these concerns from their constituents who, you know, again, are stuck between either watering their lawn during a watering restriction and getting a fine from the local municipality or water provider or letting their yard get brown and the being fined by the HOA for not having a green yard." Lawmakers made two changes, including an amendment by Austin Representative Ellen Troxclair, which gives homeowners 60 days to get their lawns back up to code after a water restriction is lifted. "It takes an average of six weeks to restore grass," said Troxclair on Wednesday during the second reading of the bill. "This is a reasonable time frame." Another amendment prevents HOAs from requiring homeowners to install grass or turf during a drought. "In the original bill, we were talking about maintaining a green yard, but they wanted to make sure that they wouldn't also be required to plant new grass during a drought, which is pretty straightforward and common sense to me," said Harris Davila. Local perspective "I think that when we live in a state where, I would argue probably seven to eight months out the year, we seem to be in some form of drought condition that it seems a little bit short-sighted to demand that people have green grass when there are arguably more important things that we could be using our resources on," said Megan McGuffee. Back in Round Rock, homeowner Isha Kanini said she hasn't heard of HOA fining residents for brown lawns during a drought, but she's glad it's one less thing she has to worry about. "They haven't sent me any of those notices, but if anything stops them from doing any of that, that would be really nice," said Kanini. In written public house comments, one homeowner called it a "waste of time." What's next Next up, the bill is headed to a senate committee. If it passes through that, it will move to the Senate floor. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas bill aims to protect homeowners from getting fined for brown lawns during water restrictions
The Brief A bill in the Texas House aims to protect homeowners the next time their city says its residents need to cut back on water use HB 517 would prevent HOAs from fining homeowners for brown grass or vegetation when their water supplier asks them to conserve during a drought WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - A bill in the Texas House aims to protect homeowners the next time their city says its residents need to cut back on water use. When it's time to turn the sprinklers off because of water restrictions, Williamson County State Representative Caroline Harris Davila (R) thinks homeowners shouldn't be at fault for their dreary-looking yards. What they're saying "We want to incentivize people to obey water restrictions and not make it difficult because they're getting fined or something," said Davila. She filed House Bill 517. It would prevent HOAs from fining homeowners for brown grass or vegetation when their water supplier asks them to conserve during a drought. "We're all concerned about water and drought, especially right now in Texas, and so that's another part of it is, everyone's on board with water conservation, and we all understand in times of drought, we all have to do our part," said Davila. Water restrictions often happen in Williamson County. Right now, Georgetown is under a Drought Stage 2 restriction, which is a one-day-per-week irrigation schedule. "It's very hard to keep the grass green all year long, especially when we want to respect the water restrictions that we have in place," said Maricruz Acuna, a realtor in Austin. FOX 7 Austin asked her if she had heard of HOAs handing out fines during water restrictions. "I don't have clients who have told me they have been fined for this, but it's good to know they can't be fined for this. You know, I think a lot of HOA's are mindful of the fact that we have water restrictions in place," said Acuna. Fines were one concern brought up in the house's public comments. "Ridiculous waste of time. During drought, there WILL BE discoloration of vegetation. Get busy!" a homeowner from Denison, Texas, said. But Davila said these concerns about fines are real. "I heard from my constituents a lot about it," said Davila. "We even had some town halls in my district about HOAs in my community and so it was important for me to answer those requests." What's next If this bill passes, it would also give homeowners a 30-day grace period to get their lawns back to code before an HOA can issue a fine. It recently passed its committee and will now head to the calendar committee. Then, the Texas House will vote on it. If it gets enough approval from other representatives, it will go to the Senate for a vote before landing on Governor Greg Abbott's desk. It could become law on September 1, 2025. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel
