Texas House bill by Rep. Harris Davila bars fines for drought-related brown turf

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Caroline Harris Davila aims to prevent property owners’ associations from fining homeowners for brown or discolored vegetation during and shortly after municipal watering restrictions to conserve water, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 59 Democrats and 84 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Republican opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, with no opposing votes.

Caroline Harris Davila introduced the bill in the Texas House on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, ahead of the official start of the 89th regular legislative session on Jan. 14, 2025.

Davilla graduated from Thomas Edison State College with a BA.

Davilla, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 52nd House district, replacing previous state representative James Talarico.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the authority of a property owners’ association to assess a fine for discolored vegetation or turf during a period of residential watering restriction’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill prohibits property owners’ associations from imposing fines on homeowners for not maintaining green vegetation or turf during and shortly after a period of residential watering restrictions. Defined as temporary water use limitations mandated by municipalities or water providers to conserve resources during droughts, these restrictions may naturally result in discolored or brown vegetation. The legislation prevents fines for such appearance violations both during the enforcement of these restrictions and for a reasonable duration following their lift. This act is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Angie Chen Button (Republican – District 112), Rep. Vikki Goodwin (Democrat – District 47), and Rep. Salman Bhojani (Democrat – District 92), along with six other authors.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Monday, May 12, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday, May 26.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.