Sec. 33.41. SUIT TO COLLECT DELINQUENT TAX. (a) At any time after its tax on property becomes delinquent, a taxing unit may file suit to foreclose the lien securing payment of the tax, to enforce personal liability for the tax, or both. The suit must be in a court of competent jurisdiction for the county in which the tax was imposed.
(b) A suit to collect a delinquent tax takes precedence over all other suits pending in appellate courts.
(c) In a suit brought under Subsection (a), a taxing unit may foreclose any other lien on the property in favor of the taxing unit or enforce personal liability of the property owner for the other lien.
(d) In a suit brought under this section, a court shall grant a taxing unit injunctive relief on a showing that the personal property on which the taxing unit seeks to foreclose a tax lien is about to be:
(1) removed from the county in which the tax was imposed; or
(2) transferred to another person and the other person is not a buyer in the ordinary course of business, as defined by Section 1.201, Business & Commerce Code.
(e) Injunctive relief granted under Subsection (d) must:
(1) prohibit alienation or dissipation of the property;
(2) order that proceeds from the sale of the property in an amount equal to the taxes claimed to be due be paid into the court registry; or
(3) order any other relief to ensure the payment of the taxes owed.
(f) A taxing unit is not required to file a bond as a condition to the granting of injunctive relief under Subsection (d).
(g) In a petition for relief under Subsection (d), the taxing unit may also seek to secure the payment of taxes for a current tax year that are not delinquent and shall estimate the amount due if those taxes are not yet assessed.
(h) The tax lien attaches to any amounts paid into the court's registry with the same priority as for the property on which taxes are owed.
Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2293, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 2644, ch. 707, Sec. 4(33), eff. Aug. 31, 1981; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 1031, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1430, Sec. 20, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
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