| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Negative | Neutral |
Relating to notice to a prospective residential tenant regarding flooding and flood insurance.
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 993 would require a landlord to provide to a residential tenant a written notice containing a statement substantially similar to the one provided by the bill regarding the possibility that the dwelling may be located in an area designated by FEMA as susceptible to flooding, regarding FEMA's flood map service center, and regarding insurance policies and appropriate insurance coverage. Notice would be included in a written lease and provided in a certain format. If a landlord violates the notice requirement and the tenant suffers loss or damage as a result of a flood, the tenant would be able to terminate the lease.
Texas Action opposes HB 993 because it infringes on limited government and personal responsibility principles. FEMA's flood map is easily accessible online at https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search, where an individual may discover within seconds that a particular address is within an area FEMA designated as susceptible to flooding. Additional burdens on landlords for these reasons are unnecessary and detract from the personal responsibility of the prospective tenant to conduct minimal research on their future home.