HISTORY OF THE "NEWSPAPER ALTERNATIVES" BILL

State Representative Stan Lambert (Abilene, House District 71) sponsored a very important bill in the last two sessions that would update the statute governing the self-storage lessor/lessee relationship (Texas Property Code Chapter 59) that was originally written in 1983. The update would provide an alternative to advertising an auction by newspaper. Currently, the Notice of Public Sale required by the statute for scheduled lien auctions must be run in local printed newspapers only. The changes we seek to amend the statute add more effective and modern methods for publicizing the sale, for instance online sites that specialize in drawing bidders to lien sales. In 2023, this bill passed the House Chamber, but we were not able to make movement on the Senate side before the session ended. In 2025, the bill was refiled and successfully made it through the House, Trade and Workforce Committee, but was unfortunately stalled in the Calendars Committee where it essentially "died."

BACKGROUND
Chapter 59 of the Texas Property Code outlines the process of which self-storage facility owners must follow when units are abandoned by or no longer paid under a private contractual agreement. The statute, written over 40 years ago, requires owners to purchase two public notices of sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. This bill updates the existing statute to provide alternative and effective means to publish the notice of public sale.

THE CURRENT STATUTE IS OUTDATED
Twenty-seven counties in Texas no longer have printed newspapers or no newspaper of any kind, as reflected in the 2023 Texas Newspaper Directory published by the Texas Press Association. That means facility owners in those counties must seek out the only current alternative of physically posting printed notices in five locations around town. Self-storage auction bidders do not look for lien sale advertisements in the newspaper. They go to auction websites and other online resources. This is part of a larger trend where private sector advertisements have migrated online—for example, for buying cars, real estate, merchandise or for political campaigns, etc. THE PROPOSED CHANGES WILL NOT ELIMINATE PUBLICATION BY NEWSPAPER
The proposed bill language provides alternatives for publishing the public notice, updating the statute to include modern means of publishing a public sale. The changes do not eliminate publication by newspaper. Self-storage operators will still be able to utilize publication by newspaper if that is the best method in their county.

THE PROPOSED CHANGES WILL NOT CHANGE NOTICE TO THE TENANT
The purpose of the Notice of Public Sale is not to notify the tenant. This takes place at the end of the process, after the claim notice (Notice of Claim) as required by statute has been sent to the tenant, by verified mail and AFTER all phone calls, emails, texts and other attempts to contact the tenant to work with them on curing the delinquency has occurred. A delinquent tenant is not going to miss direct notifications but somehow notice a newspaper advertisement on a random day.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protections for our military personnel while on active duty and for up to one year later, as defined in Section 3958 of the act, remain unchanged by this bill.

THE ONLY PRIVATE INDUSTRY REQUIRED TO SUPPORT NEWSPAPERS
Self-storage owners have been singled out as the only private industry with this requirement. Lien sales are not a profit source and are typically a last resort to clear the space in order to rent the space to a paying customer. The cost of the required newspaper ad typically exceeds any income received from the lien sale and is an unnecessary added expense. The newspapers always benefit financially from lien sales, while facility owners almost always lose money.

WILL TEXAS BE THE LAST STATE TO UPDATE THIS OUTDATED STATUTE? 
As of January 2025, 33 states allow alternative methods of advertising in lieu of newspaper advertising or do not have any advertising requirement. Several additional states are pursuing this legislation this year.

A NOTE FROM TSSA'S
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

While I’m disappointed that our “Newspaper Advertising Alternatives” bill did not make it across the finish line this session, I want to assure you that the effort behind it was substantial and deeply collaborative. The TSSA board of directors, our staff, lobbyists at Matz & Co., Inc., legal counsel at Rigby Slack and many dedicated members all played essential roles in educating and influencing lawmakers.

I’m also especially grateful to Tim Dietz and Joe Doherty of the SSA for their continued partnership and support of this and other legislative initiatives.

Although the antiquated newspaper publication requirement remains in place for now, we made meaningful progress. We garnered support and raised awareness among legislators and their offices, laying important groundwork for future success.

We remain fully committed to modernizing Chapter 59 of the Texas Property Code. Our goal is to eliminate the outdated mandate that makes our industry the only private sector still required to publish public sale notices in newspapers—many of which continue to decline in circulation and relevance.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this effort. Your passion and persistence are what drive our association forward, and I’m confident that together, we will get there.

Kristy Spurr

Executive Director, TSSA

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HOW CAN YOU HELP?
As we begin planning our strategy for the 2027 90th Texas Legislative Session we will continue to call on members to help us reach their local state House and Senate representatives. You can find out who represents you by entering your address at https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
Successful advocacy hinges on the relationships we establish with the people who ultimately vote on this piece of legislation. We are very fortunate to work with a fantastic membership that has strong ties in their respective communities. We need as many connections as possible. All connections matter, whether that connection is because of a friendship, family or business tie, or because of a common neighborhood, school, church, etc.

If the legislator knows you and we can connect, it can be extremely helpful to enhance the understanding of the topic at hand. If you know someone who is a current legislator (state senator or representative), legislative staff, state official or if they own a newspaper or are influential on that side of the equation, please contact Kristy Spurr at [email protected] or 512-374-9089.

MAKE A CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION
One of the elements of successful advocacy hinges on helping those who have run for office to retire the debt campaigns can involve. TSSA does not have a political action committee, so all contributions must come from an individual or LLC (no corporate contributions are allowed in Texas). If you would consider a campaign contribution, please coordinate through me so that we can work with you to connect to our legislative effort. Whether we join you in a meeting to present the funds directly to the campaign, are involved in the handoff at a fundraiser or we simply know that the contribution happened, connecting the dots between your political contributions and the Texas self-storage industry is crucial. Please call or email Kristy Spurr to discuss this further.

HB 1093 COMMITTEE HEARING IN 2025

 

Representative Stan Lambert (House District 71, Abilene) lays out House Bill 1093 during the House Trade, Workforce and Economic Development Committee hearing. The bill was voted out of the committee hearing unanimously in favor.