Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4293 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8298 TJS-D
2	2	By: Branch H.B. No. 4293
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to notice to the attorney general of an action, suit, or
8	8	proceeding challenging the validity of a Texas statute or rule.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 402, Government Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Section 402.010 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 402.010. CHALLENGES TO VALIDITY OF STATE STATUTE OR
13	13	RULE. (a) For purposes of this section, "state agency" means a
14	14	board, commission, department, office, court, or other agency that:
15	15	(1) is in the executive or judicial branch of the
16	16	government of this state;
17	17	(2) was created by the constitution or a statute of
18	18	this state; and
19	19	(3) has statewide jurisdiction.
20	20	(b) In an action, suit, or proceeding, whether original or
21	21	appellate, in which a party or amicus curiae asserts a challenge to
22	22	the validity of a state statute or a rule adopted by a state agency,
23	23	the party asserting the challenge shall give written notice of the
24	24	challenge to the attorney general if the state, a state agency, or a
25	25	state officer or employee in the officer's or employee's official
26	26	capacity is not a party to the action, suit, or proceeding.
27	27	(c) An action, suit, or proceeding in which notice to the
28	28	attorney general is required under this section is an action, suit,
29	29	or proceeding in which a party or amicus curiae asserts that a state
30	30	statute or rule conflicts with:
31	31	(1) the constitution of the United States or of this
32	32	state;
33	33	(2) federal law or is preempted by federal law; or
34	34	(3) a statute of this state, in the case of a challenge
35	35	to a rule of a state agency.
36	36	(d) The notice required by Subsection (b) must identify:
37	37	(1) the challenged statute or rule;
38	38	(2) the nature of the challenge;
39	39	(3) the court in which the challenge is pending; and
40	40	(4) the style and number of the action, suit, or
41	41	proceeding in which the challenge is pending.
42	42	(e) At the time the pleading or other document challenging
43	43	the validity of a statute or rule is filed, the notice required by
44	44	Subsection (b) must be:
45	45	(1) sent to the attorney general by certified or
46	46	registered mail, or electronically to an e-mail address designated
47	47	by the attorney general for purposes of this section; and
48	48	(2) filed with the court in which the challenge is
49	49	asserted.
50	50	(f) If a party or amicus curiae challenging the validity of
51	51	a state statute or rule fails to give notice to the attorney general
52	52	as required by this section, the court in which the challenge is
53	53	asserted shall give notice of the challenge to the attorney
54	54	general. Notice given to the attorney general by a court under this
55	55	subsection must comply with the notice requirements of Subsection
56	56	(d) and be given in the manner required by Subsection (e)(1). The
57	57	court may reject, but may not sustain, a challenge to which this
58	58	section applies before the attorney general has received notice
59	59	under this section and the state has been allowed to proceed, if it
60	60	so chooses, under Subsection (g).
61	61	(g) In an action, suit, or proceeding to which this section
62	62	applies, the state may intervene for the presentation of evidence
63	63	otherwise admissible under the rules of evidence and for briefing
64	64	and argument on the question of the validity of the challenged
65	65	statute or rule. The court shall grant a motion of the state to
66	66	intervene if the motion is filed not later than the 60th day after
67	67	the date the attorney general receives notice under this section.
68	68	(h) This section and the state's intervention under this
69	69	section do not constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity.
70	70	SECTION 2. Section 402.010, Government Code, as added by
71	71	this Act, applies only to a pleading or other document filed in an
72	72	action, suit, or proceeding on or after the effective date of this
73	73	Act. A pleading or other document filed in an action, suit, or
74	74	proceeding before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
75	75	law in effect at the time the pleading or other document was filed,
76	76	and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
77	77	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
78	78	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
79	79	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
80	80	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
81	81	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.