| 1 | 1 | | By: Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Hegar) H.B. No. 2425 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2011; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 12, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on State |
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| 4 | 4 | | Affairs; May 21, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: |
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| 5 | 5 | | Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 21, 2011, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to notice to the attorney general of challenges to the |
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| 11 | 11 | | constitutionality of Texas statutes. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 402, Government Code, is |
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| 14 | 14 | | amended by adding Section 402.010 to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 402.010. LEGAL CHALLENGES TO CONSTITUTIONALITY OF |
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| 16 | 16 | | STATE STATUTES. (a) In an action in which a party to the litigation |
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| 17 | 17 | | files a petition, motion, or other pleading challenging the |
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| 18 | 18 | | constitutionality of a statute of this state, the court shall, if |
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| 19 | 19 | | the attorney general is not a party to or counsel involved in the |
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| 20 | 20 | | litigation, serve notice of the constitutional question and a copy |
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| 21 | 21 | | of the petition, motion, or other pleading that raises the |
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| 22 | 22 | | challenge on the attorney general either by certified or registered |
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| 23 | 23 | | mail or electronically to an e-mail address designated by the |
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| 24 | 24 | | attorney general for the purposes of this section. Notice under |
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| 25 | 25 | | this section must identify the statute in question, state the basis |
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| 26 | 26 | | for the challenge, and specify the petition, motion, or other |
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| 27 | 27 | | pleading that raises the challenge. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (b) A court may not enter a final judgment holding a statute |
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| 29 | 29 | | of this state unconstitutional before the 45th day after the date |
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| 30 | 30 | | notice required by Subsection (a) is served on the attorney |
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| 31 | 31 | | general. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (c) A court's failure to file or serve notice as required by |
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| 33 | 33 | | Subsection (a) does not deprive the court of jurisdiction or |
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| 34 | 34 | | forfeit an otherwise timely filed claim or defense based on the |
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| 35 | 35 | | challenge to the constitutionality of a statute of this state. |
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| 36 | 36 | | (d) This section or the state's intervention in litigation |
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| 37 | 37 | | in response to notice under this section does not constitute a |
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| 38 | 38 | | waiver of sovereign immunity. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 2. Section 402.010, Government Code, as added by |
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| 40 | 40 | | this Act, applies only to a petition, motion, or other pleading |
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| 41 | 41 | | filed in litigation on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 42 | 42 | | pleading filed in litigation before the effective date of this Act |
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| 43 | 43 | | is governed by the law applicable to the pleading immediately |
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| 44 | 44 | | before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in |
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| 45 | 45 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 47 | 47 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 48 | 48 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 49 | 49 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 50 | 50 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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| 51 | 51 | | * * * * * |
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