By: Thompson of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 1445
(Senate Sponsor - Duncan)
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 22, 2013;
April 29, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 3, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 3, 2013,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1445 By: Duncan
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the distribution of certain civil penalties and civil
restitution received by the attorney general.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Chief Justice Jack
Pope Act.
SECTION 2. Section 402.007, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 402.007. PAYMENT TO TREASURY; ALLOCATION OF CERTAIN
MONEY RECEIVED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL [PENALTIES]. (a) The attorney
general shall immediately pay into the state treasury money
received for a debt, a [or] penalty, or restitution.
(b) Subject to Subsection (d) [(c)], the comptroller shall
credit to the judicial fund for programs approved by the supreme
court that provide basic civil legal services to the indigent the
net amount of:
(1) a civil penalty that is recovered in an action by
the attorney general in any matter actionable under Subchapter E,
Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code, after deducting amounts
allocated to or retained by the attorney general as authorized by
law, unless:
(A) [(1)] another law requires that the penalty
be credited to a different fund or account; or
(B) [(2)] the judgment awarding the penalty
requires that the penalty be paid to another named recipient; and
(2) civil restitution recovered by the attorney
general in an action brought by the attorney general arising from
conduct that violates a consumer protection, public health, or
general welfare law, if, on the hearing of an ex parte motion filed
by the attorney general after the entry of a judgment awarding civil
restitution, the court:
(A) determines that, based on the facts and
circumstances of the case:
(i) it is impossible or impracticable to
identify injured parties;
(ii) it is impossible or impracticable to
determine the degree to which each claimant was injured and
entitled to recover;
(iii) the cost of administering a claim
procedure will disproportionately reduce the amount of restitution
available for the payment of individual claims; or
(iv) the claims of all identifiable persons
eligible to receive restitution have been paid without exhausting
the funds available for restitution; and
(B) enters a judgment or order that the
restitution be credited to the judicial fund for programs approved
by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to the
indigent.
(c) If a court enters a judgment or order that restitution
be credited to the judicial fund, the attorney general shall notify
the Legislative Budget Board and shall distribute that restitution
in accordance with the court judgment or order.
(d) The total amount credited to the judicial fund for
programs approved by the supreme court that provide basic civil
legal services to the indigent under Subsection (b) may not exceed
$50 [$10] million per state fiscal biennium.
(e) The provisions of this section do not limit the common
law authority or other statutory authority of the attorney general
to seek and obtain cy pres distribution from a court.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a civil penalty or civil restitution that is received by the
attorney general on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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