| 1 | 1 | | By: Hegar S.B. No. 1166 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed March 5, 2013; March 12, 2013, read |
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| 3 | 3 | | first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; |
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| 4 | 4 | | April 24, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee |
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| 5 | 5 | | Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 3; April 24, 2013, |
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| 6 | 6 | | sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1166 By: Deuell |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade |
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| 13 | 13 | | Practices-Consumer Protection Act. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 17.47, Business & |
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| 16 | 16 | | Commerce Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (c) In addition to the request for a temporary restraining |
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| 18 | 18 | | order, or permanent injunction in a proceeding brought under |
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| 19 | 19 | | Subsection (a) of this section, the consumer protection division |
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| 20 | 20 | | may request, and the trier of fact may award, a civil penalty to be |
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| 21 | 21 | | paid to the state. The amount of the civil penalty under this |
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| 22 | 22 | | subsection shall be determined by the trier of fact and may be [in |
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| 23 | 23 | | an amount of]: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) not more than: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (A) $10,000 [$20,000] per violation; or |
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| 26 | 26 | | (B) $20,000 per violation, if the trier of fact |
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| 27 | 27 | | finds that the person intentionally committed the violation; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) if the act or practice that is the subject of the |
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| 29 | 29 | | proceeding was calculated to acquire or deprive money or other |
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| 30 | 30 | | property from a consumer who was 65 years of age or older when the |
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| 31 | 31 | | act or practice occurred, an additional amount of not more than |
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| 32 | 32 | | $250,000. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 34 | 34 | | a violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection |
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| 35 | 35 | | Act that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 36 | 36 | | violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act |
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| 37 | 37 | | that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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| 38 | 38 | | law in effect on the date the violation occurred, and the former law |
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| 39 | 39 | | is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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| 40 | 40 | | section, a violation occurs before the effective date of this Act if |
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| 41 | 41 | | any element of the violation occurs before that date. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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| 43 | 43 | | * * * * * |
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