Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1079 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Thompson of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 1079
2		-	(Senate Sponsor - Perry)
3		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2015;
4		-	May 11, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on State
5		-	Affairs; May 19, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
6		-	Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 19, 2015, sent to printer.)
7		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 1079
8	2
9	3
10		-	COMMITTEE VOTE
11		-	YeaNayAbsentPNV
12		-	HuffmanX
13		-	EllisX
14		-	BirdwellX
15		-	CreightonX
16		-	EstesX
17		-	FraserX
18		-	NelsonX
19		-	SchwertnerX
20		-	ZaffiriniX
21		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
22	4		AN ACT
23	5		relating to the distribution of certain civil penalties, payments,
24	6		and civil restitution received by the attorney general.
25	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
26	8		SECTION 1. Section 402.007(b), Government Code, is amended
27	9		to read as follows:
28	10		(b) Subject to Subsection (d), the comptroller shall credit
29	11		to the judicial fund for programs approved by the supreme court that
30	12		provide basic civil legal services to the indigent the net amount
31	13		of:
32	14		(1) a civil penalty or payment, excluding attorney's
33	15		fees or costs, that is recovered in an action by the attorney
34	16		general in any matter actionable under the [Subchapter E, Chapter
35	17		17,] Business & Commerce Code, after deducting amounts allocated to
36	18		or retained by the attorney general as authorized by law, unless:
37	19		(A) another law requires that the funds [penalty]
38	20		be credited to a different fund or account; or
39	21		(B) the judgment awarding the funds [penalty]
40	22		requires that the funds [penalty] be paid to another identifiable
41	23		[named] recipient; and
42	24		(2) civil restitution recovered by the attorney
43	25		general in an action brought by the attorney general [arising from
44	26		conduct that violates a consumer protection, public health, or
45	27		general welfare law,] if, on the hearing of an ex parte motion filed
46	28		by the attorney general after the entry of a judgment awarding civil
47	29		restitution, the court:
48	30		(A) determines that, based on the facts and
49	31		circumstances of the case:
50	32		(i) it is impossible or impracticable to
51	33		identify injured parties;
52	34		(ii) it is impossible or impracticable to
53	35		determine the degree to which each claimant was injured and
54	36		entitled to recover;
55	37		(iii) the cost of administering a claim
56	38		procedure will disproportionately reduce the amount of restitution
57	39		available for the payment of individual claims; or
58	40		(iv) the claims of all identifiable persons
59	41		eligible to receive restitution have been paid without exhausting
60	42		the funds available for restitution; and
61	43		(B) enters a judgment or order that the
62	44		restitution be credited to the judicial fund for programs approved
63	45		by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to the
64	46		indigent.
65	47		SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
66	48		to a civil penalty, payment, or civil restitution that is received
67	49		by the attorney general on or after the effective date of this Act.
68	50		A civil penalty, payment, or civil restitution received by the
69	51		attorney general before the effective date of this Act is governed
70	52		by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
71	53		Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
72	54		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
73	55		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
74	56		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
75	57		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
76	58		Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
77		-	* * * * *
	59	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	60	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	61	+	I certify that H.B. No. 1079 was passed by the House on May 5,
	62	+	2015, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 4, 2 present, not
	63	+	voting.
	64	+	______________________________
	65	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	66	+	I certify that H.B. No. 1079 was passed by the Senate on May
	67	+	23, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	68	+	______________________________
	69	+	Secretary of the Senate
	70	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	71	+	Date
	72	+	_____________________
	73	+	Governor