Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB409 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R21119 AJA-F
2	2	By: Turner of Tarrant H.B. No. 409
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 409:
4	4	By: Miller of Comal C.S.H.B. No. 409
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to liability insurance or other proof of financial
10	10	responsibility for persons holding certain alcoholic beverage
11	11	permits; adding a provision that is subject to a criminal penalty;
12	12	authorizing a fee.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 11, Alcoholic Beverage
15	15	Code, is amended by adding Sections 11.14 and 11.15 to read as
16	16	follows:
17	17	Sec. 11.14. LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIREMENT. (a) This
18	18	section does not apply to the holder of a food and beverage
19	19	certificate.
20	20	(b) Except as provided by Section 11.15, a person may not
21	21	hold a permit allowing the person to sell alcoholic beverages for
22	22	on-premises consumption unless the person establishes financial
23	23	responsibility by maintaining a liability insurance policy:
24	24	(1) issued by an insurance company authorized to write
25	25	liability insurance in this state or an eligible surplus lines
26	26	insurer; and
27	27	(2) that, subject to Subsection (e), will pay, on
28	28	behalf of the permit holder or a person who sells or serves
29	29	alcoholic beverages under the authority of the permit holder's
30	30	permit, amounts the permit holder or person becomes obligated to
31	31	pay as damages arising out of the sale or service of alcoholic
32	32	beverages.
33	33	(c) The commission shall adopt rules relating to:
34	34	(1) subject to Subsection (d), the minimum amounts of
35	35	insurance coverage that are required under this section, which must
36	36	be at least:
37	37	(A) $500,000 for each occurrence; and
38	38	(B) $1 million for any annual aggregate limit;
39	39	(2) the method for filing proof of insurance and
40	40	obtaining the commission's approval under this section; and
41	41	(3) verification by the commission of a permit
42	42	holder's continued maintenance of the required insurance coverage.
43	43	(d) The minimum amounts of insurance coverage required
44	44	under this section for a permit holder that is a governmental unit,
45	45	as defined by Section 101.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
46	46	are the amounts of the liability limits applicable to the
47	47	governmental unit under Section 101.023, Civil Practice and
48	48	Remedies Code. A governmental unit subject to this section may
49	49	satisfy the insurance requirements of this section through a
50	50	self-insurance fund or program established under Section 2259.031,
51	51	Government Code, or Chapter 791, Government Code.
52	52	(e) A person may not recover from the proceeds of an
53	53	insurance policy held by the permit holder for purposes of this
54	54	section damages arising out of the sale or service of an alcoholic
55	55	beverage to the person if, at the time of the sale or service, the
56	56	person was obviously intoxicated or a minor.
57	57	Sec. 11.15. BOND IN LIEU OF INSURANCE. (a) A person may
58	58	establish financial responsibility for purposes of Section 11.14
59	59	without maintaining an insurance policy by filing with the
60	60	commission a bond:
61	61	(1) with at least two individual sureties, each of
62	62	whom owns real property in this state that is not exempt from
63	63	execution under the constitution or laws of this state;
64	64	(2) conditioned for payment in the amounts and under
65	65	the same circumstances as required under a liability insurance
66	66	policy sufficient to meet the requirements of Section 11.14;
67	67	(3) that is not cancelable before the sixth day after
68	68	the date the commission receives written notice of the
69	69	cancellation;
70	70	(4) accompanied by a fee prescribed by the commission;
71	71	and
72	72	(5) approved by the commission.
73	73	(b) The real property required by Subsection (a)(1) must be
74	74	described in the bond approved by a judge of a court of record. The
75	75	assessor-collector of the county in which the property is located
76	76	must certify the property as free of any tax lien. The sureties in
77	77	combination must have equity in the property in an amount equal to
78	78	at least twice the amount of the bond.
79	79	(c) The bond is a lien in favor of the state on the real
80	80	property described in the bond. The lien exists in favor of a
81	81	person who holds a final judgment against the person who filed the
82	82	bond.
83	83	(d) On the filing of a bond, the commission shall issue to
84	84	the person who filed the bond a certificate of compliance with this
85	85	section.
86	86	(e) The commission shall file notice of the bond in the
87	87	office of the county clerk of the county in which the real property
88	88	is located. The notice must include a description of the property
89	89	described in the bond. The county clerk or the county clerk's
90	90	deputy, on receipt of the notice, shall acknowledge the notice and
91	91	record it in the lien records. The recording of the notice is
92	92	notice in accordance with statutes governing the recordation of a
93	93	lien on real property.
94	94	(f) If a judgment rendered against the person who files a
95	95	bond under this section is not satisfied before the 61st day after
96	96	the date the judgment becomes final, the judgment creditor, for the
97	97	judgment creditor's own use and benefit and at the judgment
98	98	creditor's expense, may bring an action in the name of the state
99	99	against the sureties on the bond, including an action to foreclose a
100	100	lien on the real property of a surety. The foreclosure action must
101	101	be brought in the same manner as, and is subject to the law
102	102	applicable to, an action to foreclose a mortgage on real property.
103	103	(g) Cancellation of a bond filed under this section does not
104	104	prevent recovery for a right or cause of action arising before the
105	105	date of the cancellation.
106	106	SECTION 2. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply to
107	107	a person who applies for a permit for the sale of alcoholic
108	108	beverages for on-premises consumption on or after January 1, 2016,
109	109	and to a person who, on January 1, 2016, holds a permit for the sale
110	110	of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption regardless of
111	111	when the permit or license was issued.
112	112	(b) The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission shall adopt all
113	113	rules necessary to implement the changes made by this Act not later
114	114	than December 31, 2015.
115	115	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.