By: Watson, Hinojosa, Taylor of Collin S.B. No. 303
(In the Senate - Filed February 24, 2017; February 27, 2017,
read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
March 29, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; March 29, 2017,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 303 By: Hughes
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the Board of Law
Examiners.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 82.001(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The supreme court shall appoint the members of the board
for staggered six-year terms, with the terms of one-third of the
members expiring May [August] 31 of each odd-numbered year. A
member is subject to removal by the supreme court as provided by
Section 82.0021.
SECTION 2. Section 82.006, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 82.006. SUNSET PROVISION. The Board of Law Examiners
is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in
existence as provided by that chapter, the board is abolished
September 1, 2029 [2017].
SECTION 3. Section 82.0073, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 82.0073. SEPARATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES; DELEGATION.
(a) The Board of Law Examiners shall develop and implement
policies that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities
of the board and the management responsibilities of the executive
director and the staff of the board.
(b) Subject to supreme court rules, the Board of Law
Examiners may delegate routine decisions to the executive director
of the board, including waiver requests.
SECTION 4. Section 82.010, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the law governing board operations [legislation
that created the board];
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of
[operated by] the board;
(3) [the role and functions of the board;
[(4) the rules of the board, with an emphasis on the
rules that relate to disciplinary and investigatory authority;
[(5) the current budget for the board;
[(6)] the results of the most recent formal audit of
the board;
(4) [(7)] the requirements of:
(A) laws relating to [the] open meetings, [law,
Chapter 551;
[(B) the] public information, [law, Chapter 552;
[(C) the] administrative procedure, and
disclosing conflicts of interest [law, Chapter 2001]; and
(B) [(D)] other laws applicable to members of a
state policymaking body in performing their duties [relating to
public officials, including conflict-of-interest laws]; and
(5) [(8)] any applicable ethics policies adopted by
the board or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) The executive director of the Board of Law Examiners
shall create a training manual that includes the information
required by Subsection (b). The executive director shall
distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each member of
the board. On receipt of the training manual, each member of the
board shall sign and submit to the executive director a statement
acknowledging receipt of the training manual.
SECTION 5. Sections 82.023(b), (c), and (e), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The form for the declaration must clearly identify those
conditions of character and fitness [set out in Section 82.027]
that may be investigated by the board and that may result in the
denial of the declarant's application to take the examination.
(c) The board shall notify each first-year law student who
files the declaration not later than the date established by
supreme court rule [on or before January 1 of the year in which the
student begins law school, not later than August 1 of the following
year,] of the board's decision as to the student's acceptable
character and fitness. The board shall notify all other declarants
not later than the date established by supreme court rule [not later
than the 270th day after the date the declaration was filed] whether
or not it has determined that the declarant has acceptable
character and fitness.
(e) If the board determines that an applicant may suffer
from chemical dependency, the board shall require the applicant to
meet with representatives of the Lawyers' Assistance Program of the
State Bar of Texas or a similar program of the state bar and may
require the applicant to submit to [a treatment facility for]
evaluation by a licensed mental health professional designated by
this board. The board may seek advice and consultation from the
Lawyers' Assistance Program of the State Bar of Texas or a similar
program of the state bar in designating mental health professionals
qualified to conduct evaluations of declarants who may suffer from
chemical dependency.
SECTION 6. Sections 82.027(a), (b), and (c), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Each applicant to take a bar examination must file an
application with the Board of Law Examiners not later than the date
established by supreme court rule and pay the fee established by
supreme court rule [not later than the 180th day before the first
day of the examination for which the person is applying].
(b) The application must include a statement certifying
[consists of a verified affidavit stating] that since the filing of
the applicant's original declaration of intention to study law, the
applicant:
(1) has not been formally charged with any violation
of law, excluding:
(A) cases that have been dismissed for reasons
other than technical defects in the charging instrument;
(B) cases in which the applicant has been found
not guilty;
(C) minor traffic violations;
(D) cases in which the record of arrest or
conviction was expunged by court order;
(E) pardoned offenses; and
(F) Class C misdemeanors;
(2) [is not mentally ill;
[(3)] has not been charged with fraud in any legal
proceeding; and
(3) [(4)] has not been involved in civil litigation or
bankruptcy proceedings that reasonably bear on the applicant's
fitness to practice law.
(c) On a showing of good cause or to prevent hardship, the
board may permit an applicant to file an application with the board
not later than the date established by supreme court rule [not later
than the 60th day after the deadline prescribed by Subsection (a)]
on payment of applicable late fees established by supreme court
rule.
SECTION 7. Sections 82.030(a) and (c), Government Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The Board of Law Examiners shall assess each applicant's
moral character and fitness based on:
(1) the investigation of character and fitness
performed after the filing of the declaration of intention to study
law; and
(2) the filing of the application [affidavit] required
by Section 82.027 and the board's investigation into the accuracy
and completeness of the application [affidavit].
(c) If the board determines that an applicant may suffer
from chemical dependency, the board shall require the applicant to
submit to [a treatment facility for] evaluation by a licensed
mental health professional designated by the board. The board may
seek advice and consultation from the Lawyers' Assistance Program
of the State Bar of Texas or a similar program of the state bar in
designating mental health professionals qualified to conduct
evaluations of applicants who may suffer from chemical dependency.
SECTION 8. Section 82.033(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The supreme court may set reasonable fees for additional
services provided by the board, but the fee for any single
additional service, other than the late fee for an examination
application, may not exceed $150.
SECTION 9. Subchapter B, Chapter 82, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 82.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 82.039. LICENSING GUIDELINES. (a) To assist the
Board of Law Examiners in making consistent and fair determinations
related to the licensing of attorneys in this state, the board shall
develop specific guidelines for:
(1) determining the moral character and fitness of
license applicants;
(2) overseeing probationary license holders; and
(3) granting waiver requests.
(b) The Board of Law Examiners shall develop the guidelines
required under Subsection (a) based on the board's past decisions
and on any other criteria the board considers necessary. The board
is not required to take any specific action provided in the
guidelines.
SECTION 10. Sections 82.023(g) and 82.030(f), Government
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 11. Section 82.001, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to members appointed to the Board of Law
Examiners on or after September 1, 2017.
SECTION 12. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, Section 82.010, Government Code, as amended by this
Act, applies to a member of the Board of Law Examiners appointed
before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) A member of the Board of Law Examiners who, before the
effective date of this Act, completed the training program required
by Section 82.010, Government Code, as that law existed before the
effective date of this Act, is required to complete additional
training only on subjects added by this Act to the training program
as required by Section 82.010, Government Code, as amended by this
Act. A board member described by this subsection may not vote,
deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of
the board held on or after December 1, 2017, until the member
completes the additional training.
SECTION 13. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Supreme Court shall modify the rules
necessary to implement the changes in license application
requirements made under Section 82.027, Government Code, as amended
by this Act.
SECTION 14. Section 82.027, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an application to take the state bar
examination that is submitted to the Board of Law Examiners on or
after September 1, 2017.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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