By: Davis of Harris (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 770
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 11, 2019;
May 7, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 14, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 14, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of an electronic database for
settlement agreements for certain suits involving minors or
incapacitated persons; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 72, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 72.034 to read as follows:
Sec. 72.034. SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT DATABASE. (a) The
office shall establish and maintain an electronic database that
contains personal injury or wrongful death settlement agreements
for which a minor or incapacitated person is the beneficiary. A
party to the agreement or a guardian, next friend, or guardian ad
litem may record the agreement in the database. Only one copy of an
agreement may be filed by the parties or the guardian, next friend,
or guardian ad litem in each settlement agreement.
(b) A settlement agreement recorded in the database is
confidential, and the office shall ensure that a settlement
agreement may be accessed only by:
(1) the parties to the settlement agreement;
(2) each attorney representing a party to the
settlement agreement; or
(3) the guardian, next friend, or guardian ad litem of
a party to the settlement agreement.
(c) The office may set and collect a fee to record a
settlement agreement in the database in an amount sufficient to
cover the costs of maintaining the agreement in the database, not to
exceed $50 for each agreement.
(d) Any fee to record a settlement agreement in the database
established by the office as provided by Subsection (c) is a court
cost to be included for payment in the settlement agreement.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
suit filed on behalf of a minor or incapacitated person that is
pending in a trial court on the effective date of this Act or that is
filed on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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