| 1 | | - | H.B. No. 770 |
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| 1 | + | By: Davis of Harris (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 770 |
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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Received from the House April 11, 2019; |
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| 3 | + | May 7, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State |
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| 4 | + | Affairs; May 14, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote: |
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| 5 | + | Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 14, 2019, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 4 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 5 | 11 | | relating to the establishment of an electronic database for |
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| 6 | 12 | | settlement agreements for certain suits involving minors or |
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| 7 | 13 | | incapacitated persons; authorizing a fee. |
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| 8 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 72, Government Code, is |
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| 10 | 16 | | amended by adding Section 72.034 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 17 | | Sec. 72.034. SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT DATABASE. (a) The |
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| 12 | 18 | | office shall establish and maintain an electronic database that |
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| 13 | 19 | | contains personal injury or wrongful death settlement agreements |
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| 14 | 20 | | for which a minor or incapacitated person is the beneficiary. A |
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| 15 | 21 | | party to the agreement or a guardian, next friend, or guardian ad |
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| 16 | 22 | | litem may record the agreement in the database. Only one copy of an |
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| 17 | 23 | | agreement may be filed by the parties or the guardian, next friend, |
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| 18 | 24 | | or guardian ad litem in each settlement agreement. |
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| 19 | 25 | | (b) A settlement agreement recorded in the database is |
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| 20 | 26 | | confidential, and the office shall ensure that a settlement |
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| 21 | 27 | | agreement may be accessed only by: |
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| 22 | 28 | | (1) the parties to the settlement agreement; |
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| 23 | 29 | | (2) each attorney representing a party to the |
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| 24 | 30 | | settlement agreement; or |
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| 25 | 31 | | (3) the guardian, next friend, or guardian ad litem of |
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| 26 | 32 | | a party to the settlement agreement. |
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| 27 | 33 | | (c) The office may set and collect a fee to record a |
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| 28 | 34 | | settlement agreement in the database in an amount sufficient to |
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| 29 | 35 | | cover the costs of maintaining the agreement in the database, not to |
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| 30 | 36 | | exceed $50 for each agreement. |
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| 31 | 37 | | (d) Any fee to record a settlement agreement in the database |
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| 32 | 38 | | established by the office as provided by Subsection (c) is a court |
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| 33 | 39 | | cost to be included for payment in the settlement agreement. |
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| 34 | 40 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a |
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| 35 | 41 | | suit filed on behalf of a minor or incapacitated person that is |
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| 36 | 42 | | pending in a trial court on the effective date of this Act or that is |
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| 37 | 43 | | filed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 38 | 44 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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| 39 | | - | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 40 | | - | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 41 | | - | I certify that H.B. No. 770 was passed by the House on April |
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| 42 | | - | 9, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 1 present, not |
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| 43 | | - | voting. |
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| 44 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 45 | | - | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 46 | | - | I certify that H.B. No. 770 was passed by the Senate on May |
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| 47 | | - | 21, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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| 48 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 49 | | - | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 50 | | - | APPROVED: _____________________ |
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| 51 | | - | Date |
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| 52 | | - | _____________________ |
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| 53 | | - | Governor |
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| 45 | + | * * * * * |
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