87R6106 CJC-D
By: Dutton H.B. No. 1716
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the personal liability of the attorney general for
certain frivolous lawsuits.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 402, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 402.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 402.011. PERSONAL LIABILITY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR
FRIVOLOUS ACTION. (a) In this section, "frivolous civil action"
means a civil cause of action to which the state is a party that:
(1) is prosecuted by the attorney general in a court of
another state or in federal court; and
(2) the court in which the cause is filed determines:
(A) has no basis in fact; or
(B) is not warranted by existing law or a good
faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of
existing law.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the attorney general is
personally liable to the state for the total cost of prosecution by
the attorney general of a frivolous civil action.
(c) Not later than the 180th day after the date the court
makes a determination described by Subsection (a)(2), the attorney
general shall pay into the state treasury the amount described by
Subsection (b), as determined by the comptroller, using the
attorney general's personal funds.
(d) The attorney general may not assert official immunity or
any other form of immunity as a defense against liability under this
section.
(e) The comptroller may request information necessary to
determine the amount described by Subsection (b) from the office of
the attorney general. The office of the attorney general shall
provide the requested information in a reasonable amount of time.
SECTION 2. Section 402.011, Government Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A cause of action filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.