By: Smithee H.B. No. 2240
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the disbursement of funds from a trust fund account by a
title insurance company, title insurance agent, or escrow officer.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2651.202, Insurance Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) For the purpose of this section, "good funds" includes
United States dollars received and deposited in an account through
an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction if the ACH
transaction is irrevocable and final and cannot be canceled or
reversed by the customer once the funds have been directly
transferred from the customer's bank account. The ACH transaction
must be a bank-to-bank transfer of funds or a deposit of funds from
a customer's account at a depository institution and must not be
treated as a consumer payment with respect to chargeback and
pullback consumer payment protections. The transferred funds must
be:
(1) directly linked to and backed by funds in the
customer's account at the depository institution; and
(2) directly transferred from the customer's bank
account and deposited into the settlement service provider's escrow
account by ACH transfer in accordance with the standards of any
governing body with oversight over ACH transactions.
SECTION 2. Section 2652.004, Insurance Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) For the purpose of this section, "good funds" includes
United States dollars received and deposited in an account through
an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction if the ACH
transaction is irrevocable and final and cannot be canceled or
reversed by the customer once the funds have been directly
transferred from the customer's bank account. The ACH transaction
must be a bank-to-bank transfer of funds or a deposit of funds from
a customer's account at a depository institution and must not be
treated as a consumer payment with respect to chargeback and
pullback consumer payment protections. The transferred funds must
be:
(1) directly linked to and backed by funds in the
customer's account at the depository institution; and
(2) directly transferred from the customer's bank
account and deposited into the settlement service provider's escrow
account by ACH transfer in accordance with the standards of any
governing body with oversight over ACH transactions.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.