87R19568 MWC-F
By: Leach H.B. No. 3613
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3613:
By: Smith C.S.H.B. No. 3613
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to rules regarding the assertion of an exemption of
certain personal property from garnishment, attachment, execution,
or other seizure by creditors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 22.0042 to read as follows:
Sec. 22.0042. RULES REGARDING EXEMPTIONS FROM SEIZURE OF
PROPERTY; FORM. (a) The supreme court shall adopt rules that:
(1) establish a simple and expedited procedure for a
judgment debtor to assert an exemption to the seizure of personal
property by a judgment creditor or a receiver appointed under
Section 31.002, Civil Practice and Remedies Code;
(2) require a court to stay a proceeding, for a
reasonable period, to allow for the assertion of an exemption under
Subdivision (1); and
(3) require a court to promptly set a hearing and stay
proceedings until a hearing is held, if a judgment debtor timely
asserts an exemption under Subdivision (1).
(b) Rules adopted under this section shall require the
provision of a notice in plain language to a judgment debtor
regarding the right of the judgment debtor to assert one or more
exemptions under Subsection (a)(1). The notice must:
(1) be in English with an integrated Spanish
translation that can be readily understood by the public and the
court;
(2) include the form promulgated under Subsection (c);
(3) list all exemptions under state and federal law to
the seizure of personal property; and
(4) provide information for accessing free or low-cost
legal assistance.
(c) Rules adopted under this section shall include the
promulgation of a form in plain language for asserting an exemption
under Subsection (a)(1). A form promulgated under this subsection
must:
(1) be in English with an integrated Spanish
translation that can be readily understood by the public and the
court; and
(2) include instructions for the use of the form.
(d) A court shall accept a form promulgated under Subsection
(c) unless the form has been completed in a manner that causes a
substantive defect that cannot be cured.
SECTION 2. Not later than May 1, 2022, the Supreme Court of
Texas shall adopt rules and promulgate forms under Section 22.0042,
Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.