| 1 | 1 | | By: Vasut H.B. No. 4126 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to clarifying that natural gas and electricity are |
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| 7 | 7 | | necessities during a declared disaster under the Deceptive Trade |
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| 8 | 8 | | Practices Act. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 17.46, Business & Commerce Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by amending Subsection (b), Subdivision (27) to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (27) subject to Section 17.4625, taking advantage of a |
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| 14 | 14 | | disaster declared by the governor under Chapter 418, Government |
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| 15 | 15 | | Code, or by the president of the United States by: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (A) selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine, |
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| 17 | 17 | | lodging, building materials, construction tools, natural gas, |
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| 18 | 18 | | electricity, or another necessity at an exorbitant or excessive |
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| 19 | 19 | | price; or |
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| 20 | 20 | | (B) demanding an exorbitant or excessive price in |
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| 21 | 21 | | connection with the sale or lease of fuel, food, medicine, lodging, |
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| 22 | 22 | | building materials, construction tools, natural gas, electricity, |
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| 23 | 23 | | or another necessity; |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 25 | 25 | | an act or practice that occurs on or after the effective date of |
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| 26 | 26 | | this Act. An act or practice that occurs before the effective date |
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| 27 | 27 | | of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the act or |
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| 28 | 28 | | practice occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for |
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| 29 | 29 | | that purpose. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 31 | 31 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 32 | 32 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 33 | 33 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 34 | 34 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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