Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB680 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 680
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to clarifying electricity as a necessity during a declared
6	6	disaster under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 17.46(b), Business & Commerce Code, is
9	9	amended to read as follows:
10	10	(b) Except as provided in Subsection (d) of this section,
11	11	the term "false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices"
12	12	includes, but is not limited to, the following acts:
13	13	(1) passing off goods or services as those of another;
14	14	(2) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to the
15	15	source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or
16	16	services;
17	17	(3) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to
18	18	affiliation, connection, or association with, or certification by,
19	19	another;
20	20	(4) using deceptive representations or designations
21	21	of geographic origin in connection with goods or services;
22	22	(5) representing that goods or services have
23	23	sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses,
24	24	benefits, or quantities which they do not have or that a person has
25	25	a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection which
26	26	the person does not;
27	27	(6) representing that goods are original or new if
28	28	they are deteriorated, reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or
29	29	secondhand;
30	30	(7) representing that goods or services are of a
31	31	particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a
32	32	particular style or model, if they are of another;
33	33	(8) disparaging the goods, services, or business of
34	34	another by false or misleading representation of facts;
35	35	(9) advertising goods or services with intent not to
36	36	sell them as advertised;
37	37	(10) advertising goods or services with intent not to
38	38	supply a reasonable expectable public demand, unless the
39	39	advertisements disclosed a limitation of quantity;
40	40	(11) making false or misleading statements of fact
41	41	concerning the reasons for, existence of, or amount of price
42	42	reductions;
43	43	(12) representing that an agreement confers or
44	44	involves rights, remedies, or obligations which it does not have or
45	45	involve, or which are prohibited by law;
46	46	(13) knowingly making false or misleading statements
47	47	of fact concerning the need for parts, replacement, or repair
48	48	service;
49	49	(14) misrepresenting the authority of a salesman,
50	50	representative or agent to negotiate the final terms of a consumer
51	51	transaction;
52	52	(15) basing a charge for the repair of any item in
53	53	whole or in part on a guaranty or warranty instead of on the value of
54	54	the actual repairs made or work to be performed on the item without
55	55	stating separately the charges for the work and the charge for the
56	56	warranty or guaranty, if any;
57	57	(16) disconnecting, turning back, or resetting the
58	58	odometer of any motor vehicle so as to reduce the number of miles
59	59	indicated on the odometer gauge;
60	60	(17) advertising of any sale by fraudulently
61	61	representing that a person is going out of business;
62	62	(18) advertising, selling, or distributing a card
63	63	which purports to be a prescription drug identification card issued
64	64	under Section 4151.152, Insurance Code, in accordance with rules
65	65	adopted by the commissioner of insurance, which offers a discount
66	66	on the purchase of health care goods or services from a third party
67	67	provider, and which is not evidence of insurance coverage, unless:
68	68	(A) the discount is authorized under an agreement
69	69	between the seller of the card and the provider of those goods and
70	70	services or the discount or card is offered to members of the
71	71	seller;
72	72	(B) the seller does not represent that the card
73	73	provides insurance coverage of any kind; and
74	74	(C) the discount is not false, misleading, or
75	75	deceptive;
76	76	(19) using or employing a chain referral sales plan in
77	77	connection with the sale or offer to sell of goods, merchandise, or
78	78	anything of value, which uses the sales technique, plan,
79	79	arrangement, or agreement in which the buyer or prospective buyer
80	80	is offered the opportunity to purchase merchandise or goods and in
81	81	connection with the purchase receives the seller's promise or
82	82	representation that the buyer shall have the right to receive
83	83	compensation or consideration in any form for furnishing to the
84	84	seller the names of other prospective buyers if receipt of the
85	85	compensation or consideration is contingent upon the occurrence of
86	86	an event subsequent to the time the buyer purchases the merchandise
87	87	or goods;
88	88	(20) representing that a guaranty or warranty confers
89	89	or involves rights or remedies which it does not have or involve,
90	90	provided, however, that nothing in this subchapter shall be
91	91	construed to expand the implied warranty of merchantability as
92	92	defined in Sections 2.314 through 2.318 and Sections 2A.212 through
93	93	2A.216 to involve obligations in excess of those which are
94	94	appropriate to the goods;
95	95	(21) promoting a pyramid promotional scheme, as
96	96	defined by Section 17.461;
97	97	(22) representing that work or services have been
98	98	performed on, or parts replaced in, goods when the work or services
99	99	were not performed or the parts replaced;
100	100	(23) filing suit founded upon a written contractual
101	101	obligation of and signed by the defendant to pay money arising out
102	102	of or based on a consumer transaction for goods, services, loans, or
103	103	extensions of credit intended primarily for personal, family,
104	104	household, or agricultural use in any county other than in the
105	105	county in which the defendant resides at the time of the
106	106	commencement of the action or in the county in which the defendant
107	107	in fact signed the contract; provided, however, that a violation of
108	108	this subsection shall not occur where it is shown by the person
109	109	filing such suit that the person neither knew or had reason to know
110	110	that the county in which such suit was filed was neither the county
111	111	in which the defendant resides at the commencement of the suit nor
112	112	the county in which the defendant in fact signed the contract;
113	113	(24) failing to disclose information concerning goods
114	114	or services which was known at the time of the transaction if such
115	115	failure to disclose such information was intended to induce the
116	116	consumer into a transaction into which the consumer would not have
117	117	entered had the information been disclosed;
118	118	(25) using the term "corporation," "incorporated," or
119	119	an abbreviation of either of those terms in the name of a business
120	120	entity that is not incorporated under the laws of this state or
121	121	another jurisdiction;
122	122	(26) selling, offering to sell, or illegally promoting
123	123	an annuity contract under Chapter 22, Acts of the 57th Legislature,
124	124	3rd Called Session, 1962 (Article 6228a-5, Vernon's Texas Civil
125	125	Statutes), with the intent that the annuity contract will be the
126	126	subject of a salary reduction agreement, as defined by that Act, if
127	127	the annuity contract is not an eligible qualified investment under
128	128	that Act;
129	129	(27) subject to Section 17.4625, taking advantage of a
130	130	disaster declared by the governor under Chapter 418, Government
131	131	Code, or by the president of the United States by:
132	132	(A) selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine,
133	133	lodging, building materials, construction tools, electricity, or
134	134	another necessity at an exorbitant or excessive price; or
135	135	(B) demanding an exorbitant or excessive price in
136	136	connection with the sale or lease of fuel, food, medicine, lodging,
137	137	building materials, construction tools, electricity, or another
138	138	necessity;
139	139	(28) using the translation into a foreign language of
140	140	a title or other word, including "attorney," "immigration
141	141	consultant," "immigration expert," "lawyer," "licensed," "notary,"
142	142	and "notary public," in any written or electronic material,
143	143	including an advertisement, a business card, a letterhead,
144	144	stationery, a website, or an online video, in reference to a person
145	145	who is not an attorney in order to imply that the person is
146	146	authorized to practice law in the United States;
147	147	(29) delivering or distributing a solicitation in
148	148	connection with a good or service that:
149	149	(A) represents that the solicitation is sent on
150	150	behalf of a governmental entity when it is not; or
151	151	(B) resembles a governmental notice or form that
152	152	represents or implies that a criminal penalty may be imposed if the
153	153	recipient does not remit payment for the good or service;
154	154	(30) delivering or distributing a solicitation in
155	155	connection with a good or service that resembles a check or other
156	156	negotiable instrument or invoice, unless the portion of the
157	157	solicitation that resembles a check or other negotiable instrument
158	158	or invoice includes the following notice, clearly and conspicuously
159	159	printed in at least 18-point type:
160	160	"SPECIMEN-NON-NEGOTIABLE";
161	161	(31) in the production, sale, distribution, or
162	162	promotion of a synthetic substance that produces and is intended to
163	163	produce an effect when consumed or ingested similar to, or in excess
164	164	of, the effect of a controlled substance or controlled substance
165	165	analogue, as those terms are defined by Section 481.002, Health and
166	166	Safety Code:
167	167	(A) making a deceptive representation or
168	168	designation about the synthetic substance; or
169	169	(B) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to
170	170	the effects the synthetic substance causes when consumed or
171	171	ingested;
172	172	(32) a licensed public insurance adjuster directly or
173	173	indirectly soliciting employment, as defined by Section 38.01,
174	174	Penal Code, for an attorney, or a licensed public insurance
175	175	adjuster entering into a contract with an insured for the primary
176	176	purpose of referring the insured to an attorney without the intent
177	177	to actually perform the services customarily provided by a licensed
178	178	public insurance adjuster, provided that this subdivision may not
179	179	be construed to prohibit a licensed public insurance adjuster from
180	180	recommending a particular attorney to an insured;
181	181	(33) owning, operating, maintaining, or advertising a
182	182	massage establishment, as defined by Section 455.001, Occupations
183	183	Code, that:
184	184	(A) is not appropriately licensed under Chapter
185	185	455, Occupations Code, or is not in compliance with the applicable
186	186	licensing and other requirements of that chapter; or
187	187	(B) is not in compliance with an applicable local
188	188	ordinance relating to the licensing or regulation of massage
189	189	establishments; or
190	190	(34) a warrantor of a vehicle protection product
191	191	warranty using, in connection with the product, a name that
192	192	includes "casualty," "surety," "insurance," "mutual," or any other
193	193	word descriptive of an insurance business, including property or
194	194	casualty insurance, or a surety business.
195	195	(c)(1) It is the intent of the legislature that in
196	196	construing Subsection (a) of this section in suits brought under
197	197	Section 17.47 of this subchapter the courts to the extent possible
198	198	will be guided by Subsection (b) of this section and the
199	199	interpretations given by the Federal Trade Commission and federal
200	200	courts to Section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act [15
201	201	U.S.C.A. Sec. 45(a)(1)].
202	202	(2) In construing this subchapter the court shall not
203	203	be prohibited from considering relevant and pertinent decisions of
204	204	courts in other jurisdictions.
205	205	(d) For the purposes of the relief authorized in Subdivision
206	206	(1) of Subsection (a) of Section 17.50 of this subchapter, the term
207	207	"false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices" is limited to
208	208	the acts enumerated in specific subdivisions of Subsection (b) of
209	209	this section.
210	210	SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
211	211	an act or practice that occurs on or after the effective date of
212	212	this Act. An act or practice that occurs before the effective date
213	213	of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the act or
214	214	practice occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
215	215	that purpose.
216	216	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
217	217	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
218	218	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
219	219	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
220	220	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.