88R6511 SCL-F
By: Harris of Anderson H.B. No. 1372
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the tort of public nuisance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 100C to read as follows:
CHAPTER 100C. PUBLIC NUISANCE ACTIONS
Sec. 100C.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "public
nuisance action" means an action asserting a cause of action
cognizable as the tort of public nuisance.
Sec. 100C.002. LIMITATIONS ON CAUSE OF ACTION. The
following claims, actions, or conditions do not constitute or give
rise to a cause of action cognizable as the tort of public nuisance:
(1) an action or condition authorized, approved, or
mandated by a court order;
(2) an action or condition authorized, approved, or
mandated by a statute, ordinance, regulation, permit, order, rule,
or other similar measure issued, adopted, promulgated, or approved
by the federal government, a federal agency, a state, a state
agency, or a political subdivision;
(3) a claim that a product endangers the health,
safety, or welfare of the public at large or has caused injury to
one or more members of the public;
(4) a claim based on the manufacturing, distributing,
selling, labeling, or marketing of a product, regardless of whether
the product is defective; or
(5) any other claim, action, or condition determined
by common law to not constitute or give rise to a cause of action
cognizable as the tort of public nuisance.
Sec. 100C.003. RELIEF AVAILABLE TO GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY;
STANDING. (a) In a public nuisance action brought by the state, a
state agency, or a political subdivision of this state, the
remedies available to the governmental entity are limited to an
injunction and any other relief that is available at law to abate
the nuisance. A governmental entity may not recover economic,
noneconomic, or exemplary damages, as those terms are defined by
Section 41.001.
(b) This section may not be construed to limit a
governmental entity from obtaining relief provided by other law.
(c) A financial expenditure made by the state or a political
subdivision of this state related to the remediation, abatement, or
injunction of an unlawful condition does not constitute an injury
sufficient to confer standing to file or maintain a public nuisance
action.
Sec. 100C.004. PUBLIC NUISANCE ACTION BY PRIVATE CITIZEN.
An individual may bring a public nuisance action only for
compensatory damages and only for an injury caused to the
individual by the nuisance that is different in kind, not just in
degree, from an injury suffered by the public at large.
Interference with the use of or damage to public land, air, or water
with only personal, spiritual, cultural, or emotional significance
to the individual does not constitute or give rise to a cause of
action cognizable as the tort of public nuisance. The aggregation
of multiple individual injuries or private nuisances does not
constitute violation of an established public right for purposes of
a public nuisance action.
SECTION 2. Chapter 100C, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues
on or after the effective date of this Act.
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, 2023.