H.B. No. 2007
AN ACT
relating to a certificate of merit in certain actions against
certain licensed or registered professionals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 150.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection
(i) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (i), in [In] any action
or arbitration proceeding for damages arising out of the provision
of professional services by a licensed or registered professional,
a claimant shall be required to file with the complaint an affidavit
of a third-party licensed architect, licensed professional
engineer, registered landscape architect, or registered
professional land surveyor who:
(1) is competent to testify;
(2) holds the same professional license or
registration as the defendant; and
(3) practices in the area of practice of the defendant
and offers testimony based on the person's:
(A) knowledge;
(B) skill;
(C) experience;
(D) education;
(E) training; and
(F) practice.
(i) A third-party plaintiff that is a design-build firm or a
design-build team, or an architect, engineer, or other member of a
design-build firm or design-build team, is not required to file an
affidavit described by Subsection (a) in connection with filing a
third-party claim or cross-claim against a licensed or registered
professional if the action or arbitration proceeding arises out of
a design-build project in which a governmental entity contracts
with a single entity to provide both design and construction
services for the construction, expansion, extension,
rehabilitation, alteration, or repair of a facility, a building or
associated structure, a civil works project, or a highway project.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an action commenced on or after the effective date of this Act.
An action commenced before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective
date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2007 was passed by the House on April
20, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2007 was passed by the Senate on May
17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor