| 1 | 1 | | H.B. No. 5232 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | AN ACT |
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| 5 | 5 | | relating to civil penalties imposed for violations of the Texas |
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| 6 | 6 | | Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act of 1983. |
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| 7 | 7 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 8 | 8 | | SECTION 1. Section 15.20(a), Business & Commerce Code, is |
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| 9 | 9 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 10 | 10 | | (a) Suit to Collect Civil Fine. The attorney general may |
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| 11 | 11 | | file suit in district court in Travis County or in any county in the |
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| 12 | 12 | | State of Texas in which any of the named defendants resides, does |
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| 13 | 13 | | business, or maintains its principal office on behalf of the State |
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| 14 | 14 | | of Texas to collect a civil fine from any person, other than a |
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| 15 | 15 | | municipal corporation, whom the attorney general believes has |
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| 16 | 16 | | violated any of the prohibitions in Subsection (a), (b), or (c) of |
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| 17 | 17 | | Section 15.05 of this Act. An individual or other [Every] person |
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| 18 | 18 | | adjudged to have violated any of these prohibitions shall pay a fine |
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| 19 | 19 | | to the state in an amount not to exceed: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (1) if an individual, $300,000; or |
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| 21 | 21 | | (2) if any other person: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (A) $3 million, if the lesser of the person's |
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| 23 | 23 | | assets or market capitalization is less than $100 million; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (B) $20 million, if the lesser of the person's |
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| 25 | 25 | | assets or market capitalization is at least $100 million but less |
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| 26 | 26 | | than $500 million; or |
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| 27 | 27 | | (C) $30 million, if the lesser of the person's |
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| 28 | 28 | | assets or market capitalization is $500 million or more [$1 million |
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| 29 | 29 | | if a corporation, or, if any other person, $100,000]. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. Section 15.20(a), Business & Commerce Code, as |
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| 31 | 31 | | amended by this Act, applies only to a suit filed on or after the |
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| 32 | 32 | | effective date of this Act. A suit filed before the effective date |
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| 33 | 33 | | of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was |
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| 34 | 34 | | filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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| 36 | 36 | | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 37 | 37 | | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 38 | 38 | | I certify that H.B. No. 5232 was passed by the House on May 3, |
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| 39 | 39 | | 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 2, 1 present, not |
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| 40 | 40 | | voting. |
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| 41 | 41 | | ______________________________ |
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| 42 | 42 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 43 | 43 | | I certify that H.B. No. 5232 was passed by the Senate on May |
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| 44 | 44 | | 17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2. |
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| 45 | 45 | | ______________________________ |
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| 46 | 46 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 47 | 47 | | APPROVED: _____________________ |
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| 48 | 48 | | Date |
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| 49 | 49 | | _____________________ |
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| 50 | 50 | | Governor |
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