| 1 | 1 | | 89R4812 AMF-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Canales H.B. No. 2733 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the prosecution of the criminal offenses of prohibited |
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| 10 | 10 | | barratry and solicitation of professional employment. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Sections 38.12(a) and (d), Penal Code, are |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain an |
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| 15 | 15 | | economic benefit the person: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) knowingly institutes a suit or claim that the |
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| 17 | 17 | | person has not been authorized to pursue; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) solicits employment, [either] in person, [or] by |
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| 19 | 19 | | telephone, through a direct message on a social media platform, or |
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| 20 | 20 | | by another electronic communication, for the person [himself] or |
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| 21 | 21 | | for another; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) pays, gives, or advances or offers to pay, give, or |
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| 23 | 23 | | advance to a prospective client money or anything of value to obtain |
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| 24 | 24 | | employment as a professional from the prospective client; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (4) pays or gives or offers to pay or give a person |
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| 26 | 26 | | money or anything of value to solicit employment; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (5) pays or gives or offers to pay or give a family |
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| 28 | 28 | | member of a prospective client money or anything of value to solicit |
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| 29 | 29 | | employment; or |
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| 30 | 30 | | (6) accepts or agrees to accept money or anything of |
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| 31 | 31 | | value to solicit employment. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (d) A person commits an offense if the person: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) is an attorney, chiropractor, physician, surgeon, |
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| 34 | 34 | | or private investigator licensed to practice in this state or any |
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| 35 | 35 | | person licensed, certified, or registered by a health care |
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| 36 | 36 | | regulatory agency of this state; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) with the intent to obtain professional employment |
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| 38 | 38 | | for the person or for another, provides or knowingly permits to be |
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| 39 | 39 | | provided to an individual who has not sought the person's |
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| 40 | 40 | | employment, legal representation, advice, or care, a written |
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| 41 | 41 | | communication or a solicitation, including a solicitation in |
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| 42 | 42 | | person, [or] by telephone, through a direct message on a social |
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| 43 | 43 | | media platform, or by another electronic communication that: |
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| 44 | 44 | | (A) concerns an action for personal injury or |
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| 45 | 45 | | wrongful death or otherwise relates to an accident or disaster |
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| 46 | 46 | | involving the person to whom the communication or solicitation is |
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| 47 | 47 | | provided or a relative of that person and that was provided before |
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| 48 | 48 | | the 31st day after the date on which the accident or disaster |
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| 49 | 49 | | occurred; |
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| 50 | 50 | | (B) concerns a specific matter and relates to |
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| 51 | 51 | | legal representation and the person knows or reasonably should know |
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| 52 | 52 | | that the person to whom the communication or solicitation is |
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| 53 | 53 | | directed is represented by a lawyer in the matter; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (C) concerns a lawsuit of any kind, including an |
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| 55 | 55 | | action for divorce, in which the person to whom the communication or |
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| 56 | 56 | | solicitation is provided is a defendant or a relative of that |
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| 57 | 57 | | person, unless the lawsuit in which the person is named as a |
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| 58 | 58 | | defendant has been on file for more than 31 days before the date on |
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| 59 | 59 | | which the communication or solicitation was provided; |
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| 60 | 60 | | (D) is provided or permitted to be provided by a |
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| 61 | 61 | | person who knows or reasonably should know that the injured person |
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| 62 | 62 | | or relative of the injured person has indicated a desire not to be |
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| 63 | 63 | | contacted by or receive communications or solicitations concerning |
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| 64 | 64 | | employment; |
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| 65 | 65 | | (E) involves coercion, duress, fraud, |
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| 66 | 66 | | overreaching, harassment, intimidation, or undue influence; or |
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| 67 | 67 | | (F) contains a false, fraudulent, misleading, |
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| 68 | 68 | | deceptive, or unfair statement or claim. |
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| 69 | 69 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 70 | 70 | | an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 71 | 71 | | offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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| 72 | 72 | | by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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| 73 | 73 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 74 | 74 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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| 75 | 75 | | this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that |
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| 76 | 76 | | date. |
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| 77 | 77 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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