| 1 | 1 | | 89R9727 SCR-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Holt H.B. No. 3081 |
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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 certain civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade |
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| 10 | 10 | | Practices-Consumer Protection Act. |
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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. Section 17.47(c), Business & Commerce Code, is |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (c) In addition to the request for a temporary restraining |
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| 15 | 15 | | order, or permanent injunction in a proceeding brought under |
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| 16 | 16 | | Subsection (a) of this section, the consumer protection division |
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| 17 | 17 | | may request, and the trier of fact may award, a civil penalty to be |
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| 18 | 18 | | paid to the state in an amount of: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) not more than $20,000 [$10,000] per violation; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) an additional amount of not more than $250,000 if |
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| 21 | 21 | | the act or practice that is the subject of the proceeding was |
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| 22 | 22 | | calculated to acquire or deprive money or other property from a |
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| 23 | 23 | | consumer who was: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (A) 65 years of age or older when the act or |
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| 25 | 25 | | practice occurred; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (B) not fluent in the language in which the act or |
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| 27 | 27 | | practice occurred; or |
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| 28 | 28 | | (C) a person with an intellectual disability[, an |
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| 29 | 29 | | additional amount of not more than $250,000]. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section |
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| 31 | 31 | | 17.47, Business & Commerce Code, applies only to an action brought |
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| 32 | 32 | | under that section on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 33 | 33 | | action brought under Section 17.47, Business & Commerce Code, |
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| 34 | 34 | | before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in |
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| 35 | 35 | | effect on the date the action was brought, and the former law is |
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| 36 | 36 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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