| 1 | | - | By: Nichols, Eckhardt S.B. No. 992 |
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| 1 | + | By: Nichols S.B. No. 992 |
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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Filed January 29, 2025; |
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| 3 | + | February 13, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | + | State Affairs; March 5, 2025, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | + | vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 5, 2025, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 4 | 7 | | |
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| 5 | 8 | | |
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| 6 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 11 | | relating to the procedure by which the attorney general approves or |
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| 9 | 12 | | denies approval of a state agency contract for outside legal |
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| 10 | 13 | | services. |
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| 11 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Section 402.0212, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | 16 | | adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 17 | | (a-1) The attorney general shall approve or deny approval of |
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| 15 | 18 | | a contract for legal services described by Subsection (a) not later |
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| 16 | 19 | | than the 25th day after the date the contract is received by the |
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| 17 | 20 | | attorney general from the submitting state agency. If the attorney |
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| 18 | 21 | | general denies approval of the contract, the attorney general shall |
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| 19 | 22 | | provide the state agency that submitted the contract a written |
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| 20 | 23 | | explanation of the reason the attorney general denied approval of |
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| 21 | 24 | | the contract. |
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| 22 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Section 825.203(c), Government Code, is amended |
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| 23 | 26 | | to read as follows: |
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| 24 | 27 | | (c) [The attorney general shall timely act on a request to |
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| 25 | 28 | | approve a contract for outside legal services under Section |
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| 26 | 29 | | 402.0212.] If the attorney general denies the board's request for |
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| 27 | 30 | | approval of a contract for outside legal services,[: |
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| 28 | 31 | | [(1) the attorney general shall provide the board with |
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| 29 | 32 | | the reason for the denial; and |
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| 30 | 33 | | [(2)] the board may select alternative outside legal |
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| 31 | 34 | | counsel, subject to approval by the attorney general in accordance |
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| 32 | 35 | | with this section and Section 402.0212. |
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| 33 | 36 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 34 | 37 | | to a contract for legal services submitted for approval to the |
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| 35 | 38 | | attorney general on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 36 | 39 | | contract submitted for approval to the attorney general before the |
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| 37 | 40 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect |
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| 38 | 41 | | immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is |
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| 39 | 42 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 40 | 43 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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