Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 266 amends the Government Code to continue the Board of Law Examiners until September 1, 2015, and to include and update standard sunset language. The bill lengthens the board members' terms from two to six years and places the board members' terms on a staggered schedule, with the terms of one-third of the members expiring August 31 of each odd-numbered year. The bill requires that board deliberations, hearings, and determinations relating to the moral character and fitness of applicants and requests for testing accommodations for the bar exam for a person with a disability be closed to the public, and clarifies that records relating to these subjects are confidential. The bill allows a person within 12 semester hours of graduation from an approved law school to take the bar examination, but prohibits the person from being licensed to practice law until the person graduates or satisfies all requirements for graduation. The requirements must be met within two years of completion of the examination. The bill allows the board, on a showing of good cause or to prevent a hardship, to permit an applicant to file an application with the board not later than the 60th day after the deadline on payment of applicable late fees, and allows an applicant who failed the immediately preceding bar exam to take the next bar exam without regard to filing deadlines and late fees.

            Senate Bill 266 allows the board to release bar examination results and statistics to law schools, with certain restrictions and provides that information released to a law school is confidential. The bill allows an applicant to request that the board not release the applicant's identity to a law school by providing a written request to the board before taking the examination. The bill requires the board to compile a report, based on gender, ethnicity, and race, on the number of applicants who fail the July 2004 bar examination, to recommend ways to reduce the number of applicants who fail the bar examination, and to submit a report of its recommendations to the legislature not later than December 31, 2004. The bill also requires the board on request, in coordination with the State Bar of Texas, to inform a member of the public about the probationary status of a newly licensed attorney, and provides that any information that forms the basis for the issuance of the probationary license is confidential. The bill repeals provisions that allow certain members of the legislature who served before 1975 to take the bar examination and substitute their legislative service and education for the study and training requirements for candidates. The bill also repeals provisions relating to the role of district committees in admissions and investigations. The bill eliminates the current definition of chemical dependency and requires the board to develop a new definition subject to adoption in rule by the Texas Supreme Court.