BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 1581 By: Turner Jurisprudence 4-20-95 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND When Section 37.009 of the Declaratory Judgment Act was enacted, the legislature intended that the Act would have no fiscal impact for the state or local government. Unfortunately, that has not been the case in practice. The language in Section 37.009 is not explicit as to whether costs and attorney's fees may be awarded against the government, and a few courts have awarded costs and attorney's fees against the state, contrary to the legislature's intent. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 1581 provides that under the Declaratory Judgment Act, an award of costs or attorney's fees against any governmental unit is not authorized. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 37.009, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, to provide that nothing in this section authorizes an award of costs or attorney's fees against any governmental unit as that term is defined in Section 101.001 of this code. SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1995. SECTION 4. Severability clause. SECTION 5. Emergency clause.