By De La Garza                                         H.B. No. 528
       74R677 CAG-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the advertisement of special competence or legal
    1-3  specialization by certain attorneys.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Subchapter H, Chapter 81, Government Code, is
    1-6  amended by adding Section 81.115 to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 81.115.  ADVERTISEMENT OF SPECIAL COMPETENCE OR LEGAL
    1-8  SPECIALIZATION.  (a)  An attorney who has not been awarded a
    1-9  certificate of special competence by the Texas Board of Legal
   1-10  Specialization is not required to state in an advertisement that
   1-11  the attorney is not certified by the Texas Board of Legal
   1-12  Specialization.
   1-13        (b)  An attorney who advertises the attorney's practice in an
   1-14  area of law that has not been designated as an area in which an
   1-15  attorney may be awarded a certificate of special competence by the
   1-16  Texas Board of Legal Specialization is not required to state in an
   1-17  advertisement that a designation has not been made by the Texas
   1-18  Board of Legal Specialization in that area.
   1-19        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
   1-20  applies to an advertisement published or broadcast on or after the
   1-21  effective date of this Act.  An advertisement published or
   1-22  broadcast before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
   1-23  law in effect at the time the advertisement was published or
   1-24  broadcast, and the former law is continued in effect for that
    2-1  purpose.
    2-2        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
    2-3  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    2-4  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    2-5  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    2-6  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.