By Whitmire S.B. No. 302 74R4292 GWK-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to a system of sanctions for inmates of the institutional 1-3 division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who file 1-4 frivolous suits or take bad faith actions in a suit. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Chapter 500, Government Code, is amended by 1-7 adding Section 500.004 to read as follows: 1-8 Sec. 500.004. SANCTIONS FOR FRIVOLOUS COURT ACTIONS. (a) 1-9 The board by rule shall: 1-10 (1) prohibit an inmate from signing a pleading in a 1-11 state or federal court proceeding, other than a criminal 1-12 proceeding, that is: 1-13 (A) groundless and brought in bad faith; 1-14 (B) groundless and brought for the purpose of 1-15 harassment; or 1-16 (C) groundless and interposed for any improper 1-17 purpose, such as to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in 1-18 the cost of litigation; and 1-19 (2) establish punishments for violations of a rule 1-20 adopted under this subsection, which may include forfeiture of good 1-21 conduct time or any other sanction the division is authorized to 1-22 impose for violation of a rule of the division. 1-23 (b) The institutional division may: 1-24 (1) hold a hearing to determine whether an inmate has 2-1 violated a rule adopted under Subsection (a) only after 2-2 notification from a judge in whose court a proceeding is brought 2-3 that the inmate engaged in the conduct described by Subsection (a); 2-4 and 2-5 (2) impose a sanction for a violation of the rule only 2-6 on a determination at a hearing that the inmate engaged in the 2-7 conduct described by Subsection (a). 2-8 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and 2-9 applies only to a forfeiture of good conduct time based on the 2-10 filing in court of a signed pleading on or after that date. 2-11 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.