By Harris                                              S.B. No. 309
       74R3681 DLF-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to certain acts of public accountants.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
    1-5  amended by adding Chapter 91 to read as follows:
    1-6                    CHAPTER 91.  PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
    1-7        Sec. 91.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
    1-8              (1)  "Accountant" means a person holding a certificate
    1-9  or registration issued by the Texas State Board of Public
   1-10  Accountancy.
   1-11              (2)  "Claimant" means a party, including a plaintiff,
   1-12  counterclaimant, cross-claimant, or third-party claimant, seeking
   1-13  recovery of damages from an accountant.
   1-14        Sec. 91.002.  LIABILITY LIMITED.  Except as provided by
   1-15  Section 91.003, an accountant is not liable for an act or omission
   1-16  in connection with the provision of public accountancy services to
   1-17  the claimant, including examining, compiling, reviewing,
   1-18  certifying, auditing, providing an opinion about, or otherwise
   1-19  reporting on a financial statement or other information in the
   1-20  course of an engagement to provide other public accountancy
   1-21  services to the claimant.
   1-22        Sec. 91.003.  EXCEPTIONS.  Section 91.002 does not apply if:
   1-23              (1)  the claimant:
   1-24                    (A)  issued the financial statement or
    2-1  information or is a successor of the person that issued the
    2-2  financial statement or information; and
    2-3                    (B)  engaged the accountant to examine, compile,
    2-4  review, certify, audit, provide an opinion about, or otherwise
    2-5  report on a financial statement or other information, or to provide
    2-6  other public accounting services; or
    2-7              (2)  the accountant:
    2-8                    (A)  was aware at the time the services of the
    2-9  accountant were engaged that the financial statement or other
   2-10  information would be made available to the claimant for use in
   2-11  connection with a specified transaction and the claimant was
   2-12  specifically identified to the accountant;
   2-13                    (B)  communicated directly with the claimant
   2-14  concerning the financial statement or other information; and
   2-15                    (C)  was aware that the claimant intended to rely
   2-16  on the financial statement or other information in connection with
   2-17  the specified transaction and communicated that awareness by words
   2-18  or conduct.
   2-19        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
   2-20  applies only to a suit that is commenced on or after that date.  A
   2-21  suit that is commenced before the effective date of this Act is
   2-22  governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
   2-23  of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
   2-24        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-25  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-26  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-27  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-1  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.