By Cain                                               S.B. No. 1300
       74R7137 CBH-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the use of unclaimed money of a local telephone
    1-3  exchange company to fund rural scholarships.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 74, Property Code, is
    1-6  amended by adding Section 74.3011 to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 74.3011.  DELIVERY OF MONEY TO RURAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND.
    1-8  (a)  Notwithstanding and in addition to any other provision of this
    1-9  chapter or other law, a local telephone exchange company may
   1-10  deliver reported money to a scholarship fund for rural students
   1-11  instead of delivering the money to the state treasurer as
   1-12  prescribed by Section 74.301.
   1-13        (b)  A local telephone exchange company may deliver the money
   1-14  under this section only to a scholarship fund established by one or
   1-15  more local telephone exchange companies in this state to enable
   1-16  needy students from rural areas to attend college, technical
   1-17  school, or another postsecondary educational institution.
   1-18        (c)  A local telephone exchange company shall file with the
   1-19  state treasurer a verification of money delivered under this
   1-20  section that complies with Section 74.302.
   1-21        (d)  A claim for money delivered to a scholarship fund under
   1-22  this section must be filed with the local telephone exchange
   1-23  company that delivered the money.  The local telephone exchange
   1-24  company shall forward the claim to the administrator of the
    2-1  scholarship fund to which the money was delivered.  The scholarship
    2-2  fund shall pay the claim if the fund determines in good faith that
    2-3  the claim is valid.  A person aggrieved by a claim decision may
    2-4  file a suit against the fund in a district court in the county in
    2-5  which the administrator of the scholarship fund is located in
    2-6  accordance with Section 74.506.
    2-7        (e)  The state treasurer shall prescribe forms and procedures
    2-8  governing this section, including forms and procedures relating to:
    2-9              (1)  notice of presumed abandoned property;
   2-10              (2)  delivery of reported money to a scholarship fund;
   2-11  and
   2-12              (3)  filing of a claim.
   2-13        (f)  In this section, "local telephone exchange company"
   2-14  means a telecommunications utility certificated to provide local
   2-15  exchange service within the state and that is a telephone
   2-16  cooperative or has fewer than 50,000 access lines in service in
   2-17  this state.
   2-18        SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   2-19        (b)  Section 74.3011, Property Code, as added by this Act,
   2-20  applies only to money that a local telephone exchange company would
   2-21  otherwise be required to deliver to the state treasurer on or after
   2-22  the effective date of this Act.  Money that was required to be
   2-23  delivered to the state treasurer before the effective date of this
   2-24  Act is governed by the law in effect when the money was required to
   2-25  be delivered, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
   2-26        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-27  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    3-1  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    3-2  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-3  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.