By Bosse                                         H.B. No. 546

      75R2150 DAK-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the civil liability of charitable organizations

 1-3     providing crime prevention or law enforcement services.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 84.003(1), Civil Practice and Remedies

 1-6     Code, is amended to read as follows:

 1-7                 (1)  "Charitable organization" means:

 1-8                       (A)  any organization exempt from federal income

 1-9     tax under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986  by

1-10     being listed as an exempt organization in Section 501(c)(3) or

1-11     501(c)(4) of the code, if it is a nonprofit corporation,

1-12     foundation, community chest, or fund organized and operated

1-13     exclusively for charitable, religious, prevention of cruelty to

1-14     children or animals, youth sports and youth recreational, crime

1-15     prevention or law enforcement, or educational purposes, excluding

1-16     private primary or secondary schools, alumni associations and

1-17     related on-campus organizations, or is organized and operated

1-18     exclusively for the promotion of social welfare by being primarily

1-19     engaged in promoting the common good and general welfare of the

1-20     people in a community;

1-21                       (B)  any bona fide charitable, religious,

1-22     prevention of cruelty to children or animals, youth sports and

1-23     youth recreational, crime prevention or law enforcement, or

1-24     educational organization, excluding alumni associations and related

 2-1     on-campus organizations, or other organization organized and

 2-2     operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare by being

 2-3     primarily engaged in promoting the common good and general welfare

 2-4     of the people in a community, and that:

 2-5                             (i)  is organized and operated exclusively

 2-6     for one or more of the above purposes;

 2-7                             (ii)  does not engage in activities which

 2-8     in themselves are not in furtherance of the purpose or purposes;

 2-9                             (iii)  does not directly or indirectly

2-10     participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or

2-11     in opposition to any candidate for public office;

2-12                             (iv)  dedicates its assets to achieving the

2-13     stated purpose or purposes of the organization;

2-14                             (v)  does not allow any part of its net

2-15     assets on dissolution of the organization to inure to the benefit

2-16     of any group, shareholder, or individual; and

2-17                             (vi)  normally receives more than one-third

2-18     of its support in any year from private or public gifts, grants,

2-19     contributions, or membership fees; or

2-20                       (C)  a homeowners association as defined by

2-21     Section 528(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

2-22           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

2-23     applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after that

2-24     date.  An action that accrued before the effective date of this Act

2-25     is governed by the law applicable to the action immediately before

2-26     the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect

2-27     for that purpose.

 3-1           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-2     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 3-3     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-4     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-5     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.