1-1     By:  Shapiro                                          S.B. No. 1663

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 14, 1997; March 24, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;

 1-4     April 25, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 10,

 1-5     Nays 0; April 25, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the business of selling checks.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  AMENDMENT.  Section 3, The Sale of Checks Act

1-11     (Article 489d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read

1-12     as follows:

1-13           Sec. 3.  LICENSE REQUIRED.  No person, except those specified

1-14     in Section 4 shall engage in the business of selling checks, as a

1-15     service or for a fee or other consideration, or maintain, utilize,

1-16     or otherwise control an account in this state for the purpose of

1-17     engaging in the business of selling checks, without having first

1-18     obtained a license hereunder.

1-19           [Any person engaged in said business on the effective date of

1-20     this Act may continue to engage therein without a license until the

1-21     Commissioner shall have acted upon his application for a license,

1-22     provided that such application be filed within thirty (30) days

1-23     after the effective date of this Act.]

1-24           SECTION 2.  SEVERABILITY.  If any section, sentence, clause

1-25     or part of this act shall, for any reason, be held invalid, such

1-26     invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of the Act, and

1-27     it is hereby declared to be the intention of this legislature to

1-28     have passed each section, sentence, clause, or part irrespective of

1-29     the fact that any other section, sentence, or part may be declared

1-30     invalid.

1-31           SECTION 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect September

1-32     1, 1997.

1-33           SECTION 4.  EMERGENCY.  The importance of this legislation

1-34     and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-35     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-36     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-37     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

1-38                                  * * * * *