1-1     By:  Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)                H.B. No. 1137
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 1999;
 1-3     April 27, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Intergovernmental Relations; May 13, 1999, reported favorably by
 1-5     the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 13, 1999, sent to
 1-6     printer.)
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to the penalty imposed on certain persons who fail to
1-10     timely pay or deliver abandoned property.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1.  Section 74.706, Property Code, is amended to read
1-13     as follows:
1-14           Sec. 74.706.  PENALTY.  (a) A penalty equal to five percent
1-15     of the value of the property due shall be imposed on a holder who
1-16     fails to pay or deliver property within the time prescribed by this
1-17     chapter.  If a holder fails to pay or deliver property before the
1-18     31st day after the date the property is due, an additional penalty
1-19     equal to five percent of the value of the property due shall be
1-20     imposed.
1-21           (b)  For purposes of Subsection (a), "holder" does not
1-22     include a local governmental entity or an officer or employee of a
1-23     local governmental entity who is performing the officer's or
1-24     employee's official duties for the local governmental entity.
1-25           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
1-26     to conduct occurring on or after the effective date of this Act.
1-27     For purposes of this section, conduct occurs before the effective
1-28     date of this Act if any element of the conduct giving rise to the
1-29     penalty occurs before that date.  Conduct occurring before the
1-30     effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
1-31     conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
1-32     that purpose.
1-33           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-34           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-35     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-36     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-37     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-38     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-39                                  * * * * *