1-1 By: Driver, Averitt (Senate Sponsor - Carona) H.B. No. 2800 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 1999; 1-3 May 3, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Economic 1-4 Development; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following 1-5 vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to requiring a financial institution to maintain certain 1-9 information from a business account holder. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subtitle Z, Title 3, Finance Code, is amended by 1-12 adding Chapter 277 to read as follows: 1-13 CHAPTER 277. BUSINESS CHECKING ACCOUNTS 1-14 Sec. 277.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-15 (1) "Business" means a legal entity, including a 1-16 corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship, that is formed 1-17 for the purpose of making a profit. 1-18 (2) "Business checking account" means an account at a 1-19 financial institution from which withdrawals may be made by a 1-20 business by check or draft. The term includes a money market 1-21 account, a negotiable order of withdrawal account, or other account 1-22 at a financial institution in which the account holder has check 1-23 writing privileges. 1-24 (3) "Financial institution" means a state or national 1-25 bank, state or federal savings and loan association, state or 1-26 federal savings bank, or state or federal credit union doing 1-27 business in this state. 1-28 Sec. 277.002. ACCOUNT INFORMATION REQUIRED. (a) A 1-29 financial institution shall require, as a condition of opening or 1-30 maintaining a business checking account, that the applicant or 1-31 account holder provide: 1-32 (1) if the business is a sole proprietorship: 1-33 (A) the name of the business owner; 1-34 (B) the physical address of the business; 1-35 (C) the home address of the business owner; and 1-36 (D) the driver's license number of the business 1-37 owner or the personal identification card number issued to the 1-38 business owner by the Department of Public Safety; or 1-39 (2) if the business is a corporation or other legal 1-40 entity, a copy of the business's certificate of incorporation or a 1-41 comparable document and an assumed name certificate, if any. 1-42 (b) The financial institution shall request that the account 1-43 holder inform the institution at least annually of any changes in 1-44 the information the institution is required to obtain under 1-45 Subsection (a). 1-46 Sec. 277.003. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. (a) A financial 1-47 institution may not unreasonably withhold the information described 1-48 by Section 277.002 in response to a written request for the 1-49 information that: 1-50 (1) is made by a person to whom the financial 1-51 institution has returned a dishonored check or draft that was 1-52 issued to the person by a business that maintains a business 1-53 checking account; and 1-54 (2) includes a photocopy of the dishonored check or 1-55 draft. 1-56 (b) A financial institution that assesses a reasonable 1-57 research fee in the regular course of business may assess the fee 1-58 on a person who requests information under this section. 1-59 (c) A financial institution is not liable to an account 1-60 holder or other person for the disclosure of information under this 1-61 section. 1-62 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, and 1-63 applies to a business checking account held by a financial 1-64 institution on or after that date, regardless of the date on which 2-1 the account was opened. 2-2 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 2-7 * * * * *