By Wilson H.B. No. 3076
76R5023 GJH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the assignment of lottery winnings for the payment of
1-3 reasonable attorney's fees.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 466.310, Government Code, is amended by
1-6 amending Subsection (a) and by adding Subsection (c) to read as
1-7 follows:
1-8 (a) Except as provided by this section, a [A] person commits
1-9 an offense if the person:
1-10 (1) induces another person to assign or transfer a
1-11 right to claim a prize;
1-12 (2) offers for sale the right to claim a prize; or
1-13 (3) offers, for compensation, to claim the prize of
1-14 another person.
1-15 (c) A contract between a person entitled to a prize or a
1-16 portion of a prize and an attorney that assigns to the attorney the
1-17 right to receive from a prize payment the reasonable attorney's
1-18 fees for establishing the person's ownership of the prize or a
1-19 portion of the prize is not an assignment or transfer of a right
1-20 to claim a prize under Subsection (a)(1) and is not an offense
1-21 under this section.
1-22 SECTION 2. Section 466.406, Government Code, is amended by
1-23 adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
1-24 (d) A person entitled to a prize or a portion of a prize may
2-1 by contract assign to an attorney the right to receive from a prize
2-2 payment the reasonable attorney's fees for establishing the
2-3 person's ownership of the prize or portion of the prize.
2-4 (e) The right of an attorney to receive an assignment under
2-5 Subsection (d) that is to be paid in installments by the commission
2-6 is not assignable by the attorney to another person.
2-7 SECTION 3. Sections 466.407(a) and (b), Government Code, are
2-8 amended to read as follows:
2-9 (a) The executive director shall deduct the amount of a
2-10 delinquent tax or other money from the winnings of a person who has
2-11 been finally determined to be:
2-12 (1) delinquent in the payment of a tax or other money
2-13 collected by the comptroller, the Texas Workforce Commission, or
2-14 the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission;
2-15 (2) delinquent in making child support payments
2-16 administered or collected by the attorney general;
2-17 (3) delinquent in reimbursing the Texas Department of
2-18 Human Services for a benefit granted in error under the food stamp
2-19 program or the program of financial assistance under Chapter 31,
2-20 Human Resources Code;
2-21 (4) in default on a loan made under Chapter 52,
2-22 Education Code; [or]
2-23 (5) in default on a loan guaranteed under Chapter 57,
2-24 Education Code; or
2-25 (6) obligated by contract under Section 466.406(d) to
2-26 assign a portion of the winnings to an attorney who represents the
2-27 person for the purpose of establishing the person's ownership
3-1 interest in the winnings.
3-2 (b) If a person's winnings exceed delinquencies and
3-3 contractual obligations [a delinquency] under Subsection (a), the
3-4 director shall pay the balance to the person. The director shall
3-5 transfer the amount deducted directly to the appropriate agency or
3-6 the attorney entitled to the assignment.
3-7 SECTION 4. Subchapter I, Chapter 466, Government Code, is
3-8 amended by adding Section 466.410 to reads as follows:
3-9 Sec. 466.410. ASSIGNMENT OF PRIZES. (a) A person may
3-10 assign by contract the right to receive a prize payment or a
3-11 portion of a prize payment only if the assignment is made for
3-12 reasonable attorney's fees to an attorney who is retained by the
3-13 person to establish the person's ownership in the prize payment.
3-14 (b) To make an assignment under this section, the person
3-15 who claims an ownership interest in the prize and the retained
3-16 attorney must file separate sworn affidavits requesting the
3-17 assignment be made and stating the nature and terms of the
3-18 assignment contract.
3-19 (c) Any suit filed relating to an assignment under this
3-20 section must be filed in a district court in Travis County. The
3-21 commission may intervene in the suit.
3-22 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, and
3-23 applies only to a lottery prize awarded on or after that date. A
3-24 lottery prize awarded before that date is governed by the law in
3-25 effect on the day the prize was awarded, and that law is continued
3-26 in effect for that purpose.
3-27 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
4-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.