1-1     By:  Haywood, West, Lucio                              S.B. No. 348
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 2, 1999; February 4, 1999,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
 1-4     March 22, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6,
 1-5     Nays 0; March 22, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the civil liability of charitable organizations that
 1-9     are chambers of commerce.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subdivision (1), Section 84.003, Civil Practice
1-12     and Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-13                 (1)  "Charitable organization" means:
1-14                       (A)  any organization exempt from federal income
1-15     tax under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986  by
1-16     being listed as an exempt organization in Section 501(c)(3) or
1-17     501(c)(4) of the code, if it is a nonprofit corporation,
1-18     foundation, community chest, or fund organized and operated
1-19     exclusively for charitable, religious, prevention of cruelty to
1-20     children or animals, youth sports and youth recreational,
1-21     neighborhood crime prevention or patrol, or educational purposes,
1-22     excluding private primary or secondary schools, alumni associations
1-23     and related on-campus organizations, or is organized and operated
1-24     exclusively for the promotion of social welfare by being primarily
1-25     engaged in promoting the common good and general welfare of the
1-26     people in a community;
1-27                       (B)  any bona fide charitable, religious,
1-28     prevention of cruelty to children or animals, youth sports and
1-29     youth recreational, neighborhood crime prevention or patrol, or
1-30     educational organization, excluding alumni associations and related
1-31     on-campus organizations, or other organization organized and
1-32     operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare by being
1-33     primarily engaged in promoting the common good and general welfare
1-34     of the people in a community, and that:
1-35                             (i)  is organized and operated exclusively
1-36     for one or more of the above purposes;
1-37                             (ii)  does not engage in activities which
1-38     in themselves are not in furtherance of the purpose or purposes;
1-39                             (iii)  does not directly or indirectly
1-40     participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or
1-41     in opposition to any candidate for public office;
1-42                             (iv)  dedicates its assets to achieving the
1-43     stated purpose or purposes of the organization;
1-44                             (v)  does not allow any part of its net
1-45     assets on dissolution of the organization to inure to the benefit
1-46     of any group, shareholder, or individual; and
1-47                             (vi)  normally receives more than one-third
1-48     of its support in any year from private or public gifts, grants,
1-49     contributions, or membership fees; [or]
1-50                       (C)  a homeowners association as defined by
1-51     Section 528(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
1-52                       (D)  a local chamber of commerce that is exempt
1-53     from federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the Internal
1-54     Revenue Code of 1986 by being listed as an exempt organization in
1-55     Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that does
1-56     not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any
1-57     political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate
1-58     for public office, and that does not directly or indirectly
1-59     contribute to a political action committee that makes expenditures
1-60     to any candidates for public office.
1-61           SECTION 2.  Section 84.007, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
1-62     is amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
1-63           (h)  This chapter does not apply to a cosponsor of an event
1-64     or activity with a local chamber of commerce.
 2-1           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, and
 2-2     applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after that
 2-3     date.  An action that accrued before the effective date of this Act
 2-4     is governed by the law applicable to the action immediately before
 2-5     the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
 2-6     for that purpose.
 2-7           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
 2-8     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 2-9     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-10     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-11     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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