By Tillery                                            H.B. No. 3454
         77R9109 DWS-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to certain requests for financial institution records.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Section 59.006, Finance Code, is amended by
 1-5     amending Subsection (a)  and adding Subsection (h) to read as
 1-6     follows:
 1-7           (a)  This section provides the exclusive method for compelled
 1-8     discovery of a record of a financial institution relating to one or
 1-9     more customers.  This section does not create a right of privacy in
1-10     a record and, except as provided by Subsection (h), does not apply
1-11     to:
1-12                 (1)  a demand or inquiry from a state or federal
1-13     government agency authorized by law to conduct an examination of
1-14     the financial institution;
1-15                 (2)  a record request from a state or federal
1-16     government agency or instrumentality under statutory or
1-17     administrative authority that provides for, or is accompanied by, a
1-18     specific mechanism for discovery and protection of a customer
1-19     record of a financial institution, including a record request from
1-20     a federal agency subject to the Right to Financial Privacy Act of
1-21     1978 (12 U.S.C. Section 3401 et seq.), as amended, or from the
1-22     Internal Revenue Service under Section 1205, Internal Revenue Code
1-23     of 1986;
1-24                 (3)  a record request from or report to a government
 2-1     agency arising out of the investigation or prosecution of a
 2-2     criminal offense;
 2-3                 (4)  a record request in connection with a garnishment
 2-4     proceeding in which the financial institution is garnishee and the
 2-5     customer is debtor;
 2-6                 (5)  a record request by a duly appointed receiver for
 2-7     the customer;
 2-8                 (6)  an investigative demand or inquiry from a state
 2-9     legislative investigating committee;
2-10                 (7)  an investigative demand or inquiry from the
2-11     attorney general of this state as authorized by law other than the
2-12     procedural law governing discovery in civil cases; or
2-13                 (8)  the voluntary use or disclosure of a record by a
2-14     financial institution subject to other applicable state or federal
2-15     law.
2-16           (h)  A financial institution that receives a request for
2-17     records described by Subsections (a)(1)-(7) may bring an action in
2-18     district court for relief under this subsection.  If the financial
2-19     institution establishes in the action that the request for records
2-20     is unreasonable or onerous, the court may issue an order:
2-21                 (1)  limiting the scope of the records that the
2-22     financial institution must provide;
2-23                 (2)  requiring the person requesting the records to pay
2-24     the financial institution's reasonable cost of complying with the
2-25     request; or
2-26                 (3)  providing the relief under both Subdivisions (1)
2-27     and (2).
 3-1           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
 3-2     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
 3-3     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 3-4     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 3-5     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
 3-6                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
 3-7           1)  On page 2, line 17 strike "(1)" and insert "(2)".
 3-8                                                                 Averitt