SRC-JLB S.B. 1212 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1212
78R7695 DWS-FBy: Van de Putte
Jurisprudence
4/4/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Current law permits a court to make additional orders to compensate
consumers for actual damages or to restore money or property lost as a
result of a defendant's unlawful conduct and allows for civil penalties of
up to $2,000 per violation not to exceed a total of $10,000.  As proposed,
S.B. 1212 reaffirms that the attorney general has the authority to seek
restitution for identifiable individuals in the public interest;
increases civil penalty amounts to a maximum of $20,000 per violation,
with no cumulative cap;  and requires notice to the attorney general's
consumer protection division of any private, class-action lawsuit filed
under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) and grants the attorney
general's office explicit authority to intervene in DTPA private class
action lawsuits representing the public interest. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 17.47, Business & Commerce Code, by amending
Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g), as follows: 
 
(c)  Authorizes the consumer protection division of te attorney general's
office, in addition to the request for a temporary restraining order or
permanent injunction in a proceeding brought under Subsection (a) of this
section, to request, and the trier of fact to award, a civil penalty to be
paid to the state in a certain amount. 
  
(g)  Provides that in bringing or participating in an action under this
subchapter, the consumer protection division acts in the name of the state
and does not establish an attorney-client relationship with another
person, including a person to whom the consumer protection division
requests that the court award relief. 
 
SECTION 2.  Amends Chapter 17E, Business & Commerce Code, by adding
Section 17.501, as follows: 
 
Sec. 17.501.  CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION PARTICIPATION IN CLASS ACTION.
(a)  Requires a consumer filing an action under Section 17.50 that is to
be maintained as a class action to send certain information to the
consumer protection division. 
 
(b)  Requires the court to abate the action for 60 days if the court finds
that notice was not provided to the consumer protection division as
required by Subsection (a). 
 
(c)  Authorizes the consumer protection division, as representative of the
public, to intervene in an action to which this section applies by filing
notice of intervention with the court before which the action is pending
and serving a copy of the notice on each party to the action. 
 
 SECTION 3.  Effective date:  September 1, 2003.
 
SECTION 4.  Makes application of this Act prospective.