| TO: | Honorable Bill Ratliff, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1601 by Ellis, Rodney (Relating to the distribution of unclaimed funds in class action litigation.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend Government Code, Chapter 31 to add a provision relating to the distribution of unclaimed funds in class action litigation. Because Government Code, Chapter 31 relates to additional compensation to justices of the courts of appeals, the Comptroller's Office indicates that the provision would be related to the Property Code and the three-year dormancy period whereby the holder of the property is required to turn the property over to the state. The bill would put the balance of unclaimed class settlement or judgment funds into programs that provide civil legal services to the indigent. The programs would have to be approved by the Supreme Court.
To the extent that certain class action lawsuits may result in unclaimed funds for distribution to programs providing basic civil legal services, the fiscal implication of such distributions is not anticipated to be significant. The bill would take effect September 1, 2003.
| Source Agencies: | 201 Supreme Court of Texas, 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts
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| LBB Staff: | JK, RR, VDS, TB
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