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  By: Ogden  S.B. No. 367
         (In the Senate - Filed January 18, 2011; February 2, 2011,
  read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
  March 8, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9,
  Nays 0; March 8, 2011, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the review by the attorney general of invoices related
  to legal services provided to state agencies by outside counsel.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 402.0212, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (d), (e),
  and (f) to read as follows:
         (b)  An invoice submitted to a state agency under a contract
  for legal services as described by Subsection (a) must be reviewed
  by the attorney general to determine whether the invoice is
  eligible for payment.
         (c)  An attorney or law firm must pay an administrative fee
  to the attorney general for the review described in Subsection (b)
  when entering into a contract to provide legal services to a state
  agency.
         (d)  For purposes of this section, the functions of a hearing
  examiner, administrative law judge, or other quasi-judicial
  officer are not considered legal services.
         (e) [(c)]  This section shall not apply to the Texas Turnpike
  Authority division of the Texas Department of Transportation.
         (f)  The attorney general may adopt rules as necessary to
  implement and administer this section.
         SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a contract for legal services between a state agency and a private
  attorney or law firm entered into on or after the effective date of
  this Act. A contract for legal services between a state agency and
  a private attorney or law firm entered into before the effective
  date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the
  contract was entered into, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
 
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