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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to certain procedures and civil penalties under the |
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Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 17.47(c), Business & Commerce Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(c) In addition to the request for a temporary restraining |
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order, or permanent injunction in a proceeding brought under |
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Subsection (a) of this section, the consumer protection division |
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may request, and the trier of fact may award, a civil penalty to be |
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paid to the state. The amount of the penalty shall be [in an amount
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of]: |
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(1) not more than $10,000 per violation, not to exceed |
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ten times the amount of actual damages, as determined by the trier |
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of fact; or |
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(2) not more than $20,000 per violation, as determined |
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by the trier of fact if the trier of fact determines that the person |
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intentionally committed the violation[; and
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[(2)
if the act or practice that is the subject of the
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proceeding was calculated to acquire or deprive money or other
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property from a consumer who was 65 years of age or older when the
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act or practice occurred, an additional amount of not more than
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$250,000]. |
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SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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a violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection |
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Act that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act |
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that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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law in effect on the date the violation occurred, and the former law |
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is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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section, a violation occurs before the effective date of this Act if |
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any element of the violation occurs before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |