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SECTION 1. Section
402.007(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Subject to Subsection
(d), the comptroller shall credit to the judicial fund for programs
approved by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to
the indigent the net amount of:
(1) a civil penalty that is
recovered in an action by the attorney general [in any matter actionable
under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code], after
deducting amounts allocated to or retained by the attorney general as
authorized by law, unless:
(A) another law requires
that the penalty be credited to a
different fund or account; or
(B) the judgment awarding
the penalty requires that the penalty be paid to another named recipient;
and
(2) civil restitution
recovered by the attorney general in an action brought by the attorney
general [arising from conduct that violates a consumer protection,
public health, or general welfare law,] if, on the hearing of an ex
parte motion filed by the attorney general after the entry of a judgment
awarding civil restitution, the court:
(A) determines that, based
on the facts and circumstances of the case:
(i) it is impossible or
impracticable to identify injured parties;
(ii) it is impossible or
impracticable to determine the degree to which each claimant was injured
and entitled to recover;
(iii) the cost of
administering a claim procedure will disproportionately reduce the amount
of restitution available for the payment of individual claims; or
(iv) the claims of all
identifiable persons eligible to receive restitution have been paid without
exhausting the funds available for restitution; and
(B) enters a judgment or
order that the restitution be credited to the judicial fund for programs approved
by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to the
indigent.
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SECTION 1. Section
402.007(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Subject to Subsection
(d), the comptroller shall credit to the judicial fund for programs
approved by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to
the indigent the net amount of:
(1) a civil penalty or payment that is recovered in an
action by the attorney general in any matter actionable under the [Subchapter
E, Chapter 17,] Business & Commerce Code, after deducting amounts
allocated to or retained by the attorney general as authorized by law,
unless:
(A) another law requires
that the funds [penalty] be credited to a
different fund or account; or
(B) the judgment awarding
the funds [penalty] requires that the funds
[penalty] be paid to another named recipient; and
(2) civil restitution
recovered by the attorney general in an action brought by the attorney
general [arising from conduct that violates a consumer protection,
public health, or general welfare law,] if, on the hearing of an ex
parte motion filed by the attorney general after the entry of a judgment
awarding civil restitution, the court:
(A) determines that, based
on the facts and circumstances of the case:
(i) it is impossible or
impracticable to identify injured parties;
(ii) it is impossible or
impracticable to determine the degree to which each claimant was injured
and entitled to recover;
(iii) the cost of
administering a claim procedure will disproportionately reduce the amount
of restitution available for the payment of individual claims; or
(iv) the claims of all
identifiable persons eligible to receive restitution have been paid without
exhausting the funds available for restitution; and
(B) enters a judgment or
order that the restitution be credited to the judicial fund for programs
approved by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to
the indigent.
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SECTION 2. The change in law
made by this Act applies only to a civil penalty or civil restitution that
is received by the attorney general on or after the effective date of this
Act. A civil penalty or civil restitution received by the attorney general
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
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SECTION 2. The change in law
made by this Act applies only to a civil penalty, payment, or civil restitution that is received by the
attorney general on or after the effective date of this Act. A civil
penalty, payment, or civil
restitution received by the attorney general before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective
date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
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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, 2015.
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SECTION 3. Same as introduced
version.
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