| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the offense of barratry and solicitation of |
|
|
professional employment. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 4102.151, Insurance Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 4102.151. SOLICITATION PROHIBITED [DURING NATURAL
|
|
|
DISASTER]. A license holder may not solicit or attempt to solicit a |
|
|
client for employment [during the progress of a loss-producing
|
|
|
natural disaster occurrence]. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 4102.152, Insurance Code, is repealed. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 38.12(d), Penal Code, is amended to read |
|
|
as follows: |
|
|
(d) A person commits an offense if the person: |
|
|
(1) is an attorney, chiropractor, physician, surgeon, |
|
|
[or] private investigator, or public insurance adjuster licensed to |
|
|
practice in this state, or any person licensed, certified, or |
|
|
registered by a health care regulatory agency of this state, or any |
|
|
vendor or agent for or representative of an insurance company |
|
|
authorized to engage in the business of automobile or other |
|
|
property and casualty insurance in this state who discusses the |
|
|
settlement or evaluation of a casualty claim or the casualty |
|
|
portion of a claim; and |
|
|
(2) with the intent to obtain professional employment |
|
|
for the person or for another, provides or knowingly permits to be |
|
|
provided to an individual who has not sought the person's |
|
|
employment, legal representation, advice, or care a written |
|
|
communication or a solicitation, including a solicitation in person |
|
|
or by telephone, that: |
|
|
(A) concerns an action for personal injury or |
|
|
wrongful death or otherwise relates to an accident or disaster |
|
|
involving the person to whom the communication or solicitation is |
|
|
provided or a relative of that person and that was provided before |
|
|
the 31st day after the date on which the accident or disaster |
|
|
occurred; |
|
|
(B) concerns a specific matter and relates to legal |
|
|
representation and the person knows or reasonably should know that |
|
|
the person to whom the communication or solicitation is directed is |
|
|
represented by a lawyer in the matter; |
|
|
(C) concerns a lawsuit of any kind, including an |
|
|
action for divorce, in which the person to whom the communication or |
|
|
solicitation is provided is a defendant or a relative of that |
|
|
person, unless the lawsuit in which the person is named as a |
|
|
defendant has been on file for more than 31 days before the date on |
|
|
which the communication or solicitation was provided; |
|
|
(D) is provided or permitted to be provided by a |
|
|
person who knows or reasonably should know that the injured person |
|
|
or relative of the injured person has indicated a desire not to be |
|
|
contacted by or receive communications or solicitations concerning |
|
|
employment; |
|
|
(E) involves coercion, duress, fraud, overreaching, |
|
|
harassment, intimidation, or undue influence; or |
|
|
(F) contains a false, fraudulent, misleading, |
|
|
deceptive, or unfair statement or claim. |
|
|
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, |
|
|
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|
|
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act if any element of the of |
|
|
fense occurred |
|
|
before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |