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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the disposition of money from certain attorney accounts |
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delivered to the comptroller as unclaimed property. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 74, Property Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 74.604 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 74.604. DISPOSITION OF MONEY DELIVERED TO COMPTROLLER |
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FROM CERTAIN ATTORNEY ACCOUNTS. (a) This section applies to money |
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delivered to the comptroller under Section 74.301 as: |
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(1) unclaimed or unidentified funds in a client trust |
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account established by an attorney or law firm; or |
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(2) money in an abandoned IOLTA account established by |
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an attorney or law firm to comply with Texas Supreme Court rules |
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governing the Texas Access to Justice Program. |
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(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or |
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other law, the comptroller shall deposit money to which this |
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section applies to the credit of the judicial fund. Except as |
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otherwise provided by this section, money deposited to the credit |
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of the judicial fund may be appropriated only to the Texas Supreme |
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Court for programs approved by the supreme court that provide basic |
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civil legal services. |
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(c) If the comptroller pays a claim to a person establishing |
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ownership of any money that was deposited to the credit of the |
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judicial fund under Subsection (b), the Texas Supreme Court shall |
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reimburse the comptroller out of the judicial fund for the amount of |
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the claim. The supreme court may use money deposited under |
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Subsection (b) to pay the claim. |
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(d) The comptroller and the Texas Supreme Court may adopt |
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rules necessary to implement this section. |
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(e) In this section, "IOLTA" means the Interest On Lawyers' |
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Trust Account Program. |
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SECTION 2. (a) Section 74.604, Property Code, as added by |
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this Act, applies to money described by Section 74.604(a)(1) or |
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(2), Property Code, as added by this Act, that was delivered to the |
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comptroller under Section 74.301, Property Code, on, before, or |
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after the effective date of this Act. |
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(b) As soon as possible after the effective date of this |
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Act, the comptroller shall identify money described by Subsection |
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(a) of this section that was delivered to the comptroller before the |
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effective date of this Act and deposit that money to the credit of |
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the judicial fund in accordance with Section 74.604(b), Property |
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Code, as added by this Act. The comptroller shall subtract from the |
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amount the comptroller deposits to the judicial fund under this |
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subsection any amounts that the comptroller has previously paid on |
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claims to persons who established ownership of part of that money. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |