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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to certain civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade |
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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 in an amount of: |
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(1) not more than $20,000 [$10,000] per violation; and |
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(2) an additional amount of not more than $250,000 if |
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the act or practice that is the subject of the proceeding was |
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calculated to acquire or deprive money or other property from a |
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consumer who was: |
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(A) 65 years of age or older when the act or |
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practice occurred; |
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(B) not fluent in the language in which the act or |
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practice occurred; or |
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(C) a person with an intellectual disability[, an |
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additional amount of not more than $250,000]. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section |
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17.47, Business & Commerce Code, applies only to an action brought |
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under that section on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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action brought under Section 17.47, Business & Commerce Code, |
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before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in |
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effect on the date the action was brought, and the former law is |
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continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |