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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the suspension and disbarment of an attorney convicted |
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of any offense requiring the attorney to register as a sex offender. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 81.078(b), (c), and (d), Government |
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Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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(b) On proof of an attorney's conviction in a trial court of |
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competent jurisdiction of any felony involving moral turpitude, of |
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any offense requiring the attorney to register as a sex offender |
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under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, or of any misdemeanor |
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involving the theft, embezzlement, or fraudulent misappropriation |
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of money or other property, the district court of the county of the |
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residence of the convicted attorney shall enter an order suspending |
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the attorney from the practice of law during the pendency of any |
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appeals from the conviction. An attorney who has been given |
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probation after the conviction, whether adjudicated or |
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unadjudicated, shall be suspended from the practice of law during |
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the probation. |
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(c) On proof of final conviction of any felony involving |
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moral turpitude, any offense requiring the attorney to register as |
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a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, or any |
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misdemeanor involving theft, embezzlement, or fraudulent |
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misappropriation of money or other property, the district court of |
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the county of the residence of the convicted attorney shall enter an |
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order disbarring the attorney. |
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(d) In an action to disbar any attorney for acts made the |
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basis of a conviction for a felony involving moral turpitude, an |
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offense requiring the attorney to register as a sex offender under |
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Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, or a misdemeanor involving |
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theft, embezzlement, or fraudulent misappropriation of money or |
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other property, the record of conviction is conclusive evidence of |
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the guilt of the attorney for the crime of which the attorney [he] |
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was convicted. |
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SECTION 2. Section 81.078, Government Code, as amended by |
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this Act, applies only to an attorney convicted of an offense |
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committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An attorney |
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convicted of an offense committed before the effective date of this |
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Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was |
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committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
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purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed |
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before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense |
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occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2027. |