Bill Text: TX HB1763 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the disposition of money from certain attorney accounts delivered to the comptroller as unclaimed property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-22 - Reported favorably as substituted [HB1763 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB1763-Introduced.html
| 2023S0057-1 01/24/23 | ||
| By: Leach | H.B. No. 1763 | |
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| relating to the disposition of money from certain attorney accounts | ||
| delivered to the comptroller as unclaimed property. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 74, Property Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 74.604 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 74.604. DISPOSITION OF MONEY DELIVERED TO COMPTROLLER | ||
| FROM CERTAIN ATTORNEY ACCOUNTS. (a) This section applies to money | ||
| delivered to the comptroller under Section 74.301 as: | ||
| (1) unclaimed or unidentified funds in a client trust | ||
| account established by an attorney or law firm; or | ||
| (2) money in an abandoned IOLTA account established by | ||
| an attorney or law firm to comply with Texas Supreme Court rules | ||
| governing the Texas Access to Justice Program. | ||
| (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or | ||
| other law, the comptroller shall deposit money to which this | ||
| section applies to the credit of the judicial fund. Except as | ||
| otherwise provided by this section, money deposited to the credit | ||
| of the judicial fund may be appropriated only to the Texas Supreme | ||
| Court for programs approved by the supreme court that provide basic | ||
| civil legal services. | ||
| (c) If the comptroller pays a claim to a person establishing | ||
| ownership of any money that was deposited to the credit of the | ||
| judicial fund under Subsection (b), the Texas Supreme Court shall | ||
| reimburse the comptroller out of the judicial fund for the amount of | ||
| the claim. The supreme court may use money deposited under | ||
| Subsection (b) to pay the claim. | ||
| (d) The comptroller and the Texas Supreme Court may adopt | ||
| rules necessary to implement this section. | ||
| (e) In this section, "IOLTA" means the Interest On Lawyers' | ||
| Trust Account Program. | ||
| SECTION 2. (a) Section 74.604, Property Code, as added by | ||
| this Act, applies to money described by Section 74.604(a)(1) or | ||
| (2), Property Code, as added by this Act, that was delivered to the | ||
| comptroller under Section 74.301, Property Code, on, before, or | ||
| after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| (b) As soon as possible after the effective date of this | ||
| Act, the comptroller shall identify money described by Subsection | ||
| (a) of this section that was delivered to the comptroller before the | ||
| effective date of this Act and deposit that money to the credit of | ||
| the judicial fund in accordance with Section 74.604(b), Property | ||
| Code, as added by this Act. The comptroller shall subtract from the | ||
| amount the comptroller deposits to the judicial fund under this | ||
| subsection any amounts that the comptroller has previously paid on | ||
| claims to persons who established ownership of part of that money. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
