Bill Text: TX HB1152 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the deceptive trade practice of charging exorbitant or excessive prices for necessities during a declared disaster.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-10 - Effective on 9/1/19 [HB1152 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB1152-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to the deceptive trade practice of charging exorbitant or excessive prices for necessities during a declared disaster.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-10 - Effective on 9/1/19 [HB1152 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB1152-Comm_Sub.html
By: Bernal, Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Campbell) | H.B. No. 1152 | |
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2019; | ||
May 14, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State | ||
Affairs; May 19, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote: | ||
Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 19, 2019, sent to printer.) | ||
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relating to the deceptive trade practice of charging exorbitant or | ||
excessive prices for necessities during a declared disaster. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 17.45, Business & Commerce Code, is | ||
amended by adding Subdivision (17) to read as follows: | ||
(17) "Building materials" includes lumber, windows, | ||
and other materials used in the construction or repair of | ||
improvements to real property. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 17.46(b), Business & Commerce Code, as | ||
amended by Chapters 324 (S.B. 1488), 858 (H.B. 2552), and 967 (S.B. | ||
2065), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is | ||
reenacted and amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Except as provided in Subsection (d) of this section, | ||
the term "false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices" | ||
includes, but is not limited to, the following acts: | ||
(1) passing off goods or services as those of another; | ||
(2) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to the | ||
source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or | ||
services; | ||
(3) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to | ||
affiliation, connection, or association with, or certification by, | ||
another; | ||
(4) using deceptive representations or designations | ||
of geographic origin in connection with goods or services; | ||
(5) representing that goods or services have | ||
sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, | ||
benefits, or quantities which they do not have or that a person has | ||
a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection which | ||
the person does not; | ||
(6) representing that goods are original or new if | ||
they are deteriorated, reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or | ||
secondhand; | ||
(7) representing that goods or services are of a | ||
particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a | ||
particular style or model, if they are of another; | ||
(8) disparaging the goods, services, or business of | ||
another by false or misleading representation of facts; | ||
(9) advertising goods or services with intent not to | ||
sell them as advertised; | ||
(10) advertising goods or services with intent not to | ||
supply a reasonable expectable public demand, unless the | ||
advertisements disclosed a limitation of quantity; | ||
(11) making false or misleading statements of fact | ||
concerning the reasons for, existence of, or amount of price | ||
reductions; | ||
(12) representing that an agreement confers or | ||
involves rights, remedies, or obligations which it does not have or | ||
involve, or which are prohibited by law; | ||
(13) knowingly making false or misleading statements | ||
of fact concerning the need for parts, replacement, or repair | ||
service; | ||
(14) misrepresenting the authority of a salesman, | ||
representative or agent to negotiate the final terms of a consumer | ||
transaction; | ||
(15) basing a charge for the repair of any item in | ||
whole or in part on a guaranty or warranty instead of on the value of | ||
the actual repairs made or work to be performed on the item without | ||
stating separately the charges for the work and the charge for the | ||
warranty or guaranty, if any; | ||
(16) disconnecting, turning back, or resetting the | ||
odometer of any motor vehicle so as to reduce the number of miles | ||
indicated on the odometer gauge; | ||
(17) advertising of any sale by fraudulently | ||
representing that a person is going out of business; | ||
(18) advertising, selling, or distributing a card | ||
which purports to be a prescription drug identification card issued | ||
under Section 4151.152, Insurance Code, in accordance with rules | ||
adopted by the commissioner of insurance, which offers a discount | ||
on the purchase of health care goods or services from a third party | ||
provider, and which is not evidence of insurance coverage, unless: | ||
(A) the discount is authorized under an agreement | ||
between the seller of the card and the provider of those goods and | ||
services or the discount or card is offered to members of the | ||
seller; | ||
(B) the seller does not represent that the card | ||
provides insurance coverage of any kind; and | ||
(C) the discount is not false, misleading, or | ||
deceptive; | ||
(19) using or employing a chain referral sales plan in | ||
connection with the sale or offer to sell of goods, merchandise, or | ||
anything of value, which uses the sales technique, plan, | ||
arrangement, or agreement in which the buyer or prospective buyer | ||
is offered the opportunity to purchase merchandise or goods and in | ||
connection with the purchase receives the seller's promise or | ||
representation that the buyer shall have the right to receive | ||
compensation or consideration in any form for furnishing to the | ||
seller the names of other prospective buyers if receipt of the | ||
compensation or consideration is contingent upon the occurrence of | ||
an event subsequent to the time the buyer purchases the merchandise | ||
or goods; | ||
(20) representing that a guaranty or warranty confers | ||
or involves rights or remedies which it does not have or involve, | ||
provided, however, that nothing in this subchapter shall be | ||
construed to expand the implied warranty of merchantability as | ||
defined in Sections 2.314 through 2.318 and Sections 2A.212 through | ||
2A.216 to involve obligations in excess of those which are | ||
appropriate to the goods; | ||
(21) promoting a pyramid promotional scheme, as | ||
defined by Section 17.461; | ||
(22) representing that work or services have been | ||
performed on, or parts replaced in, goods when the work or services | ||
were not performed or the parts replaced; | ||
(23) filing suit founded upon a written contractual | ||
obligation of and signed by the defendant to pay money arising out | ||
of or based on a consumer transaction for goods, services, loans, or | ||
extensions of credit intended primarily for personal, family, | ||
household, or agricultural use in any county other than in the | ||
county in which the defendant resides at the time of the | ||
commencement of the action or in the county in which the defendant | ||
in fact signed the contract; provided, however, that a violation of | ||
this subsection shall not occur where it is shown by the person | ||
filing such suit that the person neither knew or had reason to know | ||
that the county in which such suit was filed was neither the county | ||
in which the defendant resides at the commencement of the suit nor | ||
the county in which the defendant in fact signed the contract; | ||
(24) failing to disclose information concerning goods | ||
or services which was known at the time of the transaction if such | ||
failure to disclose such information was intended to induce the | ||
consumer into a transaction into which the consumer would not have | ||
entered had the information been disclosed; | ||
(25) using the term "corporation," "incorporated," or | ||
an abbreviation of either of those terms in the name of a business | ||
entity that is not incorporated under the laws of this state or | ||
another jurisdiction; | ||
(26) selling, offering to sell, or illegally promoting | ||
an annuity contract under Chapter 22, Acts of the 57th Legislature, | ||
3rd Called Session, 1962 (Article 6228a-5, Vernon's Texas Civil | ||
Statutes), with the intent that the annuity contract will be the | ||
subject of a salary reduction agreement, as defined by that Act, if | ||
the annuity contract is not an eligible qualified investment under | ||
that Act or is not registered with the Teacher Retirement System of | ||
Texas as required by Section 8A of that Act; | ||
(27) subject to Section 17.4625, taking advantage of a | ||
disaster declared by the governor under Chapter 418, Government | ||
Code, or by the president of the United States by: | ||
(A) selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine, | ||
lodging, building materials, construction tools, or another | ||
necessity at an exorbitant or excessive price; or | ||
(B) demanding an exorbitant or excessive price in | ||
connection with the sale or lease of fuel, food, medicine, lodging, | ||
building materials, construction tools, or another necessity; | ||
(28) using the translation into a foreign language of | ||
a title or other word, including "attorney," "immigration | ||
consultant," "immigration expert," "lawyer," "licensed," "notary," | ||
and "notary public," in any written or electronic material, | ||
including an advertisement, a business card, a letterhead, | ||
stationery, a website, or an online video, in reference to a person | ||
who is not an attorney in order to imply that the person is | ||
authorized to practice law in the United States; | ||
(29) delivering or distributing a solicitation in | ||
connection with a good or service that: | ||
(A) represents that the solicitation is sent on | ||
behalf of a governmental entity when it is not; or | ||
(B) resembles a governmental notice or form that | ||
represents or implies that a criminal penalty may be imposed if the | ||
recipient does not remit payment for the good or service; | ||
(30) delivering or distributing a solicitation in | ||
connection with a good or service that resembles a check or other | ||
negotiable instrument or invoice, unless the portion of the | ||
solicitation that resembles a check or other negotiable instrument | ||
or invoice includes the following notice, clearly and conspicuously | ||
printed in at least 18-point type: | ||
"SPECIMEN-NON-NEGOTIABLE"; | ||
(31) in the production, sale, distribution, or | ||
promotion of a synthetic substance that produces and is intended to | ||
produce an effect when consumed or ingested similar to, or in excess | ||
of, the effect of a controlled substance or controlled substance | ||
analogue, as those terms are defined by Section 481.002, Health and | ||
Safety Code: | ||
(A) making a deceptive representation or | ||
designation about the synthetic substance; or | ||
(B) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to | ||
the effects the synthetic substance causes when consumed or | ||
ingested; | ||
(32) a licensed public insurance adjuster directly or | ||
indirectly soliciting employment, as defined by Section 38.01, | ||
Penal Code, for an attorney, or a licensed public insurance | ||
adjuster entering into a contract with an insured for the primary | ||
purpose of referring the insured to an attorney without the intent | ||
to actually perform the services customarily provided by a licensed | ||
public insurance adjuster, provided that this subdivision may not | ||
be construed to prohibit a licensed public insurance adjuster from | ||
recommending a particular attorney to an insured; [ |
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(33) owning, operating, maintaining, or advertising a | ||
massage establishment, as defined by Section 455.001, Occupations | ||
Code, that: | ||
(A) is not appropriately licensed under Chapter | ||
455, Occupations Code, or is not in compliance with the applicable | ||
licensing and other requirements of that chapter; or | ||
(B) is not in compliance with an applicable local | ||
ordinance relating to the licensing or regulation of massage | ||
establishments; or | ||
(34) [ |
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product warranty using, in connection with the product, a name that | ||
includes "casualty," "surety," "insurance," "mutual," or any other | ||
word descriptive of an insurance business, including property or | ||
casualty insurance, or a surety business. | ||
SECTION 3. Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 17.4625 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 17.4625. PRICE GOUGING DURING DECLARED DISASTER. (a) | ||
In this section, "designated disaster period" means the period: | ||
(1) beginning on the earliest of: | ||
(A) the date the disaster occurs; or | ||
(B) the date of: | ||
(i) the proclamation or executive order of | ||
the governor declaring the disaster; or | ||
(ii) the declaration of the disaster by the | ||
president of the United States, if any part of this state is named | ||
in the federally declared disaster area; and | ||
(2) ending on the 30th day after the date the disaster | ||
declaration expires or is terminated. | ||
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, | ||
Section 17.46(b)(27) applies only to an act described by that | ||
subdivision that occurs during a designated disaster period in this | ||
state. | ||
SECTION 4. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails | ||
over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, | ||
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted | ||
codes. | ||
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
an act or practice that occurs on or after the effective date of | ||
this Act. An act or practice that occurs before the effective date | ||
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the act or | ||
practice occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for | ||
that purpose. | ||
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
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