Bill Text: TX HB3322 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the use of certain words to imply that a person who is not an attorney is authorized to practice immigration law and the prosecution of a cause of action arising from that practice and educational requirements for a notary public appointment; authorizing a fee; affecting the prosecution of a criminal offense.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-11 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB3322 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB3322-Introduced.html
85R15625 GRM-F | ||
By: Guillen | H.B. No. 3322 |
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relating to the use of certain words to imply that a person who is | ||
not an attorney is authorized to practice immigration law and the | ||
prosecution of a cause of action arising from that practice and | ||
educational requirements for a notary public appointment; | ||
authorizing a fee; affecting the prosecution of a criminal offense. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 17.46(b), Business & Commerce Code, as | ||
amended by Chapters 1023 (H.B. 1265) and 1080 (H.B. 2573), Acts of | ||
the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, 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) taking advantage of a disaster declared by the | ||
governor under Chapter 418, Government Code, by: | ||
(A) selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine, 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, 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) [ |
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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) [ |
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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) [ |
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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; or | ||
(32) [ |
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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. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 406, Government Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 406.0045 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 406.0045. REQUIRED EDUCATIONAL COURSE. (a) An | ||
applicant for an initial appointment as a notary public shall | ||
complete an educational course approved by the secretary of state. | ||
The educational course may be an online, self-study, or classroom | ||
course. | ||
(b) The secretary of state shall adopt rules necessary to | ||
implement the educational course requirement imposed by Subsection | ||
(a). The rules must: | ||
(1) establish the standards for an educational course; | ||
(2) establish the procedures for approving an | ||
educational course; and | ||
(3) set a nonrefundable vendor application and renewal | ||
fee for a vendor of an educational course in an amount sufficient to | ||
administer this section. | ||
(c) The secretary of state may provide an educational course | ||
to satisfy the requirements of Subsection (a). | ||
(d) A fee received by the secretary of state under | ||
Subsection (b)(3) must be appropriated to and used by the secretary | ||
of state to administer this section. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 406.005, Government Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: | ||
(c) An application for an initial appointment under this | ||
section must include a statement that the applicant has completed | ||
an educational course required by Section 406.0045. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 406.006, Government Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 406.006. QUALIFICATION. An individual qualifies by: | ||
(1) properly completing the application form; | ||
(2) executing the statement; | ||
(3) providing the bond, if required; | ||
(4) paying the required filing fees; [ |
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(5) meeting the eligibility requirements; and | ||
(6) providing a statement of completion of an | ||
educational course if required by Section 406.0045. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 406.007(a), Government Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(a) The applicant must submit to the secretary of state: | ||
(1) a fee of $10 for approving and filing the bond of | ||
the notary public, if required; and | ||
(2) a fee of $1 to be appropriated to and used by the | ||
secretary of state [ |
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(A) hiring an investigator; | ||
(B) administering and managing an educational | ||
course under Section 406.0045(c); and | ||
(C) [ |
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materials required to be distributed under Section 406.008. | ||
SECTION 6. Section 406.011, Government Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: | ||
(c) Section 406.0045 does not apply to a notary public | ||
applying for reappointment under this section. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 406.017, Government Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a) A person commits an offense if the person is a notary | ||
public and the person: | ||
(1) states or implies that the person is an attorney | ||
licensed to practice law in this state; | ||
(2) solicits or accepts compensation to prepare | ||
documents for or otherwise represent the interest of another in a | ||
judicial or administrative proceeding, including a proceeding | ||
relating to immigration or admission to the United States, United | ||
States citizenship, or related matters; | ||
(3) solicits or accepts compensation to obtain relief | ||
of any kind on behalf of another from any officer, agency, or | ||
employee of this state or the United States; | ||
(4) uses the phrase "notario" or "notario publico" to | ||
advertise the services of a notary public, whether by signs, | ||
pamphlets, stationery, or other written communication or by radio | ||
or television; or | ||
(5) advertises the services of a notary public in a | ||
language other than English, whether by signs, pamphlets, | ||
stationery, or other written communication or by radio or | ||
television, if the person does not post or otherwise include with | ||
the advertisement a notice that complies with Subsection (b). | ||
(a-1) A person does not violate this section by offering or | ||
providing language translation or typing services and accepting | ||
compensation. | ||
SECTION 8. The change in law made by this Act to Section | ||
17.46(b), Business & Commerce Code, applies only to a cause of | ||
action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A | ||
cause of action that accrued before the effective date of this Act | ||
is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective | ||
date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that | ||
purpose. | ||
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter | ||
406, Government Code, apply only to an application for a notary | ||
public appointment received and qualified on or after September 1, | ||
2018. An application received and qualified before September 1, | ||
2018, is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the | ||
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for | ||
that purpose. | ||
SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act to Section | ||
406.017, Government Code, applies only to an offense committed on | ||
or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before | ||
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when | ||
the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect | ||
for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was | ||
committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of | ||
the offense occurred before that date. | ||
SECTION 11. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails | ||
over another Act of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, | ||
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted | ||
codes. | ||
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018. |