H.B. No. 2579
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to relief for certain employers from penalties and
  sanctions under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 213, Labor Code, is
  amended by adding Section 213.011 to read as follows:
         Sec. 213.011.  EFFECT OF PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT DETERMINATION.
  (a)  Subject to Subsection (c), it is reasonable for an employer to
  rely on a court ruling or commission determination that, for the
  purposes of this subtitle, service performed by an individual,
  including service in interstate commerce, is not employment under
  this subtitle if:
               (1)  the ruling is:
                     (A)  a judicial decision or precedent, including a
  published opinion, from a court in this state; or
                     (B)  a commission decision involving the employer
  as a party or a subject; and
               (2)  the ruling or determination has not been reversed
  or otherwise invalidated.
         (b)  The commission shall relieve an employer that
  reasonably relies on a ruling or determination described by
  Subsection (a) from penalties, interest, or sanctions under this
  chapter or Chapter 214 that result from a subsequent ruling or
  determination that the service in question is employment.  An
  employer who receives relief under this subsection is not indebted
  to the state for the penalties, interest, or sanctions from which
  the employer is relieved and may not be considered delinquent on the
  payment of taxes, to the extent of the amount from which the
  employer is relieved.
         (c)  An employer may reasonably rely on a ruling or
  determination under Subsection (a) until the earlier of:
               (1)  the effective date of the subsequent ruling or
  determination invalidating the ruling or determination on which the
  employer reasonably relied; or
               (2)  the third anniversary of the due date of a
  contribution based on the service in question.
         (d)  This section applies only if the commission determines
  that the nature of the business and the service in question are
  substantially unchanged from the time the initial ruling was issued
  or the initial determination was made.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2579 was passed by the House on April
  26, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 148, Nays 0, 2 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2579 was passed by the Senate on May
  24, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0
  .
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor