85R17748 LHC-F
 
  By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 2552
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2552:
 
  By:  Smithee C.S.H.B. No. 2552
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to prostitution and trafficking of persons and to certain
  criminal and civil consequences of that conduct.
         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," "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) [(28)]  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) [(29)]  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) [(30)]  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; [or]
               (32) [(31)]  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; or
               (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.
  SECTION 2.  Section 125.004, Civil Practice and Remedies
  Code, is amended by adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), and (e) to read
  as follows:
         (a-1)  Proof in the form of a person's arrest or the
  testimony of a law enforcement agent that an activity described by
  Section 125.0015(a)(6) or (7) is committed at a place licensed as a
  massage establishment under Chapter 455, Occupations Code, or
  advertised as offering massage therapy or massage services is prima
  facie evidence that the defendant knowingly tolerated the activity.
         (a-2)  Proof that an activity described by Section
  125.0015(a)(18) is committed at a place maintained by the defendant
  is prima facie evidence that the defendant:
               (1)  knowingly tolerated the activity; and
               (2)  did not make a reasonable attempt to abate the
  activity.
         (e)  Evidence of a previous suit filed under this chapter
  that resulted in a judgment against a landowner with respect to an
  activity described by Section 125.0015 at the landowner's property
  is admissible in a subsequent suit filed under this chapter to
  demonstrate that the landowner:
               (1)  knowingly tolerated the activity; and 
               (2)  did not make a reasonable attempt to abate the
  activity.
         SECTION 3.  Section 411.042(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The bureau of identification and records shall:
               (1)  procure and file for record photographs, pictures,
  descriptions, fingerprints, measurements, and other pertinent
  information of all persons arrested for or charged with a criminal
  offense or convicted of a criminal offense, regardless of whether
  the conviction is probated;
               (2)  collect information concerning the number and
  nature of offenses reported or known to have been committed in the
  state and the legal steps taken in connection with the offenses, and
  other information useful in the study of crime and the
  administration of justice, including information that enables the
  bureau to create a statistical breakdown of:
                     (A)  offenses in which family violence was
  involved;
                     (B)  offenses under Sections 22.011 and 22.021,
  Penal Code; and
                     (C)  offenses under Sections 20A.02, 43.02(a),
  43.02(b), 43.03, and 43.05, Penal Code;
               (3)  make ballistic tests of bullets and firearms and
  chemical analyses of bloodstains, cloth, materials, and other
  substances for law enforcement officers of the state;
               (4)  cooperate with identification and crime records
  bureaus in other states and the United States Department of
  Justice;
               (5)  maintain a list of all previous background checks
  for applicants for any position regulated under Chapter 1702,
  Occupations Code, who have undergone a criminal history background
  check under Section 411.119, if the check indicates a Class B
  misdemeanor or equivalent offense or a greater offense;
               (6)  collect information concerning the number and
  nature of protective orders and magistrate's orders of emergency
  protection and all other pertinent information about all persons
  subject to active orders, including pertinent information about
  persons subject to conditions of bond imposed for the protection of
  the victim in any family violence, sexual assault or abuse,
  stalking, or trafficking case. Information in the law enforcement
  information system relating to an active order shall include:
                     (A)  the name, sex, race, date of birth, personal
  descriptors, address, and county of residence of the person to whom
  the order is directed;
                     (B)  any known identifying number of the person to
  whom the order is directed, including the person's social security
  number or driver's license number;
                     (C)  the name and county of residence of the
  person protected by the order;
                     (D)  the residence address and place of employment
  or business of the person protected by the order, unless that
  information is excluded from the order under Section 85.007, Family
  Code, or Article 17.292(e), Code of Criminal Procedure;
                     (E)  the child-care facility or school where a
  child protected by the order normally resides or which the child
  normally attends, unless that information is excluded from the
  order under Section 85.007, Family Code, or Article 17.292(e), Code
  of Criminal Procedure;
                     (F)  the relationship or former relationship
  between the person who is protected by the order and the person to
  whom the order is directed;
                     (G)  the conditions of bond imposed on the person
  to whom the order is directed, if any, for the protection of a
  victim in any family violence, sexual assault or abuse, stalking,
  or trafficking case;
                     (H)  any minimum distance the person subject to
  the order is required to maintain from the protected places or
  persons; and
                     (I)  the date the order expires;
               (7)  grant access to criminal history record
  information in the manner authorized under Subchapter F;
               (8)  collect and disseminate information regarding
  offenders with mental impairments in compliance with Chapter 614,
  Health and Safety Code; and
               (9)  record data and maintain a state database for a
  computerized criminal history record system and computerized
  juvenile justice information system that serves:
                     (A)  as the record creation point for criminal
  history record information and juvenile justice information
  maintained by the state; and
                     (B)  as the control terminal for the entry of
  records, in accordance with federal law and regulations, federal
  executive orders, and federal policy, into the federal database
  maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
         SECTION 4.  Section 43.03, Penal Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 43.03.  PROMOTION OF PROSTITUTION. (a) A person
  commits an offense if, acting other than as a prostitute receiving
  compensation for personally rendered prostitution services, the
  actor [he or she] knowingly:
               (1)  receives money or other property pursuant to an
  agreement to participate in the proceeds of prostitution; [or]
               (2)  solicits another to engage in sexual conduct with
  another person for compensation; or
               (3)  provides a person or premises for prostitution
  purposes.
         (b)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
  except that the offense is:
               (1)  a state jail felony if the actor has been
  previously convicted of an offense under this section; or
               (2)  a felony of the second degree if the actor engages
  in conduct described by Subsection (a) [(a)(1) or (2)] involving a
  person younger than 18 years of age engaging in prostitution,
  regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the person at the
  time the actor commits the offense.
  SECTION 5.  Chapter 93, Property Code, is amended by adding
  Section 93.013 to read as follows:
         Sec. 93.013.  CERTAIN UNLAWFUL USES OF PREMISES; TERMINATION
  OF TENANT'S RIGHT OF POSSESSION. (a) Notwithstanding a provision
  in a lease to the contrary, a tenant's right of possession
  terminates and the landlord has a right to recover possession of the
  leased premises if the tenant is using the premises or allowing the
  premises to be used for the purposes of prostitution, promotion of
  prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, or compelling
  prostitution, as prohibited by the Penal Code, or trafficking of
  persons as described by Section 20A.02, Penal Code.
         (b)  A landlord who reasonably believes a tenant is using the
  leased premises or allowing the leased premises to be used for a
  purpose described by Subsection (a) may file a forcible detainer
  suit under Chapter 24 seeking possession of the premises and unpaid
  rent, including rent for any period of occupancy after the tenant's
  right of possession terminates.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Section 24.005 or 91.001 or any other
  law or a provision in the lease to the contrary, the landlord is not
  required for purposes of a forcible detainer suit authorized by
  this section:
               (1)  to give a notice of proposed eviction or a notice
  of termination before giving notice to vacate; or
               (2)  to give the tenant more than three days' notice to
  vacate before filing the suit.
         (d)  A pending suit brought by the attorney general or a
  district, county, or city attorney under Chapter 125, Civil
  Practice and Remedies Code, alleging that a common nuisance is
  being maintained on the leased premises with respect to an activity
  described by Subsection (a) is prima facie evidence that the
  tenant's right of possession has terminated and the landlord has a
  right to recover possession of the premises under Subsection (a). 
         (e)  A final, nonappealable determination by a court under
  Chapter 125, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, that a common
  nuisance is being maintained on the leased premises with respect to
  an activity described by Subsection (a) creates an irrebuttable
  presumption that the tenant's right of possession has terminated
  and the landlord has a right to recover possession of the premises
  under Subsection (a).
         SECTION 6.  Section 17.46(b), Business & Commerce Code, as
  amended by this Act, 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 7.  Section 43.03, Penal Code, as amended by this
  Act, 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 on the date 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 8.  Section 93.013, Property Code, as added by this
  Act, applies only to a lease entered into or renewed on or after the
  effective date of this Act. A lease entered into or renewed before
  the effective date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to
  the lease immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
  that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 9.  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 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.