S.B. No. 2031

	AN ACT
	relating to requiring legislative consent or approval of the
	settlement or compromise of a claim or action against the state that
	will involve state expenditures exceeding a certain amount.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Title 5, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
	amended by adding Chapter 111 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 111. LIMITATION ON SETTLEMENT
	OF CLAIM OR ACTION AGAINST THE STATE
	Sec. 111.001.  PURPOSE; APPLICABILITY. (a)  The purposes of
	this chapter include providing a means for the legislature to
	determine the extent to which this state waives its sovereign
	immunity with regard to a settlement of a claim or action against
	the state that requires an expenditure of state funds.
	(b)  This chapter applies to any settlement described by
	Section 111.003(a) of a claim or action against this state seeking
	any relief under any theory of recovery, including a mandamus
	action against a state officer or official, that is brought or may
	be brought in or before any court, administrative agency, or other
	tribunal.
	(c)  For purposes of this chapter, a reference to this state
	includes any agency, institution, or other entity of state
	government.
	(d)  This chapter does not apply to a refund of a tax, fee, or
	any related penalty or interest.
	Sec. 111.002.  DEFINITION. In this chapter, "settlement"
	includes a consent decree, an agreed judgment, or any other
	settlement or compromise of a claim or action.
	Sec. 111.003.  LIMITATION ON SETTLEMENT WITHOUT LEGISLATIVE
	CONSENT OR APPROVAL.  (a)  The attorney general or other attorney
	representing this state may not enter into a settlement of a claim
	or action against this state without the consent or approval of the
	legislature in accordance with this chapter if the settlement:
	(1)  requires this state to pay total monetary damages
	in an amount that exceeds $25,000,000 in a state fiscal biennium; or
	(2)  commits this state to a course of action that in
	reasonable probability will entail a continuing increased
	expenditure of state funds over subsequent state fiscal bienniums.
	(b)  A settlement described by Subsection (a) entered into
	without the prior consent or approval of the legislature is void
	unless the settlement is expressly conditioned on obtaining
	subsequent approval by the legislature in accordance with this
	chapter.
	Sec. 111.004.  FORM OF CONSENT OR APPROVAL.  (a)  The
	legislature may consent to or approve a settlement described by
	Section 111.003(a) only by a resolution adopted by both houses of
	the legislature.
	(b)  Legislative consent under this chapter may but is not
	required to be expressed in the form of a resolution granting
	permission to sue the state that limits the relief to which a
	claimant may be entitled or provides additional conditions to which
	a grant of permission to sue is subject.
	Sec. 111.005.  APPROPRIATIONS.  (a)  An appropriation of
	state funds to pay or comply with a settlement does not constitute
	consent to or approval of the settlement for purposes of this
	chapter.
	(b)  A resolution consenting to or approving a settlement
	under this chapter does not and may not require the legislature to
	appropriate a particular amount for a particular purpose.
	Sec. 111.006.  REPORT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.  Not later than
	September 1 of each even-numbered year, the attorney general shall
	send to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
	representatives, and each member of the Senate Finance Committee
	and the House Appropriations Committee a report describing each
	claim or action pending as of September 1 of that year that has been
	or that in the opinion of the attorney general may be settled in a
	manner that will require prior consent or subsequent approval by
	the legislature under this chapter.
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 111, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
	as added by this Act, applies only to a consent decree, agreed
	judgment, or other settlement or compromise of a claim or action
	entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.  A consent
	decree, agreed judgment, or other settlement or compromise of a
	claim or action entered into before the effective date of this Act
	is governed by applicable law in existence on the date the consent
	decree, agreed judgment, or other settlement or compromise is
	entered into.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2031 passed the Senate on
	May 7, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3; and that the
	Senate concurred in House amendment on May 25, 2007, by the
	following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 3.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2031 passed the House, with
	amendment, on May 23, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 140,
	Nays 1, one present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor