TITLE: Relating to certain civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act.

SUMMARY: Relating to certain civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to certain civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 17.47(c), Business & Commerce Code, is amended to read as follows: (c) In addition to the request for a temporary restraining order, or permanent injunction in a proceeding brought under Subsection (a) of this section, the consumer protection division may request, and the trier of fact may award, a civil penalty to be paid to the state in an amount of: (1) not more than $20,000 [$10,000] per violation; and (2) an additional amount of not more than $250,000 if the act or practice that is the subject of the proceeding was calculated to acquire or deprive money or other property from a consumer who was:(A) 65 years of age or older when the act or practice occurred;(B) not fluent in the language in which the act or practice occurred; or (C) a person with an intellectual disability [ an additional amount of not more than $250,000].SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section 17.47, Business & Commerce Code, applies only to an action brought under that section on or after the effective date of this Act. An action brought under Section 17.47, Business & Commerce Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the action was brought, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.