Sen. Robert Duncan
TCJL SUPPORTS – SB 635 by Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) and its companion, HB 1445 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), seek to boost funding for legal services for the indigent. The bill directs civil restitution recovered by the attorney general in an action arising from a violation of consumer protection, public health, or general welfare law to the judicial fund for program approved by the Supreme Court. In order for the AG to direct these funds to legal aid, the court must find that, based on the facts and circumstances of the case, it is impossible or impracticable to identify the injured parties or determine the degree to which each claimant was injured and entitled to recover. The bill does not affect the common law authority or other statutory authority of the AG to seek and obtain cy pres distribution from a court.
