85R3643 DMS-D     By: Hall S.B. No. 246       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the eligibility of applicants for the state bar   examination.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 82.024, Government Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 82.024.  LAW STUDY REQUIREMENTS; ELIGIBILITY FOR   EXAMINATION. (a) A person who has completed the prescribed study   in an approved law school has satisfied the law study requirements   for taking the examination for a license to practice law and is   eligible to take the bar examination. An approved law school is one   that is approved by the supreme court for the time period designated   by the court as maintaining the additional standards to retain   approval.          (b)  The supreme court may not adopt rules regarding the   eligibility of an applicant for examination for a license to   practice law that prohibit the applicant from taking the   examination after failing a specified number of previous   examinations.          SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 82, Government Code, is   amended by adding Section 82.025 to read as follows:          Sec. 82.025.  ATTORNEY LICENSED IN ANOTHER STATE. (a)     Notwithstanding Sections 82.024, 82.0241, and 82.036, an attorney   licensed to practice law in another state is eligible to take this   state's bar examination if the attorney:                (1)  is a citizen of the United States; and                (2)  satisfies all other requirements to be licensed in   this state.          (b)  An attorney eligible to take the examination under this   section must comply with the procedures and deadlines prescribed by   the Texas Supreme Court.          SECTION 3.  Section 82.027(b), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (b)  The application consists of a statement confirming   [verified affidavit stating] that, since the filing of the   applicant's original declaration of intention to study law, the   applicant:                (1)  has not been formally charged with any violation   of law, excluding:                      (A)  cases that have been dismissed for reasons   other than technical defects in the charging instrument;                      (B)  cases in which the applicant has been found   not guilty;                      (C)  minor traffic violations;                      (D)  cases in which the record of arrest or   conviction was expunged by court order;                      (E)  pardoned offenses; and                      (F)  Class C misdemeanors;                (2)  [is not mentally ill;                [(3)]  has not been charged with fraud in any legal   proceeding; and                (3) [(4)]  has not been involved in civil litigation or   bankruptcy proceedings that reasonably bear on the applicant's   fitness to practice law.          SECTION 4.  Sections 82.024 and 82.027, Government Code, as   amended by this Act, apply only to an application to take the state   bar examination that is submitted to the Board of Law Examiners on   or after September 1, 2017.          SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.