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November 1, 2017Nikki L. Laing
Texas Margin Tax: is It Time For the Curtain Call?
On January 1, 2008, the business landscape changed dramatically for tens of thousands of Texas-based businesses. This change was the result of legislation that made significant revisions to the Texas franchise tax (now commonly called the “margin” tax) by expanding its scope to include entities that never before had been subject to the tax and significantly altering how the tax is calculated. To put it mildly, the margin tax has not been well received, and it is doubtful that it will reach its tenth anniversary.
November 7, 2025Michael W. Tankerlsey
The Texas Business Court 2.0 the Impact of the 2025 Texas Legislature and Other Recent Developments
The Texas Business Court was created by the 2023 Texas Legislature’s enactment of House Bill 19 [Chapter 380 (H.B. 19), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023 (“H.B. 19 (2023)”] pursuant to its authority to establish statutory courts under Art. V, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution. This made Texas the 31st state to establish a specialized court to address complex business litigation with greater efficiency and consistency. H.B. 19 (2023) is codified in Chapter 25A, Texas Government Code. H.B. 19 (2023)’s sponsors in the Texas Legislature and the Texas Business Law Foundation (“TBLF”) recognized early on that the full development of the Texas Business Court would be a multi-session process.
March 22, 2024Mike Tankersley
Enactment of HB 19: Specialized Texas Business Court
Litigation is part of doing business, and costs businesses millions of dollars annually. Thirty states have created specialized courts to address complex business litigation with greater efficiency and consistency. With the passage of House Bill 19 (HB 19) by the 2023 Texas Legislature and Governor Abbott’s signature on June 9, 2023, Texas now has a business court that will open its doors in 2024, becoming the thirty-first state to undertake this judicial innovation.This followed unsuccessful efforts to pass business court legislation in the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 sessions of the Texas Legislature. What made the difference in 2023?The creation of a Texas business court was identified by each of Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick and House Speaker Phelan as a top legislative priority in 2023. Chief Justice Hecht’s 2023 State of the Judiciary message noted that while the proposed creation of Texas business courts by HB 19 “is not without controversy” . . . “I believe business courts would benefit the Texas justice system, and I support their creation.”Despite strong opposition from Texas trial lawyer organizations, HB 19 was broadly supported by Texas businesses, and received overwhelming legislative approval. The hard work and skillful negotiation of primary authors Representative Andy Murr (R-Kerrville) and Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler), supported by 77 joint and co-authors,produced floor votes in the Texas House of Representatives of 90 to 51 and 86 to 53, and in the Texas Senate of 24 to6, favoring passage of HB 19.The jurisdiction of the Texas business court provided in HB 19 is narrowly tailored to reach disputes between businesses, or among businesses and their owners, directors and management, relating to matters such as breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, governance and control disputes, and violations of state and federal securities and trade regulation laws. The minimum amount in controversy for most actions before the business court is set at $5million or $10 million depending on the nature of the specific claims asserted. The amount in controversy requirements do not apply to a limited set of actions - those seeking only injunctive or declaratory relief and cases addressing claims of breach of fiduciary duty, governance and control disputes and securities and trade regulation litigation if a publicly traded company is a party.The Texas business court when fully operational will have statewide jurisdiction, supporting the creation of consistent business case law and court rules, and complementing the state’s innovative business laws as codified in the Business Organizations Code, the Business & Commerce Code, the Finance Code and the Texas Securities Act. The specifics of the business court’s jurisdiction are addressed in more detail in Part II below.
June 6, 202024114476
Legislative Update
Under the Texas Constitution, the Texas Legislature must meet in regular session every two years for a period not to exceed 140 days. The Texas Constitution also sets out specific timelines for the order of business for the Texas Legislature during those 140 days. Given these constitutionally limited time frames along with those prescribed by legislative rules, the Legislature must set its priorities carefully. In short, while bills may be filed, referred to committee, and even heard in a public hearing, the system is largely designed to ensure that only a small percentage of the bills that are filed ultimately become legislation (subject to gubernatorial response under the Texas Constitution, of course). For example, last session, over 7,500 bills were filed. 1,429 of those bills made it to the Governor’s desk and of those, 1,323 were signed, 56 were vetoed, and 144 were enacted without the Governor’s signature.
November 7, 2014Autumn Kraus
What Every Business Attorney Needs to Know About Family Law
This paper addresses challenging and often overlooked issues arising in the context of employment compensation.