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      By: Hagenbuch S.B. No. 3025               A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to mandatory disclosure of third-party litigation   financing agreements.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Government Code, is   amended by adding Section 22.021 to read as follows:           Sec.   22.021.     DISCLOSURE OF THIRD-PARTY LITIGATION   FINANCING.   (a)  In this section:                 (1)     "Financing" means the provision of monetary or   in-kind support to a person or group of persons who have or will   file or prosecute a civil action, including a payment to an attorney   who represents the person or group, a payment to a fact or expert   witness, a payment of the costs of the civil action, or the   provision of funds or credit to be used in the future to support the   civil action.   The term includes the provision of monetary or   in-kind support, regardless of whether the support is called a   loan, an advance, a purchase, or another term.                 (2)     "Third-party litigation financing" means the   provision of financing with repayment being conditioned on and   sourced from the person's or group's proceeds from the civil action,   regardless of whether the proceeds are obtained through collection   of a judgment, payment of a settlement, or otherwise.   The term does   not include:                       (A)     an extension of credit to any attorney or law   firm when the obligation of the attorney or law firm to repay the   loan is required by the loan agreement and is not contingent on the   outcome of a specified civil action or portfolio of civil actions;   or                       (B)     a contingent fee arrangement between an   attorney or law firm and a client.           (b)     The supreme court shall adopt rules to provide for the   mandatory disclosure of third-party litigation financing   agreements to the parties in a civil action in connection with which   third-party litigation financing is provided.          SECTION 2.  The Supreme Court of Texas shall adopt rules   under Section 22.021, Government Code, as added by this Act, not   later than December 31, 2019.  The rules apply only to a civil   action commenced on or after the effective date of the rules.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.