Prior to the passage of House Bill 2826 late last summer, Texas law required local governments to submit contingency-fee contracts to the state comptroller for approval.
Since the law went into effect, approval for such contracts must be obtained from the state attorney general instead. Though they knew the change was coming, some of the more than 100 Texas counties that had negotiated contracts for opioid litigation failed to have those contracts approved by the comptroller before authority passed to the AG.
At least 19 Texas counties dropped the ball, neglecting to get the comptroller’s approval for their opioid contracts before that authority was transferred to the attorney general, thus rendering those contracts null and void. Contracts signed before Sept. 1, 2019 cannot be submitted to the AG. They have to be reapproved and re-signed before submission.
Though cited as a possible venue for a bellwether opioid trial, Kendall County, represented by Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett, is one of the negligent 19 counties that didn’t bother to secure the comptroller’s approval of its contingency-fee contract in time to beat the transfer of authority to the AG.
Last December, Kendall County asked the AG’s office to approve its proposed contract. Three months later, Asst. Atty. Gen. Michael Neill said no-can-do, citing the new law.
“HB 2826, which amended the Texas Government Code and gives our office authority to approve certain contingent fee contracts for political subdivision, went into effect on September 1, 2019,” Neill noted. “HB 2826 applies only to a contract entered into on or after the effective date of HB 2826. As such,” he concluded, “the OAG cannot approve the submitted contract.”
Tough luck, Kendall County. Try again, if you want to, but bear in mind that even a contingency-fee opioid contract signed after the implementation date of HB 2826 may be rejected by the attorney general. His office recently refused to approve such a contract submitted by the Tarrant County Hospital District, noting the state is conducting its own opioid litigation and doesn’t need any help.
Sorry.