Texas. Statutory Language

Texas Statute 47-55

TEXAS STATUTE

TEXAS FREE ENTERPRISE AND ANTITRUST ACT

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15.01

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15.52

§ 15.01. Title of Act

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Texas Free Enterprise and

Antitrust Act of 1983.

§ 15.02. Applicability of provisions

(a) The provisions of this Act are cumulative of each other and of any other

provision of law of this state in effect relating to the same subject. Among other

things, the provisions of this Act preserve the constitutional and common law

authority of the attorney general to bring actions under state and federal law.

(b) If any of the provisions of this Act are held invalid, the remainder shall not

be affected as a result; nor shall the application of the provision held invalid to

persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid be affected as

a result.

§ 15.03. Definitions

Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (a) of Section 15.10 of this Act, for

purposes of this Act:

(1) The term “attorney general” means the Attorney General of Texas or any

assistant attorney general acting under the direction of the Attorney General of

Texas.

(2) The term “goods” means any property, tangible or intangible, real,

personal, or mixed, and any article, commodity, or other thing of value, including

insurance.

(3) The term “person” means a natural person, proprietorship, partnership,

corporation, municipal corporation, association, or any other public or private group,

however organized, but does not include the State of Texas, its departments, and its

administrative agencies or a community center operating under Subchapter A,

Chapter 534, Health and Safety Code.

(4) The term “services” means any work or labor, including without limitation

work or labor furnished in connection with the sale, lease, or repair of goods.

(5) The terms “trade” and “commerce” mean the sale, purchase, lease,

exchange, or distribution of any goods or services; the offering for sale, purchase,

lease, or exchange of any goods or services; the advertising of any goods or services;

the business of insurance; and all other economic activity undertaken in whole or in

part for the purpose of financial gain involving or relating to any goods or services.

Texas Statute 47-56

§ 15.04. Purpose and construction

The purpose of this Act is to maintain and promote economic competition in

trade and commerce occurring wholly or partly within the State of Texas and to

provide the benefits of that competition to consumers in the state. The provisions of

this Act shall be construed to accomplish this purpose and shall be construed in

harmony with federal judicial interpretations of comparable federal antitrust statutes

to the extent consistent with this purpose.

§ 15.05. Unlawful practices

(a) Every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or

commerce is unlawful.

(b) It is unlawful for any person to monopolize, attempt to monopolize, or

conspire to monopolize any part of trade or commerce.

(c) It is unlawful for any person to sell, lease, or contract for the sale or lease

of any goods, whether patented or unpatented, for use, consumption, or resale or to

fix a price for such use, consumption, or resale or to discount from or rebate upon

such price, on the condition, agreement, or understanding that the purchaser or lessee

shall not use or deal in the goods of a competitor or competitors of the seller or

lessor, where the effect of the condition, agreement, or understanding may be to

lessen competition substantially in any line of trade or commerce.

(d) It is unlawful for any person to acquire, directly or indirectly, the whole or

any part of the stock or other share capital or the assets of any other person or

persons, where the effect of such acquisition may be to lessen competition

substantially in any line of trade or commerce.

This subsection shall not be construed:

(1) to prohibit the purchase of stock or other share capital of another

person where the purchase is made solely for investment and does not confer control

of that person in a manner that could substantially lessen competition;

(2) to prevent a corporation from forming subsidiary or parent

corporations for the purpose of conducting its immediately lawful business, or any

natural and legitimate branch extensions of such business, or from owning and

holding all or a part of the stock or other share capital of a subsidiary, or transferring

all or part of its stock or other share capital to be owned and held by a parent, where

the effect of such a transaction is not to lessen competition substantially;

(3) to affect or impair any right previously legally acquired; or

(4) to apply to transactions duly consummated pursuant to authority

given by any statute of this state or of the United States or pursuant to authority or

approval given by any regulatory agency of this state or of the United States under

any constitutional or statutory provisions vesting the agency with such power.

(e) It is unlawful for an employer and a labor union or other organization to

agree or combine so that:

(1) a person is denied the right to work for an employer because of

membership or nonmembership in the labor union or other organization; or