Upset over amendments to Texas’ barratry statute that require lawyers, doctors and others to wait 31 days before soliciting individuals involved in accidents, a Houston lawyer with a traffic ticket/warrant practice and an Austin chiropractor are seeking a federal court order to declare the amendments unconstitutional.

H.B. 148 went into effect Sept. 1 and amended Texas Penal Code §38.12, which is commonly known as the state’s barratry statute. Violating the statute is a Class A misdemeanor.