HBA-DMD H.B. 1599 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1599
By: Goolsby
County Affairs
3/9/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Some public records in county clerks' offices are deteriorating, as are
some of the county courthouses in which those records are stored.  H.B.
1599 establishes a records archive fee and a county courthouse restoration
fee that a county clerk is authorized to collect.  The bill establishes the
fees for the preservation and restoration of county clerk's records
archives and county courthouses and subjects the fees to the approval of
the applicable commissioners court.  The bill prohibits a county from
collecting the fees after the preservation and restoration of its archives
and courthouse are complete and terminates the authority to collect those
fees on September 1, 2006. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Sets forth legislative findings.

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 118.011(b), Local Government Code, to include a
records archive fee of not more than $7.50 and a county courthouse
restoration fee of not more than $7.50 in the list of fees that the county
clerk is authorized to collect.  

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 118.0216, Local Government Code, as follows:

Sec. 118.0216. RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION.  Requires the fee to be
deposited in a separate records management and preservation account in the
county general fund.   Requires the county clerk to prepare an annual
written plan for funding the automation projects and records management and
preservation services performed by the clerk.  Requires the plan, after a
public hearing, to be considered for approval by the commissioners court.
Authorizes funds from the preservation and restoration account to be
expended only as provided by the plan.  Requires all expenditures from the
preservation and restoration account to comply with the provisions of
Subchapter C (Competitive Bidding in General), Chapter 262 (Purchasing and
Contracting Authority of Counties), Local Government Code.   

SECTION 4.  Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 118, Local Government Code, by
adding Sections 118.0217 and 118.0218, as follows: 

Sec. 118.0217.  RECORDS ARCHIVE.  (a) Defines "deterioration,"
"preservation," "public document," "records archive," and "restoration." 

(b) Sets forth that the records archive fee is for the preservation and
restoration services performed by the county clerk in connection with
maintaining a county clerk's records archive.  

(c)  Provides that the records archive fee must be paid at the time a
person, excluding a state agency, presents a public document to the county
clerk for recording or filing.  
 
(d)  Requires the records archive fee to be deposited in a separate records
archive account in the county's general fund.  

(e)  Authorizes the funds generated from the collection of a records
archive fee to be expended only for the preservation and restoration of the
county clerk's records archive.  

(f)  Prohibits the funds from being used to purchase, lease, or develop
computer software to geographically index public records, excluding
indexing public records by lot and block description as provided by Section
193.009(b)(4) (Indexing of Records on Microfilm).  

(g)  Requires the county clerk to prepare an annual written plan for
funding the preservation and restoration of the county clerk's records
archive.  Requires the plan, after a public hearing, to be considered for
approval by the commissioners court.  Authorizes funds from the records
archive account to be expended only as provided by the plan. Requires all
expenditures from the records archive account to comply with the provisions
of Subchapter C, Chapter 262, Local Government Code.  

(h)  Requires a notice, if a county charges a records archive fee, to be
posted in a conspicuous place in the county clerk's office.  Sets forth the
form of the language in the notice, which must state the amount. 

(i)  Provides that the records archive fee is subject to approval by the
commissioners court in a public meeting.  

(j)  Authorizes any excess funds generated from the collection of a records
archive fee that remain after completion of a county records archive
preservation and restoration project to be expended only for the purposes
described by Section 118.0216.  Prohibits the county clerk from collecting
the records archive fee after the county records archive preservation and
restoration is complete.  

(k)  Sets forth that this section expires September 1, 2006. 

Sec. 118.0218.  COUNTY COURTHOUSE RESTORATION.   (a)  Establishes that the
county courthouse restoration fee is for the preservation and restoration
of the county courthouse of the county in which the county courthouse
restoration fee is collected.  

(b)  Provides that the county courthouse restoration fee must be paid at
the time a person, excluding a state agency, presents a public document, as
defined in Section 118.0217, to the county clerk for recording or filing.  

(c)  Requires the county courthouse restoration fee to be deposited in a
separate county courthouse restoration account in the county's general
fund.  

(d)  Authorizes the funds generated from the collection of a county
courthouse restoration fee to be expended only for the preservation and
restoration of the county courthouse.  

(e)  Requires the commissioners court to prepare an annual written plan for
funding the preservation and restoration of the county courthouse.
Requires the plan, after a public hearing, to be considered for approval by
the commissioners court.  Authorizes funds from the county courthouse
restoration account to be expended only as provided by the plan.  Requires
all expenditures from the county courthouse restoration account to comply
with the provisions of Subchapter C, Chapter 262, Local Government Code.  

(f)  Requires a notice, if a county charges a county courthouse restoration
fee, to be posted in a conspicuous place in the county clerk's office.
Sets forth the form of the language in the notice, which must state the
amount. 

(g)  Establishes that the county courthouse restoration fee is subject to
approval by the  commissioners court in a public meeting.  
(h)  Sets forth that this section expires September 1, 2006. 

SECTION 5.Effective date: September 1, 1999.
  Makes application of this Act prospective.
 
SECTION 6.Emergency clause.