HBA-LCA H.B. 2063 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2063
By: Solis, Juan
Urban Affairs
3/30/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, only counties may collect a specific records management
and preservation fee (fee) for the preservation of ordinances, and birth,
death, and fetal death records (records).  Health districts and city clerks
are also repositories of vital statistics records.  H.B. 2063 allows a
county registrar or city clerk to impose fees to assist in the cost of
archiving and managing these records. 

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.  Amends Section 191.0045, Health and Safety Code, by amending
Subsections (d) and (g) and adding Subsection (h), as follows: 

(d)  Makes a conforming change.

(g)  Makes the application of Subsection (g) provisional to Subsection (h).
Makes a conforming change. 

(h)  Provides that a local registrar (registrar) may charge a records
management and preservation fee (fee), in addition to other fees charged
under this section (Fees).  Provides that the fee may not exceed $1 per
copy or certified copy of certain specified documents. Provides that
revenue generated by the fee may only be used to fund the management and
preservation of certain specified vital statistics record as maintained by
the registrar. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Subtitle A, Title 6, Local Government Code, by adding
Chapter 190, as follows: 

CHAPTER 190.  MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
PROVISIONS AFFECTING MUNICIPALITIES

Sec. 190.001.  RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION FEE.  Provides that a
municipal clerk (clerk) may impose, in addition to a fee specified under
Subchapter F, Chapter 552, Government Code (Public Information) or under
another law, a records management and preservation fee in an amount equal
to five percent of the amount the clerk would otherwise charge for the
copy. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.