HBA-DMD C.S.H.B. 918 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 918
By: Reyna, Arthur
Judicial Affairs
4/21/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In certain legal matters, a party may be required to present an original
judgment order or decree to a judge as part of the procedure necessary to
prove the party's case.  However, in some older cases the court clerk has
placed the file on microfilm and has destroyed the original documents,
leaving no hard copy to present to the judge.  In these cases a county or
district clerk is not specifically prohibited from assessing a fee to a
person who seeks a paper copy of a record or document that is on microfilm.
C.S.H.B. 918 requires the clerk of a county or district court, upon
receiving written request of a party in an action, to provide the court
with a copy of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is
preserved only on microfilm or by other electronic means. It also prohibits
the county or district clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under the
sections created by this Act.  

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 Subchapter C, Chapter 118, Local Government Code, by
adding Section 118.0526, as follows: 

Sec. 118.0526. COPIES OF COURT RECORDS PRESERVED ONLY ON MICROFILM OR BY
ELECTRONIC METHOD. Requires the clerk of a county court, upon receiving
written request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy
of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only
on microfilm or by other electronic means. Provides that the request must
specify the document sought and the approximate date that the document was
filed. Prohibits the county clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under
this section.  

SECTION 2.  Amends Subchapter D, Chapter 51, Government Code, by adding
Section 51.3195, as follows: 

Sec. 51.3195. COPIES OF COURT RECORDS PRESERVED ONLY ON MICROFILM OR BY
ELECTRONIC METHOD. Requires the clerk of a district court, upon receiving
written request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy
of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only
on microfilm or by other electronic means. Provides that the request must
specify the document sought and the approximate date that the document was
filed. Prohibits the district clerk from charging a fee for a copy made
under this section.  

SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.Emergency clause.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

This substitute differs from the original bill by removing SECTION 1
(proposed Section 118.066(b),  Local Government Code), of the original bill
which prohibited a county clerk from charging a person a fee for a paper
copy of a court record or document filed with a court in connection with an
action or proceeding if the original court record or document is no longer
available in paper form. This substitute adds new SECTION 1 (proposed
Section 118.0526, Local Government Code), which requires the clerk of a
county court, upon receiving written request of a party in an action, to
provide the court with a copy of a motion, order, or other pleading in the
action that is preserved only on microfilm or by other electronic means.
This substitute also provides that the request must specify the document
sought and the approximate date that the document was filed and prohibits
the county clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under this section.   

This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 2 (proposed
Section 51.3195, Government Code), by changing the title of the section
from "Prohibited Fees" in the original bill to "Copies of Court Records
Preserved Only on Microfilm or by Electronic Method" in this substitute.
This substitute deletes the entire text of this proposed section from the
original bill which prohibited a district clerk from charging a person a
fee for a paper copy of a court record or of a document filed with a court
in connection with an action or proceeding if the original court record or
document is no longer available in paper form. This substitute adds new
text to require the clerk of a district court, upon receiving written
request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy of a
motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only on
microfilm or by other electronic means. This substitute also provides that
the request must specify the document sought and the approximate date that
the document was filed and prohibits the district clerk from charging a fee
for a copy made under this section.