HBA-NMO S.B. 469 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 469
By: Harris
Judicial Affairs
4/29/1999
Engrossed


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law provides that a court of appeals must store duplicate case
records for 10 years. Maintaining such records may impose significant costs
to a court, particularly in obtaining and keeping storage space.   S.B. 469
requires the clerk of a court of appeals to destroy case records of a civil
case one year, rather than 10 years, after final disposition of a case,
providing exceptions  This bill further requires the clerk to destroy case
records of certain criminal cases 25 years after the final disposition of a
case, providing exceptions. 

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 51.204, Government Code, as follows:

Sec. 51.204.  RECORDS OF COURT.  (a) Makes no change.  

(b) Requires the clerk of the court to notify the attorneys of record in a
case that exhibits on file will be destroyed one year, rather than 10
years, after final disposition of the case.  
(c) Requires the clerk, not sooner than the 60th day and not later than the
90th day after the date of final disposition of a criminal case, rather
than a case, to remove and destroy all duplicate papers in the file on
record of that case.    

(d) Requires the clerk, one year, rather than 10 years after the final
disposition of a civil case in the court, and not sooner than the 90th day
after the date the clerk provides notice to the district or county clerk,
to destroy all records filed in the court related to the case. Includes
among the exceptions to this subsection records that the clerk of the trial
court requests be returned to the trial court for preservation.  Makes
conforming changes. 

(e) Requires the clerk, not later than the 25th anniversary of the final
disposition of a criminal case in which the cumulative time of sentence,
suspended sentence, and community service, alone or in combination, is 20
years or less, to destroy all records relating to the case, other than
those excepted in Subsection (d). 

(f) Redesignated from existing Subsection (e).

(g) Redesignated from existing Subsection (f).

SECTION 2.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.Emergency clause.