HBA-AMW, KDB H.B. 1107 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1107 By: Hartnett Judicial Affairs 2/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, commissioners courts are permitted to charge an additional fee in each civil case filed in a county or district court, other than a suit for delinquent taxes, to be deposited into a county law library fund. The fund may be used only for the purposes of establishing the law library, purchasing or leasing library materials, maintaining the library, or acquiring furniture, shelving, or equipment for the library. Counties with 30 or more district courts may have courts located in more than one facility and providing legal research electronically may be a more economical alternative to purchasing duplicate volumes of materials to be used by many judges. House Bill 1107 authorizes counties with 30 or more district courts to use the county law library fund for the purchase or lease of library materials or acquiring library equipment, including computers, software, and subscriptions to electronic research networks. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 1107 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a county law library fund to be used for purchasing or leasing library materials or acquiring library equipment, including computers, software, and subscriptions to obtain access to electronic research networks, for use by judges in a county with 30 or more district courts. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.