S.B. No. 1685
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a district court records technology
fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 51, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.305 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.305. DISTRICT COURT RECORDS TECHNOLOGY FUND.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Court document" means any instrument, document,
paper, or other record that the district clerk is authorized to
accept for filing or maintenance.
(2) "Deterioration" means any naturally occurring
process or a natural disaster that results in the destruction or
partial destruction of a court document.
(3) "Preservation" means any process that:
(A) suspends or reduces the deterioration of a
court document; or
(B) provides public access to a court document in
a manner that reduces the risk of deterioration.
(4) "Restoration" means any process that permits the
visual enhancement of a court document, including making the
document more legible.
(b) The commissioners court of a county may adopt a district
court records archive fee of not more than $5 for the filing of a
suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, or a
cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion
for new trial, or third-party petition, in a district court in the
county as part of the county's annual budget. The fee must be set
and itemized in the county's budget as part of the budget
preparation process and must be approved in a public meeting. The
fee is for preservation and restoration services performed in
connection with maintaining a district court records archive.
(c) The county treasurer, or the official who discharges the
duties commonly delegated to the county treasurer, in a county that
adopts a fee under Subsection (b) shall establish a district court
records technology fund in the general fund of the county for
deposit of fees paid under Section 51.317(f).
(d) Subject to Subsection (f), money generated from the fee
imposed under this section may be expended only for the
preservation and restoration of the district court records archive.
(e) The district clerk shall designate the court documents
that are part of the records archive for purposes of this
section. The designation of court documents by the district clerk
under this subsection is subject to approval by the commissioners
court in a public meeting.
(f) The district clerk in a county that adopts a fee under
this section shall prepare an annual written plan for the
preservation and restoration of the district court records archive.
The plan may include a proposal for entering into a contract with
another person for preservation and restoration services. The
commissioners court shall publish notice of a public hearing on the
plan in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not later
than the 15th day before the date of the hearing. After the public
hearing, the plan shall be considered for approval by the
commissioners court. Money in the district court records
technology fund may be expended only as provided by the plan. All
expenditures from the records technology fund must comply with
Subchapter C, Chapter 262, Local Government Code.
(g) If a county imposes a fee under this section, a notice
shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the district clerk's
office. The notice must state the amount of the fee in the
following form: "THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF _______________
(Insert name of county) COUNTY HAS DETERMINED THAT A RECORDS
ARCHIVE FEE OF $________ (Insert amount adopted by commissioners
court) IS NEEDED TO PRESERVE AND RESTORE DISTRICT COURT RECORDS."
(h) Money remaining from the collection of fees imposed
under this section after completion of a district court records
archive preservation and restoration project may be expended for
records management and preservation purposes in the manner provided
by Section 51.317(d). The commissioners court of a county may not
impose a fee under this section after the district court records
archive preservation and restoration project is complete.
SECTION 2. Section 51.317, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-2) and (f) to
read as follows:
(b) The fees are:
(1) except as provided by Subsection (b-1), for filing
a suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, $50;
(2) for filing a cross-action, counterclaim,
intervention, contempt action, motion for new trial, or third-party
petition, $15;
(3) for issuing a citation or other writ or process not
otherwise provided for, including one copy, when requested at the
time a suit or action is filed, $8;
(4) for records management and preservation, $10; and
(5) in addition to the other fees imposed under this
section, for filing a suit, including an appeal from an inferior
court, or a cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt
action, motion for new trial, or third-party petition, the amount
adopted by the county commissioners court, not to exceed $5, for
court records archiving.
(b-2) The fee imposed under Subsection (b)(5) does not apply
to a filing by a state agency.
(f) The district clerk, after collecting a fee under
Subsection (b)(5), shall pay the fee to the county treasurer, or to
an official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the
county treasurer, for deposit to the district court records
technology fund established under Section 51.305.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 101, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 101.06116 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.06116. ADDITIONAL DISTRICT COURT FEES: GOVERNMENT
CODE. The clerk of a district court shall collect a district court
records archive fee of not more than $5 under Section 51.317(b)(5),
if adopted by the county commissioners court.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1685 passed the Senate on
April 30, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1685 passed the House on
May 27, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, one
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor