83R4788 YDB-F
By: Gooden H.B. No. 2066
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the process server review board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 72, Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. PROCESS SERVER REVIEW BOARD
Sec. 72.091. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Board" means the process server review board
established by supreme court order.
(2) "Certification" means the authority granted to a
person by the board under this subchapter to serve civil process
statewide.
(3) "Process server" means an individual who holds a
certification issued by the board under this subchapter to serve
civil process statewide.
(4) "Texas trade association" means a cooperative and
voluntarily joined statewide association of business,
occupational, or professional competitors in this state designed to
assist its members and its industry or profession in dealing with
mutual business or professional problems and in promoting their
common interest.
Sec. 72.092. OFFICE. (a) The board is administratively
attached to the office.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the office shall:
(1) provide administrative assistance, services, and
materials to the board, including budget planning and purchasing;
(2) accept, deposit, and disburse money made available
to the board;
(3) pay salaries and benefits of the process server
program administrator and employees of the board;
(4) provide the board with adequate computer equipment
and support; and
(5) pay travel expenses of board members as provided
by law.
Sec. 72.093. SUNSET REVIEW. The process server review
board established by supreme court order is subject to review under
Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act), as if it were a state agency but may
not be abolished under that chapter. The review shall be conducted
as if the process server review board were scheduled to be abolished
September 1, 2017.
Sec. 72.094. BOARD MEMBERS. (a) The members of the board
are appointed by order of the supreme court.
(b) The supreme court order must provide:
(1) the number of board members;
(2) the length of the board members' terms;
(3) the qualifications of the board members; and
(4) staggered terms of service for board members so
that as near as possible to one-third of the board members' terms
expire on the same date.
(c) The supreme court order must also designate a presiding
officer and an assistant presiding officer. The presiding officer
and assistant presiding officer serve in those positions at the
pleasure of the supreme court.
(d) If a vacancy occurs on the board, the supreme court
shall appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the member's
vacated term.
(e) A board member continues to serve until the member's
successor is appointed and qualified.
(f) A board member may be reappointed.
(g) Appointments to the board shall be made without regard
to the race, color, disability, sex, or national origin of the
appointees.
(h) A person may not be a board member if the person or the
person's spouse is:
(1) required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter
305 because of the person's activities for compensation on behalf
of an occupation or profession related to the operations of the
board;
(2) an owner, officer, or employee of a school or
institution engaged in instructing persons in the service of civil
process; or
(3) an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a
Texas trade association in the field of the service of process.
Sec. 72.095. BOARD MEMBER TRAINING. A person who is
appointed to the board may not vote or deliberate on matters before
the board until the person has completed training that provides the
person with information regarding:
(1) the programs operated by the board;
(2) the role and functions of the board;
(3) the rules of the supreme court relating to board
activities, with emphasis on rules relating to disciplinary and
investigatory authority;
(4) the board's budget;
(5) the requirements of the open meetings and records
access policies and the rules applicable to the board; and
(6) applicable conflict-of-interest laws.
Sec. 72.096. CERTIFICATION PROGRAM; CONTINUING EDUCATION.
(a) The board shall administer a certification program to certify
persons serving civil process statewide in accordance with the
rules and procedures adopted by the supreme court.
(b) In accordance with supreme court rules, the board shall
require continuing education for certification renewal.
Sec. 72.097. COMPLAINTS; DISCIPLINARY ACTION. In
accordance with supreme court rules, the board shall investigate
complaints filed against process servers and take disciplinary
action against process servers who violate this subchapter or rules
adopted under this subchapter.
Sec. 72.098. STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT. (a) In
consultation with the office, the board shall develop standards of
ethical conduct for process servers and submit the standards to the
supreme court for approval.
(b) The supreme court, after considering the standards and
making any modifications to the standards that the supreme court
considers necessary, may by rule adopt the standards.
Sec. 72.099. MEETINGS; ACCESS TO RECORDS. (a) In
consultation with the office, the board shall develop its meetings
policy. The policy must be approved by the supreme court.
(b) Access to the records of the board is governed by Rule
12, Texas Rules of Judicial Administration.
Sec. 72.100. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. The board shall develop
and implement policies that provide the public with a reasonable
opportunity to appear before the board and to speak on any issue
under the jurisdiction of the board.
SECTION 2. Section 72.013, Government Code, is transferred
to Subchapter F, Chapter 72, Government Code, redesignated as
Section 72.0945, Government Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 72.0945 [72.013]. [PROCESS SERVER REVIEW] BOARD
MEMBER COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. A person appointed to the
[process server review] board [established by supreme court order]
serves without compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for
actual and necessary expenses incurred in traveling and performing
official board duties.
SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.14091 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.14091. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD
INFORMATION: PROCESS SERVER REVIEW BOARD. (a) The process server
review board established by supreme court order as provided by
Subchapter F, Chapter 72, is entitled to obtain from the department
criminal history record information that relates to a person who
is:
(1) an applicant for certification from the board; or
(2) a holder of a certification from the board.
(b) Criminal history record information obtained by the
board under Subsection (a):
(1) may be used by the board for any purpose related to
the issuance, denial, suspension, revocation, or renewal of a
certificate issued by the board;
(2) may not be released or disclosed to any person
except on court order or with the consent of the person who is the
subject of the information; and
(3) shall be destroyed by the board after the
information is used for the authorized purposes.
SECTION 4. Sections 72.094(h) and 72.095, Government Code,
as added by this Act, apply only to a member appointed or
reappointed to the process server review board on or after the
effective date of this Act. A member appointed or reappointed to
the board before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
date the member was appointed or reappointed, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.