Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4248 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Kuempel (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 4248
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2019;
3		-	May 10, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State
4		-	Affairs; May 19, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable
5		-	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
6		-	May 19, 2019, sent to printer.)
7		-	Click here to see the committee vote
8		-	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 4248 By: Zaffirini
	1	+	86R9481 MP-F
	2	+	By: Kuempel H.B. No. 4248
9	3
10	4
11	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	6		AN ACT
13	7		relating to specifications for legal papers filed with a county
14	8		clerk.
15	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	10		SECTION 1. Section 103.030, Government Code, is amended to
17	11		read as follows:
18	12		Sec. 103.030. MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND COSTS: LOCAL
19	13		GOVERNMENT CODE. Fees and costs shall be paid or collected under
20	14		the Local Government Code as follows:
21	15		(1) services by the offices of the sheriff and
22	16		constables (Sec. 118.131, Local Government Code) . . . amount set
23	17		by county commissioners court;
24	18		(2) a filing fee or recording fee for each page of a
25	19		legal paper presented for filing or recording that fails to meet
26	20		certain requirements regarding paper size, weight, substance,
27		-	headings, legibility, the presence of typed or printed names ~~under~~
28		-	each signature, [and number] and size of riders or ~~attachments~~
29		-	(Sec. 191.007, Local Government Code) . . . twice the ~~regular~~
30		-	filing fee or recording fee provided by statute for that ~~page,~~
31		-	rider, or attachment;
	21	+	headings, [legibility,] the presence of typed or printed names
	22	+	under each signature, [and number] and size of riders or
	23	+	attachments (Sec. 191.007, Local Government Code) . . . twice the
	24	+	regular filing fee or recording fee provided by statute for that
	25	+	page, rider, or attachment;
32	26		(3) a processing fee as authorized by the
33	27		commissioners court for the payment by credit card of a fee, court
34	28		cost, or other charge processed by a county or precinct officer
35	29		(Secs. 132.002 and 132.003, Local Government Code) . . . an amount
36	30		reasonably related to the expense incurred by the county or
37	31		precinct officer but not to exceed five percent of the amount of the
38	32		fee, court cost, or other charge being paid;
39	33		(4) a processing fee as authorized by the governing
40	34		body of the municipality for the payment by credit card of a fee,
41	35		court cost, or other charge processed by a municipal official
42	36		(Secs. 132.002 and 132.003, Local Government Code) . . . an amount
43	37		reasonably related to the expense incurred by the municipal
44	38		official but not to exceed five percent of the amount of the fee,
45	39		court cost, or other charge being paid;
46	40		(5) a handling fee, if authorized by the commissioners
47	41		court under Section 132.002, Local Government Code, for
48	42		electronically processing the payment of a fee, fine, court cost,
49	43		or other charge (Secs. 132.002 and 132.003, Local Government Code):
50	44		(A) charged at a flat rate that does not exceed $5
51	45		for each payment transaction; or
52	46		(B) charged at a rate reasonably related to the
53	47		expense incurred in processing a payment and that does not exceed
54	48		five percent of the amount of the fee, court cost, or other charge
55	49		being paid;
56	50		(6) a fee, if authorized by the commissioners court,
57	51		collected by a county or precinct officer on behalf of the county
58	52		from a person making payment by credit card of a fee, court cost, or
59	53		other charge (Sec. 132.003, Local Government Code) . . . an amount
60	54		equal to the amount of any transaction fee charged to the county by
61	55		a vendor providing services in connection with payments made by
62	56		credit card; and
63	57		(7) a records technology and infrastructure fee, if
64	58		authorized by the commissioners court of the county (Secs. 118.026,
65	59		118.069, and 118.102, Local Government Code) . . . $2.00.
66	60		SECTION 2. Sections 191.007(a), (b), (d), (f), (g), (h),
67	61		and (k), Local Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
68	62		(a) A legal paper presented to a county clerk for filing or
69	63		for recording in any county must meet the requirements prescribed
70	64		by this section [Subsections (b) through (g)]. Except as provided
71	65		by this section, a county clerk may not impose additional
72	66		requirements or fees for filing or recording a legal paper.
73	67		(b) A page is considered to be one side of a sheet of paper.
74	68		A page must:
75	69		(1) be no wider than 8-1/2 inches and no longer than 14
76	70		inches;
77	71		(2) have a sufficient weight and substance so that
78	72		printing, typing, or handwriting on it will not smear or bleed
79	73		through; and
80	74		(3) be printed in type not smaller than 10-point
81	75		[eight-point] type and be suitable otherwise for reproducing from
82	76		it a readable record by a photocopy, microfilm, microfiche, or
83	77		digital imaging [or photostatic or microphotographic] process used
84	78		in the office of the county clerk.
85	79		(d) Printing, typing, [and] handwriting, and notary seals
86	80		must be clearly legible so that a legible copy may be reproduced.
	81	+	The county clerk may refuse to record a legal paper that does not
	82	+	meet the requirements of this subsection.
87	83		(f) All pages submitted for recording [photostats,
88	84		photocopies, and other types of reproduction] must have black
89	85		printing, typing, or handwriting on a white background, commonly
90	86		known as positive prints.
91	87		(g) Riders and attachments must comply with the size
92	88		requirement prescribed by Subsection (b) and shall not be larger
93	89		than the size of the page. [Only one rider or attachment may be
94	90		included in or attached to a page.]
95	91		(h) The filing fee or recording fee for each page of a legal
96	92		paper that is presented for filing or recording to a county clerk
97	93		and fails to meet one or more of the requirements prescribed by
98		-	Subsections (b) through (g) is equal to twice the regular filing fee
99		-	or recording fee provided by statute for that page. If a page of a
100		-	legal paper fails to meet a requirement prescribed by Subsections
101		-	(b) through (g), the county clerk may note the deficiency at the
102		-	bottom of the page. [However, the failure of a page to meet the
	94	+	Subsection [Subsections] (b), (c), (e), (f), or [through] (g) is
	95	+	equal to twice the regular filing fee or recording fee provided by
	96	+	statute for that page. [However, the failure of a page to meet the
103	97		following requirements does not result in a fee increase under this
104	98		subsection:
105	99		[(1) the requirement prescribed by Subsection (b)(3)
106	100		relating to type size; and
107	101		[(2) provided that the legal paper complies with
108	102		Section 11.008(c), Property Code, the requirement prescribed by
109	103		Subsection (c) that a legal paper have a clearly identifying
110	104		heading.]
111	105		(k) This section does not authorize a county clerk to refuse
112	106		to record a legal paper for the reason that it fails to meet one or
113		-	more of the requirements prescribed by Subsections (b) through
114		-	(g). Failure to comply with these requirements shall not in any
115		-	manner alter, amend, impair, or invalidate any document or legal
116		-	instrument of any type or character and upon recordation by the
117		-	county clerk the document or legal instrument shall be deemed and
118		-	considered as fully complying with the provisions of law dealing
119		-	with the recordation of documents or legal instruments of every
120		-	type and character. The recordation of a document or legal
121		-	instrument by the county clerk is not a determination by the clerk
122		-	that the document meets the requirements of this section or any
123		-	other law.
	107	+	more of the requirements prescribed by Subsection [Subsections]
	108	+	(b), (c), (e), (f), or [through] (g). Failure to comply with these
	109	+	requirements shall not in any manner alter, amend, impair, or
	110	+	invalidate any document or legal instrument of any type or
	111	+	character and upon recordation by the county clerk the document or
	112	+	legal instrument shall be deemed and considered as fully complying
	113	+	with the provisions of law dealing with the recordation of
	114	+	documents or legal instruments of every type and character.
124	115		SECTION 3. Sections 191.007(i) and (j), Local Government
125	116		Code, are repealed.
126	117		SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
127	118		legal paper filed with a county clerk on or after September 1, 2019.
128	119		A legal paper filed with a county clerk before September 1, 2019, is
129	120		governed by the law in effect at the time the paper was filed, and
130	121		the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
131	122		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
132		-	* * * * *