By: Kuempel (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 4248
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2019;
May 10, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 19, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
May 19, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 4248 By: Zaffirini
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to specifications for legal papers filed with a county
clerk.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 103.030, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 103.030. MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND COSTS: LOCAL
GOVERNMENT CODE. Fees and costs shall be paid or collected under
the Local Government Code as follows:
(1) services by the offices of the sheriff and
constables (Sec. 118.131, Local Government Code) . . . amount set
by county commissioners court;
(2) a filing fee or recording fee for each page of a
legal paper presented for filing or recording that fails to meet
certain requirements regarding paper size, weight, substance,
headings, legibility, the presence of typed or printed names under
each signature, [and number] and size of riders or attachments
(Sec. 191.007, Local Government Code) . . . twice the regular
filing fee or recording fee provided by statute for that page,
rider, or attachment;
(3) a processing fee as authorized by the
commissioners court for the payment by credit card of a fee, court
cost, or other charge processed by a county or precinct officer
(Secs. 132.002 and 132.003, Local Government Code) . . . an amount
reasonably related to the expense incurred by the county or
precinct officer but not to exceed five percent of the amount of the
fee, court cost, or other charge being paid;
(4) a processing fee as authorized by the governing
body of the municipality for the payment by credit card of a fee,
court cost, or other charge processed by a municipal official
(Secs. 132.002 and 132.003, Local Government Code) . . . an amount
reasonably related to the expense incurred by the municipal
official but not to exceed five percent of the amount of the fee,
court cost, or other charge being paid;
(5) a handling fee, if authorized by the commissioners
court under Section 132.002, Local Government Code, for
electronically processing the payment of a fee, fine, court cost,
or other charge (Secs. 132.002 and 132.003, Local Government Code):
(A) charged at a flat rate that does not exceed $5
for each payment transaction; or
(B) charged at a rate reasonably related to the
expense incurred in processing a payment and that does not exceed
five percent of the amount of the fee, court cost, or other charge
being paid;
(6) a fee, if authorized by the commissioners court,
collected by a county or precinct officer on behalf of the county
from a person making payment by credit card of a fee, court cost, or
other charge (Sec. 132.003, Local Government Code) . . . an amount
equal to the amount of any transaction fee charged to the county by
a vendor providing services in connection with payments made by
credit card; and
(7) a records technology and infrastructure fee, if
authorized by the commissioners court of the county (Secs. 118.026,
118.069, and 118.102, Local Government Code) . . . $2.00.
SECTION 2. Sections 191.007(a), (b), (d), (f), (g), (h),
and (k), Local Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A legal paper presented to a county clerk for filing or
for recording in any county must meet the requirements prescribed
by this section [Subsections (b) through (g)]. Except as provided
by this section, a county clerk may not impose additional
requirements or fees for filing or recording a legal paper.
(b) A page is considered to be one side of a sheet of paper.
A page must:
(1) be no wider than 8-1/2 inches and no longer than 14
inches;
(2) have a sufficient weight and substance so that
printing, typing, or handwriting on it will not smear or bleed
through; and
(3) be printed in type not smaller than 10-point
[eight-point] type and be suitable otherwise for reproducing from
it a readable record by a photocopy, microfilm, microfiche, or
digital imaging [or photostatic or microphotographic] process used
in the office of the county clerk.
(d) Printing, typing, [and] handwriting, and notary seals
must be clearly legible so that a legible copy may be reproduced.
(f) All pages submitted for recording [photostats,
photocopies, and other types of reproduction] must have black
printing, typing, or handwriting on a white background, commonly
known as positive prints.
(g) Riders and attachments must comply with the size
requirement prescribed by Subsection (b) and shall not be larger
than the size of the page. [Only one rider or attachment may be
included in or attached to a page.]
(h) The filing fee or recording fee for each page of a legal
paper that is presented for filing or recording to a county clerk
and fails to meet one or more of the requirements prescribed by
Subsections (b) through (g) is equal to twice the regular filing fee
or recording fee provided by statute for that page. If a page of a
legal paper fails to meet a requirement prescribed by Subsections
(b) through (g), the county clerk may note the deficiency at the
bottom of the page. [However, the failure of a page to meet the
following requirements does not result in a fee increase under this
subsection:
[(1) the requirement prescribed by Subsection (b)(3)
relating to type size; and
[(2) provided that the legal paper complies with
Section 11.008(c), Property Code, the requirement prescribed by
Subsection (c) that a legal paper have a clearly identifying
heading.]
(k) This section does not authorize a county clerk to refuse
to record a legal paper for the reason that it fails to meet one or
more of the requirements prescribed by Subsections (b) through
(g). Failure to comply with these requirements shall not in any
manner alter, amend, impair, or invalidate any document or legal
instrument of any type or character and upon recordation by the
county clerk the document or legal instrument shall be deemed and
considered as fully complying with the provisions of law dealing
with the recordation of documents or legal instruments of every
type and character. The recordation of a document or legal
instrument by the county clerk is not a determination by the clerk
that the document meets the requirements of this section or any
other law.
SECTION 3. Sections 191.007(i) and (j), Local Government
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
legal paper filed with a county clerk on or after September 1, 2019.
A legal paper filed with a county clerk before September 1, 2019, is
governed by the law in effect at the time the paper was filed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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