88R20282 MZM-D
By: Johnson of Dallas H.B. No. 2431
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2431:
By: Davis C.S.H.B. No. 2431
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to preparation of an appellate record in civil appeals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 51, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 51.018 to read as
follows:
Sec. 51.018. APPENDIX IN LIEU OF CLERK'S RECORD. (a) Not
later than the 10th day after the date that a party files a notice of
appeal for a civil suit, the party may notify the trial court and
the court of appeals that the party will file an appendix that
replaces the clerk's record for the appeal.
(b) The party must file the appendix with the party's
appellate brief. Except in an expedited proceeding or by order of
the court, the brief and appendix must be filed not later than the
30th day after the later of:
(1) the date that the party provided notice under
Subsection (a); or
(2) the date that a reporter's record, if any, is filed
with the court of appeals.
(c) An appendix filed under this section must contain a
file-stamped copy of each document required by Rule 34.5, Texas
Rules of Appellate Procedure, for a civil suit and any other item
the party intends to reference in the party's brief. The appendix
may not contain a document that has not been filed with the trial
court except by agreement of the parties to the appeal.
(d) An appendix filed in accordance with this section
becomes part of the appellate record. A court clerk may not prepare
or file a clerk's record or assess a fee for preparing a clerk's
record if a party files an appendix in accordance with this section.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a party that files a notice of appeal on or after January 1, 2024.
A party that files a notice of appeal before January 1, 2024, is
governed by the law in effect on the date the notice was given, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.