By Tallas H.B. No. 2750 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the specification for legal papers. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Section 191.007, Local Government Code, is 1-5 amended to read as follows: 1-6 Sec. 191.007. Specifications for Legal Papers; Increased 1-7 Fees. (a) A legal paper presented to a county clerk for filing or 1-8 for recording must meet the requirements prescribed by Subsections 1-9 (b) through (g). 1-10 (b) A page is considered to be one side of a sheet of paper. 1-11 A page must: 1-12 (1) be no wider than 8-1/2 inches and no longer than 14 1-13 inches; 1-14 (2) have a sufficient weight and substance so that printing, 1-15 typing, or handwriting on it will not smear or bleed through; and 1-16 (3) be printed in type no smaller than 8 point type and be 1-17 suitable otherwise for reproducing from it a readable record by a 1-18 photocopy or photostatic or microphotographic process used in the 1-19 office of the county clerk. 1-20 (c) A clearly identifying heading, similar to the headings 1-21 on most commercially supplied printed forms, must be placed at the 1-22 top of the first page to identify the type or kind of legal paper. 1-23 (d) Printing, typing, and handwriting must be clearly 2-1 legible. 2-2 (e) Names must be legibly typed or printed immediately under 2-3 each signature. 2-4 (f) All photostats, photocopies and other types of 2-5 reproduction must have black printing, typing, or handwriting on a 2-6 white background, commonly known as positive prints. 2-7 (g) Riders and attachments must comply with the size 2-8 requirement prescribed by Subsection (b) and shall not be larger 2-9 than the size of the page. Only one rider or attachment may be 2-10 included in or attached to a page. 2-11 (h) The filing fee or recording fee for each page of a legal 2-12 paper that is presented for filing or recording to a county clerk 2-13 and fails to meet one or more of the requirements prescribed by 2-14 Subsections (b) through (g) is equal to twice the regular filing 2-15 fee or recording fee provided by statute for that page. 2-16 (i) If a page of a legal paper has more riders or 2-17 attachments than one, the filing fee or recording fee for each 2-18 rider or attachment in excess of one is twice the regular filing 2-19 fee or recording fee provided by statute. 2-20 (j) If a page of a legal paper has one or more riders or 2-21 attachments larger than the permitted size, the filing fee or 2-22 recording fee for each oversized rider or attachment is twice the 2-23 regular filing fee or recording fee provided by statute for the 2-24 rider or attachment. 2-25 (k) This section does not authorize a county clerk to refuse 3-1 to record a legal paper for the reason that it fails to meet one or 3-2 more of the requirements prescribed by Subsections (b) through (g). 3-3 Failure to comply with these requirements does not invalidate the 3-4 instrument. 3-5 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993. 3-6 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 3-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.