By Hamric                                             H.B. No. 1317
       74R4251 CAG-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to court reporter service fees.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 51.601, Government Code, is amended to
    1-5  read as follows:
    1-6        Sec. 51.601.  COURT REPORTER SERVICE FEE.  (a)  The clerk of
    1-7  each court that has an official court reporter shall collect a
    1-8  court reporter service fee of $15 as a court cost in each civil
    1-9  case filed with the clerk to maintain a court reporter who is
   1-10  available for assignment in the court <in which a record of
   1-11  evidence presented in the case is made by the reporter>.
   1-12        (b)  The clerk shall collect this fee in the manner provided
   1-13  for other court costs and shall deliver the fee to the county
   1-14  treasurer <deposit the fee to the credit of the general fund> of
   1-15  the county in which the court sits.  The county treasurer shall
   1-16  deposit the fees received into the court reporter service fund.
   1-17        (c)  The commissioners court of the county shall administer
   1-18  the court reporter service fund to assist in the payment of court
   1-19  reporter-related services, including maintaining an adequate number
   1-20  of court reporters to provide services to the courts, obtaining
   1-21  court reporter transcription services, closed-caption transcription
   1-22  machines, Braille transcription services, or other transcription
   1-23  services to comply with state or federal laws, or providing any
   1-24  other service related to the functions of a court reporter.
    2-1        (d)  The commissioners court shall, in administering the
    2-2  court reporter service fund, assist any court in which a case is
    2-3  filed that requires the payment of the court reporter service fee.
    2-4        (e) <(b)>  This section does not apply to an action brought
    2-5  to collect delinquent taxes.
    2-6        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
    2-7  applies only to a case filed with the clerk of a court that has an
    2-8  official court reporter on or after the effective date of this Act.
    2-9  A case filed with the clerk of a court before the effective date of
   2-10  this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before
   2-11  the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
   2-12  for that purpose.
   2-13        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-14  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-15  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-16  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-17  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.