By Moffat H.B. No. 1966
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the use of optical imaging and other electronic means
1-3 for certain business records and records in municipal courts.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Article 45.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 Art. 45.02. SEAL. (a) The said court shall have a seal
1-8 with a star of five points in the center and the words "Corporation
1-9 Court in ______________ Texas", the impress of which shall be
1-10 attached to all papers issued out of said court except subpoenas,
1-11 and shall be used to authenticate the official acts of the clerk
1-12 and of the recorder.
1-13 (b) A court seal may be created by electronic means,
1-14 including optical imaging, optical disk, or other electronic
1-15 reproduction technique that does not permit additions, changes, or
1-16 deletions to an original document created by the same type of
1-17 system.
1-18 SECTION 2. Chapter 45, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-19 amended by adding Article 45.021 to read as follows:
1-20 Art. 45.021. ELECTRONICALLY CREATED RECORDS. (a)
1-21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a document that is
1-22 issued by a justice or municipal court may be created by electronic
1-23 means, including optical imaging, optical disk, or other electronic
1-24 reproduction technique that does not permit changes, additions, or
2-1 deletions to the originally created document.
2-2 (b) The court may use electronic means to:
2-3 (1) produce a document required by law to be written;
2-4 or
2-5 (2) record an instrument, paper, or notice that is
2-6 permitted or required by law to be recorded or filed.
2-7 (c) The court shall maintain original documents as provided
2-8 by law.
2-9 (d) A record created by electronic means is an original
2-10 record or a certification of the original record.
2-11 (e) A printed copy of an optical image of the original
2-12 record printed from an optical disk system is an accurate copy of
2-13 the original record.
2-14 SECTION 3. Section 35.48, Business & Commerce Code, is
2-15 amended to read as follows:
2-16 Sec. 35.48. Retention of Business Records. (a) In this
2-17 section:
2-18 (1) "Business record" means letters, words, sounds, or
2-19 numbers, or the equivalent of letters, words, sounds, or numbers,
2-20 recorded in the operation of a business by:
2-21 (A) handwriting;
2-22 (B) typewriting;
2-23 (C) printing;
2-24 (D) photostat;
2-25 (E) photograph;
2-26 (F) magnetic impulse;
2-27 (G) mechanical or electronic recording; <or>
3-1 (H) digitized optical image; or
3-2 (I) another form of data compilation.
3-3 (2) "Reproduction" means a counterpart of an original
3-4 business record produced by:
3-5 (A) production from the same impression or the
3-6 same matrix as the original;
3-7 (B) photograph, including an enlargement or
3-8 miniature;
3-9 (C) mechanical or electronic rerecording;
3-10 (D) chemical reproduction; <or>
3-11 (E) digitized optical image; or
3-12 (F) another technique that accurately reproduces
3-13 the original.
3-14 (b) A business record required to be kept by state law may
3-15 be destroyed at any time after the third anniversary of the date
3-16 the record was created unless a law or regulation applicable to the
3-17 business record prescribes a different retention period or
3-18 procedure for disposal.
3-19 (c) A state law requiring retention of a business record is
3-20 satisfied by retention of a reproduction of the business record.
3-21 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-22 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.