1-1 By: Moffat (Senate Sponsor - Sibley) H.B. No. 1966
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 1995;
1-3 May 5, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Jurisprudence; May 16, 1995, reported favorably by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 16, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the use of optical imaging and other electronic means
1-9 for certain business records and records in municipal courts.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Article 45.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-12 amended to read as follows:
1-13 Art. 45.02. SEAL. (a) The said court shall have a seal
1-14 with a star of five points in the center and the words "Corporation
1-15 Court in ______________ Texas", the impress of which shall be
1-16 attached to all papers issued out of said court except subpoenas,
1-17 and shall be used to authenticate the official acts of the clerk
1-18 and of the recorder.
1-19 (b) A court seal may be created by electronic means,
1-20 including optical imaging, optical disk, or other electronic
1-21 reproduction technique that does not permit additions, changes, or
1-22 deletions to an original document created by the same type of
1-23 system.
1-24 SECTION 2. Chapter 45, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-25 amended by adding Article 45.021 to read as follows:
1-26 Art. 45.021. ELECTRONICALLY CREATED RECORDS. (a)
1-27 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a document that is
1-28 issued by a justice or municipal court may be created by electronic
1-29 means, including optical imaging, optical disk, or other electronic
1-30 reproduction technique that does not permit changes, additions, or
1-31 deletions to the originally created document.
1-32 (b) The court may use electronic means to:
1-33 (1) produce a document required by law to be written;
1-34 or
1-35 (2) record an instrument, paper, or notice that is
1-36 permitted or required by law to be recorded or filed.
1-37 (c) The court shall maintain original documents as provided
1-38 by law.
1-39 (d) A record created by electronic means is an original
1-40 record or a certification of the original record.
1-41 (e) A printed copy of an optical image of the original
1-42 record printed from an optical disk system is an accurate copy of
1-43 the original record.
1-44 SECTION 3. Section 35.48, Business & Commerce Code, is
1-45 amended to read as follows:
1-46 Sec. 35.48. Retention of Business Records. (a) In this
1-47 section:
1-48 (1) "Business record" means letters, words, sounds, or
1-49 numbers, or the equivalent of letters, words, sounds, or numbers,
1-50 recorded in the operation of a business by:
1-51 (A) handwriting;
1-52 (B) typewriting;
1-53 (C) printing;
1-54 (D) photostat;
1-55 (E) photograph;
1-56 (F) magnetic impulse;
1-57 (G) mechanical or electronic recording; <or>
1-58 (H) digitized optical image; or
1-59 (I) another form of data compilation.
1-60 (2) "Reproduction" means a counterpart of an original
1-61 business record produced by:
1-62 (A) production from the same impression or the
1-63 same matrix as the original;
1-64 (B) photograph, including an enlargement or
1-65 miniature;
1-66 (C) mechanical or electronic rerecording;
1-67 (D) chemical reproduction; <or>
1-68 (E) digitized optical image; or
2-1 (F) another technique that accurately reproduces
2-2 the original.
2-3 (b) A business record required to be kept by state law may
2-4 be destroyed at any time after the third anniversary of the date
2-5 the record was created unless a law or regulation applicable to the
2-6 business record prescribes a different retention period or
2-7 procedure for disposal.
2-8 (c) A state law requiring retention of a business record is
2-9 satisfied by retention of a reproduction of the business record.
2-10 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
2-11 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
2-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-16 * * * * *