SRC-AAA S.B. 646 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center S.B. 646 By: Brown Jurisprudence 2-28-97 As Filed DIGEST Currently, court reporters are certified by the Texas Supreme Court after reporting proficiency has been tested and approved by the Court Reporters Certification Board (board). Compliance with standards of conduct and professionalism is thereafter subject to both statutory and board supervision. However, court reporting firms may be owned by non-court reporters and therefore are not subject to any of the aforementioned standards. This bill requires court reporting firms to be subject to the same standards as the court reporters in their employ. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 646 requires court reporting firms to be subject to the same standards as the court reporters in their employ. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 52.021, Government Code, by amending Subsection (b) and by adding Subsection (h), as follows: (b) Prohibits a person from engaging in shorthand reporting unless the person is an official court reporter or is an independent contractor of or employed by a court reporting firm in which persons certified as shorthand reporters are partners, shareholders, or owners with an ownership interest of at least 51 percent of the firm. (h) Requires a court reporting firm to register with the Court Reporters Certification Board by completing an application in a form adopted by the board. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.