1-1     By:  Dutton (Senate Sponsor - Brown)                   H.B. No. 697

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 1997;

 1-3     May 12, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to contracting by court reporters.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 52.029(a), Government Code, is amended to

1-11     read as follows:

1-12           (a)  After receiving a verified complaint and giving the

1-13     certified shorthand reporter notice and an opportunity for a

1-14     hearing as prescribed by Section 52.028, the board may revoke or

1-15     suspend the shorthand reporter's certification or issue a reprimand

1-16     to the reporter for:

1-17                 (1)  fraud or corruption;

1-18                 (2)  dishonesty;

1-19                 (3)  wilful or negligent violation or failure of duty;

1-20                 (4)  incompetence;

1-21                 (5)  fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining

1-22     certification;

1-23                 (6)  a final conviction of a criminal offense involving

1-24     moral turpitude that indicates a clear and rational likelihood that

1-25     the reporter will not properly discharge the responsibilities of a

1-26     certified shorthand reporter;

1-27                 (7)  engaging in the practice of shorthand reporting

1-28     using a method for which the reporter is not certified;

1-29                 (8)  engaging in the practice of shorthand reporting

1-30     while certification is suspended;

1-31                 (9)  unprofessional conduct, including giving directly

1-32     or indirectly, benefiting from, or being employed as a result of

1-33     any gift, incentive, reward, or anything of value to attorneys,

1-34     clients, or their representatives or agents, except for nominal

1-35     items that do not exceed $25 each transaction and $50 in the

1-36     aggregate for each recipient each year; [or]

1-37                 (10)  entering into or providing services under a

1-38     prohibited contract described by Section 52.034; or

1-39                 (11)  other sufficient cause.

1-40           SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 52, Government Code, is

1-41     amended by adding Section 52.034 to read as follows:

1-42           Sec. 52.034.  PROHIBITED CONTRACTS.  (a)  A court reporter

1-43     may not enter into or provide services under any contractual

1-44     agreement, written or oral, exclusive or nonexclusive, that:

1-45                 (1)  undermines the impartiality of the court reporter;

1-46                 (2)  requires a court reporter to relinquish control of

1-47     an original deposition transcript and copies of the transcript

1-48     before it is certified and delivered to the custodial attorney;

1-49                 (3)  requires a court reporter to provide any service

1-50     not made available to all parties to an action; or

1-51                 (4)  gives or appears to give an exclusive or partially

1-52     exclusive advantage to any party.

1-53           (b)  This section does not apply to a contract for court

1-54     reporting services for a court, agency, or instrumentality of the

1-55     United States or this state.

1-56           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-57           SECTION 4.  (a)  This Act applies to:

1-58                 (1)  a contract entered into on or after the effective

1-59     date of this Act; and

1-60                 (2)  a contract entered into before the effective date

1-61     of this Act with a term that expires more than one year after the

1-62     effective date of this Act.

1-63           (b)  A contract entered into before the effective date of

1-64     this Act with a term that expires within one year of the effective

 2-1     date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately

 2-2     before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in

 2-3     effect for that purpose.

 2-4           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-5     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-6     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-7     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-8     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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