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.
2-9 * * * * *