1-1     By:  Rhodes (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister)             H.B. No. 1193

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 18, 1997;

 1-3     April 22, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 6, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 6, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to free trial transcripts for appeals in which an

 1-9     affidavit of inability to pay costs has been filed.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 13.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,

1-12     is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to

1-13     read as follows:

1-14           (a)  Subject to Subsection (c), a [A] court reporter shall

1-15     provide without cost a [transcript of the] statement of facts and a

1-16     clerk of a court shall prepare a transcript for appealing a

1-17     judgment from the court only if:

1-18                 (1)  an affidavit of inability to pay the cost of the

1-19     appeal has been filed under the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure;

1-20     and

1-21                 (2)  the trial judge finds:

1-22                       (A)  the appeal is not frivolous; and

1-23                       (B)  the statement of facts and the clerk's

1-24     transcript is needed to decide the issue presented by the appeal.

1-25           (c)  The trial judge may order a clerk of a court to prepare

1-26     a transcript, or any part of the transcript, necessary for making

1-27     the determination required by Subsection (a)(2).

1-28           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-29           (b)  This Act applies only to an appeal filed on or after the

1-30     effective date of this Act.  An appeal filed before the effective

1-31     date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately

1-32     before the effective date of this Act and that law is continued in

1-33     effect for that purpose.

1-34           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-35     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-36     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-37     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-38     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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