By Haywood                                              S.B. No. 73

      75R1057 ESH-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to financial statements filed by judges of statutory

 1-3     county courts and statutory probate courts.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Sections 159.051 and 159.052, Local Government

 1-6     Code, are amended to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 159.051.  DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION].  In this subchapter:

 1-8                 (1)  "Commission" means the Texas Ethics Commission.

 1-9                 (2)  "County [, "county] judicial officer" means the

1-10     judge of a statutory county court or statutory probate court.

1-11           Sec. 159.052.  FILING REQUIREMENT.  (a)  A county judicial

1-12     officer or a candidate for office as a county judicial officer

1-13     shall file with the county clerk or the commission a financial

1-14     statement that complies with Sections 572.022 and 572.023,

1-15     Government Code.

1-16           (b)  A county judicial officer or candidate who files a

1-17     financial statement with the commission shall file with the county

1-18     clerk a document stating that the officer or candidate is filing

1-19     the financial statement with the commission.  The document must be

1-20     filed by the deadline for filing the financial statement.

1-21           SECTION 2.  Section 159.054(a), Local Government Code, is

1-22     amended to read as follows:

1-23           (a)  The county clerk may:

1-24                 (1)  design a form to be used for filing the financial

 2-1     statement required by this subchapter; or

 2-2                 (2)  require that a form designed by the commission

 2-3     [Texas Ethics Commission] under Chapter 572, Government Code, be

 2-4     used for filing the financial statement.

 2-5           SECTION 3.  Section 159.055, Local Government Code, is

 2-6     amended to read as follows:

 2-7           Sec. 159.055.  PUBLIC ACCESS TO STATEMENTS.  (a)  Except as

 2-8     provided by Subsection (b), a [A] financial  statement filed under

 2-9     this subchapter or a document filed under Section 159.052(b) is a

2-10     public record.  The county clerk or the commission shall maintain

2-11     the financial statements or documents in a manner that is

2-12     accessible to the public during regular business hours.

2-13           (b)  On the written request of a county judicial officer or

2-14     candidate, the county clerk or the commission shall remove the

2-15     names of the officer's or candidate's dependent children from the

2-16     officer's or candidate's financial statement before the statement

2-17     is made available to a member of the public.

2-18           (c)  Until the first anniversary of the date a financial

2-19     statement is filed, each time a person requests to see the

2-20     financial statement, excluding the county clerk or an employee of

2-21     the county clerk or the commission, acting on official business,

2-22     the county clerk or the commission shall place in the file a

2-23     statement  of the person's name and address, whom the person

2-24     represents, and the date of the request.  The county clerk or the

2-25     commission shall maintain that statement in the file until the

2-26     first  anniversary of the date the financial statement is filed.

2-27           (d) [(c)]  After the second anniversary of the date a person

 3-1     ceases to be a county judicial officer, the county clerk or the

 3-2     commission may and on notification from the former officer shall

 3-3     destroy each financial statement filed by the officer.

 3-4           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

 3-5     applies only to a financial statement under Subchapter C, Chapter

 3-6     159, Local Government Code, that is required to be filed on or

 3-7     after that date.  A financial statement under Subchapter C, Chapter

 3-8     159, Local Government Code, that is required to be filed before

 3-9     September 1, 1997, is governed by the law in effect at the time the

3-10     financial statement is required to be filed, and that law is

3-11     continued in effect for that purpose.

3-12           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-13     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-14     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-15     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-16     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.