1-1 By: Lucio S.B. No. 436 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 5, 1997; February 6, 1997, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental 1-4 Relations; March 24, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable 1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 1; 1-6 March 24, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 436 By: Lucio 1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-9 AN ACT 1-10 relating to the preservation and restoration of certain public 1-11 documents filed with a county clerk. 1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-13 SECTION 1. (a) The legislature finds that the deterioration 1-14 of public documents in the offices of the county clerks constitutes 1-15 a threat to the integrity and reliability of the existing system 1-16 for preserving public documents. 1-17 (b) The purpose of this Act is to impose a fee for filing 1-18 public documents in the offices of the county clerks beginning 1-19 September 1, 1997, and ending September 1, 2004, to provide funds 1-20 that will be used to preserve and restore existing public documents 1-21 filed in the offices of the county clerks. 1-22 SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 118.011, Local Government 1-23 Code, is amended to read as follows: 1-24 (b) The county clerk may set and collect the following fee 1-25 from any person: 1-26 (1) Returned Check (Sec. 1-27 118.0215)....................... not less than $15 1-28 or more than $25 1-29 (2) Records Management and 1-30 Preservation Fee (Sec. 1-31 118.0216)........................ not more than $5 1-32 (3) Records Archive Fee (Sec. 1-33 118.0217)....................... not more than $10 1-34 SECTION 3. Section 118.0216, Local Government Code, is 1-35 amended to read as follows: 1-36 Sec. 118.0216. RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION. (a) The 1-37 fee for "Records Management and Preservation" under Section 118.011 1-38 is for the records management and preservation services performed 1-39 by the county clerk after the filing and recording of a document in 1-40 the records of the office of the clerk. 1-41 (b) The fee must be paid at the time of the filing of the 1-42 document. 1-43 (c) The fee may be used only to provide funds for specific 1-44 records preservation and automation projects. 1-45 (d) The fee may not be used to provide funds for any item 1-46 that, regardless of whether the fee is collected by the county 1-47 clerk, would be included in the budget for the county clerk's 1-48 office, unless the commissioners court makes a written finding 1-49 explaining the necessity for additional funds for the item to 1-50 accomplish specific preservation and automation projects. 1-51 SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 118, Local Government Code, 1-52 is amended by adding Section 118.0217 to read as follows: 1-53 Sec. 118.0217. RECORDS ARCHIVE. (a) The fee for "Records 1-54 Archive" under Section 118.011 is for the preservation and 1-55 restoration services performed by the county clerk in connection 1-56 with maintaining a county records archive. 1-57 (b) The fee must be paid at the time a person, excluding a 1-58 state agency, presents a public document to the county clerk for 1-59 recording or filing. 1-60 (c) The fee shall be deposited to a separate account in the 1-61 county general fund. 1-62 (d) The funds generated from the collection of a fee under 1-63 this section may be expended only for the preservation and 1-64 restoration of the county records archive. 2-1 (e) The funds may not be used to: 2-2 (1) purchase, lease, or develop computer software to 2-3 geographically index public records, excluding indexing public 2-4 records by lot and block description; or 2-5 (2) provide funds for any item that, regardless of 2-6 whether the fee is collected by the county clerk, would be included 2-7 in the budget for the county clerk's office, unless the 2-8 commissioners court makes a written finding explaining the 2-9 necessity for additional funds for the item to accomplish specific 2-10 preservation and restoration projects. 2-11 (f) Any excess funds generated from the collection of a fee 2-12 under this section remaining after completion of a county records 2-13 archive preservation and restoration project may be expended only 2-14 for the purposes described by Section 118.0216. The county clerk 2-15 may not collect the fee authorized by this section after the county 2-16 records archive preservation and restoration is complete. 2-17 (g) In this section: 2-18 (1) "Deterioration" means any naturally occurring 2-19 process or a natural disaster that results in the destruction or 2-20 partial destruction of a public document. 2-21 (2) "Preservation" means any process that: 2-22 (A) suspends or reduces the deterioration of 2-23 public documents; or 2-24 (B) provides public access to the public 2-25 documents in a manner that reduces the risk of deterioration, 2-26 excluding providing public access to public documents indexed 2-27 geographically. 2-28 (3) "Public document" means any instrument, document, 2-29 paper, or other record that the county clerk is authorized to 2-30 accept for filing or maintaining. 2-31 (4) "Records archive" means public documents filed 2-32 with the county clerk before January 1, 1990. 2-33 (5) "Restoration" means any process that permits the 2-34 visual enhancement of a public document, including making the 2-35 document more legible. 2-36 (h) This section expires September 1, 2004. 2-37 SECTION 5. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 2-38 The change in law made by this Act applies only to a public 2-39 document, as that term is defined by Section 118.0217, Local 2-40 Government Code, as added by this Act, that is presented for filing 2-41 on or after September 1, 1997. 2-42 (b) A public document, as that term is defined by Section 2-43 118.0217, Local Government Code, as added by this Act, that is 2-44 presented for filing before September 1, 1997, is governed by the 2-45 law in effect when the document was presented, and the former law 2-46 continues in effect for that purpose. 2-47 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the 2-48 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-49 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-50 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-51 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 2-52 * * * * *