By Brown S.B. No. 647
75R1648 MLS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to contracting by court reporters.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 52.029(a), Government Code, is amended to
1-5 read as follows:
1-6 (a) After receiving a verified complaint and giving the
1-7 certified shorthand reporter notice and an opportunity for a
1-8 hearing as prescribed by Section 52.028, the board may revoke or
1-9 suspend the shorthand reporter's certification or issue a reprimand
1-10 to the reporter for:
1-11 (1) fraud or corruption;
1-12 (2) dishonesty;
1-13 (3) wilful or negligent violation or failure of duty;
1-14 (4) incompetence;
1-15 (5) fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining
1-16 certification;
1-17 (6) a final conviction of a criminal offense involving
1-18 moral turpitude that indicates a clear and rational likelihood that
1-19 the reporter will not properly discharge the responsibilities of a
1-20 certified shorthand reporter;
1-21 (7) engaging in the practice of shorthand reporting
1-22 using a method for which the reporter is not certified;
1-23 (8) engaging in the practice of shorthand reporting
1-24 while certification is suspended;
2-1 (9) unprofessional conduct, including giving directly
2-2 or indirectly, benefiting from, or being employed as a result of
2-3 any gift, incentive, reward, or anything of value to attorneys,
2-4 clients, or their representatives or agents, except for nominal
2-5 items that do not exceed $25 each transaction and $50 in the
2-6 aggregate for each recipient each year; [or]
2-7 (10) entering into or providing services under a
2-8 prohibited contract described by Section 52.034; or
2-9 (11) other sufficient cause.
2-10 SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 52, Government Code, is
2-11 amended by adding Section 52.034 to read as follows:
2-12 Sec. 52.034. PROHIBITED CONTRACTS. (a) A court reporter
2-13 may not enter into or provide services under any contractual
2-14 agreement, written or oral, exclusive or nonexclusive, that:
2-15 (1) undermines the impartiality of the court reporter;
2-16 (2) prohibits attorneys from selecting a court
2-17 reporter or court reporting firm on a case-by-case basis;
2-18 (3) requires a court reporter to relinquish control of
2-19 an original deposition transcript and copies of the transcript
2-20 before it is certified and delivered to the custodial attorney;
2-21 (4) requires a court reporter to provide any service
2-22 not made available to all parties to an action;
2-23 (5) gives or appears to give an exclusive or partially
2-24 exclusive advantage to any party.
2-25 (b) This section does not apply to a contract for court
2-26 reporting services for a court, agency, or instrumentality of the
2-27 United States or this state.
3-1 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
3-2 SECTION 4. (a) This Act applies to:
3-3 (1) a contract entered into on or after the effective
3-4 date of this Act; and
3-5 (2) a contract entered into before the effective date
3-6 of this Act with a term that expires more than one year after the
3-7 effective date of this Act.
3-8 (b) A contract entered into before the effective date of
3-9 this Act with a term that expires within one year of the effective
3-10 date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately
3-11 before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
3-12 effect for that purpose.
3-13 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.