HBA-DMD C.S.H.B. 918 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 918 By: Reyna, Arthur Judicial Affairs 4/21/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In certain legal matters, a party may be required to present an original judgment order or decree to a judge as part of the procedure necessary to prove the party's case. However, in some older cases the court clerk has placed the file on microfilm and has destroyed the original documents, leaving no hard copy to present to the judge. In these cases a county or district clerk is not specifically prohibited from assessing a fee to a person who seeks a paper copy of a record or document that is on microfilm. C.S.H.B. 918 requires the clerk of a county or district court, upon receiving written request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only on microfilm or by other electronic means. It also prohibits the county or district clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under the sections created by this Act. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 118, Local Government Code, by adding Section 118.0526, as follows: Sec. 118.0526. COPIES OF COURT RECORDS PRESERVED ONLY ON MICROFILM OR BY ELECTRONIC METHOD. Requires the clerk of a county court, upon receiving written request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only on microfilm or by other electronic means. Provides that the request must specify the document sought and the approximate date that the document was filed. Prohibits the county clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under this section. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter D, Chapter 51, Government Code, by adding Section 51.3195, as follows: Sec. 51.3195. COPIES OF COURT RECORDS PRESERVED ONLY ON MICROFILM OR BY ELECTRONIC METHOD. Requires the clerk of a district court, upon receiving written request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only on microfilm or by other electronic means. Provides that the request must specify the document sought and the approximate date that the document was filed. Prohibits the district clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under this section. SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4.Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE This substitute differs from the original bill by removing SECTION 1 (proposed Section 118.066(b), Local Government Code), of the original bill which prohibited a county clerk from charging a person a fee for a paper copy of a court record or document filed with a court in connection with an action or proceeding if the original court record or document is no longer available in paper form. This substitute adds new SECTION 1 (proposed Section 118.0526, Local Government Code), which requires the clerk of a county court, upon receiving written request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only on microfilm or by other electronic means. This substitute also provides that the request must specify the document sought and the approximate date that the document was filed and prohibits the county clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under this section. This substitute differs from the original bill in SECTION 2 (proposed Section 51.3195, Government Code), by changing the title of the section from "Prohibited Fees" in the original bill to "Copies of Court Records Preserved Only on Microfilm or by Electronic Method" in this substitute. This substitute deletes the entire text of this proposed section from the original bill which prohibited a district clerk from charging a person a fee for a paper copy of a court record or of a document filed with a court in connection with an action or proceeding if the original court record or document is no longer available in paper form. This substitute adds new text to require the clerk of a district court, upon receiving written request of a party in an action, to provide the court with a copy of a motion, order, or other pleading in the action that is preserved only on microfilm or by other electronic means. This substitute also provides that the request must specify the document sought and the approximate date that the document was filed and prohibits the district clerk from charging a fee for a copy made under this section.