HBA-KMH H.B. 3664 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3664 By: Wise Judicial Affairs 4/23/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Court Reporters Certification Board has authority to only issue reprimands, additional continuing education requirements, or suspensions against court reporters. However, fees can only be assessed against court reporting firms, not individuals. The transcript and evidence must be persevered for appeals. In the past, there have been situations where court reporters have been very difficult to locate and they possessed the only existing court transcripts required to resolve certain legal cases. H.B. 3664 provides a criminal penalty for violation of certain duties of an official court reporter. 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 Section 52.046, Government Code, by adding Subsection (e), as follows: (e) Provide that it is a Class B misdemeanor if an official court reporter recklessly violates Subsection (a)(4) or knowingly violates Subsection (a)(5). Subsection (a)(4) requires a court reporter to preserve the notes for future reference for three years from the date on which they were taken. Subsection (a)(5) requires a court reporter to furnish a transcript of the reported evidence or other proceedings, in whole or in part, as provided by this chapter. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.