By Farabee                                            H.B. No. 2496
         76R7540 DRH-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to allowing a county to set a fee for the search and
 1-3     retrieval of records stored electronically.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 191, Local Government Code, is amended by
 1-6     adding Section 191.009 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 191.009.  ELECTRONIC RECORD SEARCH AND RETRIEVAL FEE.
 1-8     (a)  The commissioners court of a county may impose a fee for
 1-9     access to records that  are stored electronically by the county.
1-10     The fee may not exceed $1 for each document retrieved or each
1-11     search conducted or a maximum of $10 a day for a person.
1-12           (b)  The fee charged under this section is in addition to the
1-13     fee that the county may charge under Sections 552.261 and 552.262,
1-14     Government Code.  All proceeds from fees collected under this
1-15     section may be used by the county only to establish or maintain
1-16     electronic storage of county records.
1-17           (c)  Section 552.272(a), Government Code, does not apply to
1-18     the fee charged under this section.
1-19           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-20           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-21     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-22     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-23     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-24     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.