SRC-SEW H.B. 1107 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center H.B. 1107 77R10360 MI-DBy: Hartnett (Cain) Intergovernmental Relations 5/4/2001 Engrossed DIGEST AND PURPOSE Under current law, commissioners courts are permitted to charge an additional fee in each civil case filed in a county or district court, other than a suit for delinquent taxes, to be deposited into a county law library fund. The fund may be used only for the purposes of establishing the law library, purchasing or leasing library materials, maintaining the library, or acquiring furniture, shelving, or equipment for the library. Counties with 30 or more district courts may have courts located in more than one facility and providing legal research electronically may be a more economical alternative to purchasing duplicate volumes of materials to be used by many judges. H.B. 1107 authorizes counties with 30 or more district courts to use the county law library fund for the purchase or lease of library materials or acquiring library equipment, including computers, software, and subscriptions to electronic research networks. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 323.023, Local Government Code, by amending Subsection (b), adding a new Subsection (c), and relettering existing Subsection (c) as Subsection (d), as follows: (b) Authorizes the county law library fund to be used only for certain purposes. Makes nonsubstantive changes. (c) Prohibits expenditures by a county under Subsection (b)(3) from exceeding $175,000 each year. Provides that any unexpended and unobligated balance allocated by the county for Subsection (b)(3) purposes that remains at the end of the county's fiscal year remains available for use for Subsection (b)(3) purposes during subsequent fiscal years. (d) Makes a nonsubstantive change. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2001.