SRC-SEW H.B. 1107 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterH.B. 1107
By: Hartnett (Cain)
Intergovernmental Relations
5/8/2001
Committee Report (Amended)


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.
Some counties 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. C.S.H.B. 1107 authorizes the 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.