S.B. 1744 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 1744 By: Zaffirini Public Health Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, there is no fee available to a municipality which may be assessed for the preservation of records. However, a county is allowed to impose several fees for records management and preservation. As proposed, this bill establishes a local records preservation and technology enhancement fund supported by a surcharge on the issuance of birth and death records for the preservation of permanent, historical, and archival records. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS This bill amends the Health and Safety Code by authorizing a local registrar to collect a fee not to exceed $1, in addition to other fees collected under the chapter on fees in the Health and Safety Code, for the preservation of vital statistic records maintained by the registrar, including birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, and annulment records. The bill requires the fee to be collected by the registrar on the issuance of a vital statistic record. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003.