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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the seal of a district court and the signature of the |
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district clerk used on process issued by the court. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. The heading to Section 51.301, Government Code, |
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is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 51.301. VACANCY; BOND; SEAL; SIGNATURE OF CLERK. |
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SECTION 2. Section 51.301, Government Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read |
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as follows: |
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(d) Each district clerk shall be provided with a seal for |
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the district court. The seal must have a five-pointed star and must |
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be engraved with the words "District Court of __________ County, |
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Texas." The seal shall be impressed on all process issued by the |
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court except subpoenas and shall be kept and used by the clerk to |
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authenticate official acts. The seal may be created using an |
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electronic means, including by using an optical disk or another |
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electronic reproduction technique, if the means by which the seal |
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is impressed on an original document created using the same type of |
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electronic means does not allow for changes, additions, or |
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deletions to be made to the document. |
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(e) The signature of the district clerk may be affixed on an |
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original document using electronic means, provided that the means |
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by which the signature is affixed meets the requirements of |
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Subsection (d) with respect to creating a seal by electronic means. |
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(f) A seal impressed or a signature affixed by electronic |
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means may be delivered or transmitted electronically. |
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SECTION 3. Section 51.301, Government Code, as amended by |
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this Act, applies to a process, other than a subpoena, issued by a |
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district court on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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process issued by a district court before the effective date of this |
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Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the process was |
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issued, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |