S.B. No. 1685

AN ACT

relating to the creation of a district court records technology fund.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 51, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 51.305 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.305. DISTRICT COURT RECORDS TECHNOLOGY FUND. (a) In this section:

(1) "Court document" means any instrument, document, paper, or other record that the district clerk is authorized to accept for filing or maintenance.

(2) "Deterioration" means any naturally occurring process or a natural disaster that results in the destruction or partial destruction of a court document.

(3) "Preservation" means any process that:

(A) suspends or reduces the deterioration of a court document; or

(B) provides public access to a court document in a manner that reduces the risk of deterioration.

(4) "Restoration" means any process that permits the visual enhancement of a court document, including making the document more legible.

(b) The commissioners court of a county may adopt a district court records archive fee of not more than $5 for the filing of a suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, or a cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion for new trial, or third-party petition, in a district court in the county as part of the county's annual budget. The fee must be set and itemized in the county's budget as part of the budget preparation process and must be approved in a public meeting. The fee is for preservation and restoration services performed in connection with maintaining a district court records archive.

(c) The county treasurer, or the official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the county treasurer, in a county that adopts a fee under Subsection (b) shall establish a district court records technology fund in the general fund of the county for deposit of fees paid under Section 51.317(f).

(d) Subject to Subsection (f), money generated from the fee imposed under this section may be expended only for the preservation and restoration of the district court records archive.

(e) The district clerk shall designate the court documents that are part of the records archive for purposes of this section. The designation of court documents by the district clerk under this subsection is subject to approval by the commissioners court in a public meeting.

(f) The district clerk in a county that adopts a fee under this section shall prepare an annual written plan for the preservation and restoration of the district court records archive. The plan may include a proposal for entering into a contract with another person for preservation and restoration services. The commissioners court shall publish notice of a public hearing on the plan in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not later than the 15th day before the date of the hearing. After the public hearing, the plan shall be considered for approval by the commissioners court. Money in the district court records technology fund may be expended only as provided by the plan. All expenditures from the records technology fund must comply with Subchapter C, Chapter 262, Local Government Code.

(g) If a county imposes a fee under this section, a notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the district clerk's office. The notice must state the amount of the fee in the following form: "THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF _______________ (Insert name of county) COUNTY HAS DETERMINED THAT A RECORDS ARCHIVE FEE OF $________ (Insert amount adopted by commissioners court) IS NEEDED TO PRESERVE AND RESTORE DISTRICT COURT RECORDS."

(h) Money remaining from the collection of fees imposed under this section after completion of a district court records archive preservation and restoration project may be expended for records management and preservation purposes in the manner provided by Section 51.317(d). The commissioners court of a county may not impose a fee under this section after the district court records archive preservation and restoration project is complete.

SECTION 2. Section 51.317, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-2) and (f) to read as follows:

(b) The fees are:

(1) except as provided by Subsection (b-1), for filing a suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, $50;

(2) for filing a cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion for new trial, or third-party petition, $15;

(3) for issuing a citation or other writ or process not otherwise provided for, including one copy, when requested at the time a suit or action is filed, $8;

(4) for records management and preservation, $10; and

(5) in addition to the other fees imposed under this section, for filing a suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, or a cross-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion for new trial, or third-party petition, the amount adopted by the county commissioners court, not to exceed $5, for court records archiving.

(b-2) The fee imposed under Subsection (b)(5) does not apply to a filing by a state agency.

(f) The district clerk, after collecting a fee under Subsection (b)(5), shall pay the fee to the county treasurer, or to an official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the county treasurer, for deposit to the district court records technology fund established under Section 51.305.

SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 101, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 101.06116 to read as follows:

Sec. 101.06116. ADDITIONAL DISTRICT COURT FEES: GOVERNMENT CODE. The clerk of a district court shall collect a district court records archive fee of not more than $5 under Section 51.317(b)(5), if adopted by the county commissioners court.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1685 passed the Senate on April 30, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1685 passed the House on May 27, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, one present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

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Governor