BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1844

By: Guillen

Culture, Recreation & Tourism

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current law, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is authorized to microfilm state and local government records and is required to operate the state records center for the economical and efficient storage, accessibility, protection, and final disposition of inactive and vital state records. The commission does not have the authority, however, to store local government records.  As a result, the commission cannot accommodate requests from local governments seeking to store their records at the center.

H.B. 1844 authorizes the commission to store the records of local governments, in addition to those of state agencies, and requires the commission to establish fees sufficient to cover the costs of administering and expanding the storage of local government records.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1844 amends the Government Code to expand the services the director and librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is authorized to provide relating to local government records on the request of the local government to include the storage of such records.  The bill makes provisions of law relating to fees the commission is required to establish to cover the costs of services the commission provides relating to local government records applicable to the storage of the records and makes the provision relating to the required use of those fees applicable to the administration and expansion of storage services. The bill authorizes the director and librarian to allow the state records center to provide for the economical and efficient storage, accessibility, protection, and final disposition of inactive and vital local government records under provisions of law relating to the microfilming and storing of local government records. The bill makes a nonsubstantive change.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.