BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 658

By: Zaffirini

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that more needs to be done to ensure that counties are able to invest in the infrastructure and manpower needed to implement crucial preservation, records management, and disaster recovery programs. S.B. 658 seeks to address this suggestion by making permanent temporary increases of caps on certain fees relating to the management and preservation of county records.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

S.B. 658 amends the Government Code to make permanent the temporary increase, from a $5 cap to a $10 cap, of the cap on the district court records archive fee collected by district clerks.

S.B. 658 amends the Local Government Code to make permanent the temporary increase, from a $5 cap to a $10 cap, of the caps on the records management and preservation fee and the records archive fee collected by county clerks.

S.B. 658 makes Government Code provisions requiring the comptroller of public accounts to identify and prepare a list of new or amended court costs or fees following each regular session of the legislature inapplicable to a court fee assessed under a statute amended by the bill. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.