HBA-MPA S.B. 1193 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1193 By: Lucio County Affairs 4/26/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, in Texas, a number of historic county courthouses and county records are deteriorating and are in need of preservation. S.B. 1193 imposes a fee for filing public documents in county clerk offices for a certain period for the preservation and restoration of certain county records and county courthouses. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Sets forth legislative findings regarding the deteriorated status of county courthouses and county records, and the purpose of this Act. SECTION 2. Amends Section 118.011, Local Government Code, by adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g), to require the county clerk to collect certain fees for preservation and restoration of certain county records and county courthouses if the commissioners court of the county adopts an order establishing the amount of the fees. Prohibits the commissioners court from adopting an order that establishes fees authorized under Subsection (e) that in the aggregate are more than $7.50. Provides that Subsections (e), (f), and (g) expire on September 1, 2006. SECTION 3. Amends Section 118.0216, Local Government Code, to require the fee for "Records Management and Preservation" to be deposited in a separate records management account in the general fund of the county. Authorizes the fee to be used only for specific records preservation and automation purposes, rather than projects. Requires the county clerk to prepare an annual written plan for funding the automation projects and records management services performed by the clerk. Requires the plan to be considered for approval by the commissioners court, after a public hearing. Authorizes funds from the records management account to be expended only as provided by the plan. Requires all expenditures from the records management account to comply with the provisions of Subchapter C (Competitive Bidding in General), Chapter 262. Makes conforming changes. SECTION 4. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 118, Local Government Code, by adding Sections 118.0217 and 118.0218, as follows: Sec. 118.0217. RECORDS ARCHIVE. (a) Defines "deterioration," "preservation," "public document," "records archive," and "restoration." (b) Authorizes the commissioners court of a county, by order, to adopt a records archive fee under Section 118.011(e) (Fee Schedule). Provides that the fee for "Records Archive" under Section 118.011(e) is for the preservation and restoration services performed by the county clerk in connection with maintaining a county clerk's records archive. (c) Provides that the fee must be paid at the time a person, excluding a state agency, presents a public document to the county clerk for recording or filing. (d) Requires the fee to be deposited in a separate records archive account in the general fund of the county. (e) Authorizes the funds generated from the collection of a fee collected to be expended only for the preservation and restoration of the county clerk's records archive. (f) Prohibits the funds from being used to purchase, lease, or develop software to geographically index public records, excluding indexing public records by lot and block description, as provided by Section 193.009(b)(4) (Indexing of Records on Microfilm). (g) Requires the county clerk to prepare an annual written plan for funding the preservation and restoration of the county clerk's records archive. Requires the plan to be considered for approval by the commissioners court, after a public hearing. Authorizes funds from the records archive account to be expended only as provided by the plan. Requires all expenditures from the records archive account to comply with the provisions of Subchapter C, Chapter 262. (h) Requires a notice to be posted in a conspicuous place in the county clerk's office, if a county charges a fee under this section. Sets forth the form of the notice of the fee. (i) Provides that the fee is subject to approval by the commissioners court in a public meeting. (j) Authorizes any excess funds generated from the collection of a fee remaining after completion of a county records archive preservation and restoration project to be expended only for the purposes described in Section 118.0216. Prohibits the commissioners court of a county from ordering the collection of a fee authorized by this section after the county records archive preservation and restoration is complete. (k) Provides that this section expires September 1, 2006. Sec. 118.0218. COUNTY COURTHOUSE RESTORATION. (a) Authorizes the commissioners court of a county, by order, to adopt a county courthouse restoration fee under Section 118.011(e). Provides that the fee for "County Courthouse Restoration" under Section 118.011 is for the preservation and restoration of the county courthouse of the county in which the fee is collected. (b) Provides that the fee to must be paid at the time a person, excluding a state agency, presents a public document to the county clerk for recording or filing. (c) Requires the fee to be deposited in a separate county courthouse restoration account in the general fund of the county. (d) Authorizes the funds generated from the collection of a fee collected to be expended only for the preservation and restoration of the county courthouse. (e) Requires the county clerk to prepare an annual written plan for funding the preservation and restoration of the county courthouse. Requires the plan to be considered for approval by the commissioners court, after a public hearing. Authorizes funds from the records archive account to be expended only as provided by the plan. Requires all expenditures from the records archive account to comply with the provisions of Subchapter C, Chapter 262. (f) Provides that a notice must be posted in a conspicuous place in the county clerk's office, if a county charges a fee under this section. Sets forth the form of the notice of the fee. Provides that the fee is subject to approval by the commissioners court in a public meeting. (g) Provides that this section expires September 1, 2006. SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 6.Emergency clause.