HBA-SEP C.S.H.B. 3179 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3179 By: Solis, Jim Judicial Affairs 4/2/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that the rules applicable to court reporters apply to court reporting firms and requires all court reporting firms in Texas to register with the Court Reporters Certification Board (board). However, the board has no regulatory authority over firms that fail to comply with the rules. C.S.H.B. 3179 requires a court reporting firm to register with the board, establishes rules of unprofessional conduct, and extends the board's regulatory authority to court reporting firms. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Supreme Court of Texas in SECTION 3 (Section 52.002, Government Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3179 amends the Government Code to authorize the Supreme Court of Texas to adopt rules governing the registration and conduct of court reporting and shorthand reporting firms (Sec. 52.002). The bill replaces an active official court reporter and a free-lance active certified shorthand reporter on the Court Reporters Certification Board (board) with one representative of a shorthand reporting firm that is not owned by a certified shorthand reporter and one representative of a shorthand reporting firm that is owned by a certified shorthand reporter whose firms have operated as shorthand reporting firms in the state for more than three years immediately preceding their appointment to the board. The bill also adds an additional public board member who is a citizen of the state to the board (Sec. 52.011). The board is required to administer and enforce provisions regarding court reporters, to issue a registration to each court reporting firm or affiliate office that registers with the board, and to maintain a record of each registration issued, renewed, or revoked (Secs. 52.013 and 52.0255). The board is authorized to reinstate a registration that has been expired for more than 120 days if the board finds that the registrant has corrected all deficiencies and has paid all fees and fines (Sec. 52.026). To file a complaint against a certified shorthand reporter or a shorthand reporting firm or affiliated office registered with the board a person must have personal knowledge of the alleged violation (Sec. 52.027). The bill increases, from $50 to $100, the aggregate value in items a court reporter is authorized to accept for each year without engaging in unprofessional conduct and removes the transaction limit of $25 (Sec. 52.029). The bill sets forth provisions regarding disciplinary actions against firms and sets forth the procedures for such an action (Sec. 52.0295). An aggrieved person or shorthand reporting firm is authorized to appeal a disciplinary action and the board is authorized to enforce the certification of reporters in Travis County in addition to certain other counties (Sec. 52.030). The Court Reporters Certification Board is required to issue a registration to each court reporting firm or affiliate that registered with the board before September 1, 2001 (SECTION 17). The bill requires the Supreme Court of Texas to appoint two representatives of shorthand reporting firms to the board at the earliest date after the terms of the two replaced members expire (SECTION 18). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 3179 modifies the original by providing that one representative, rather than two representatives, of a shorthand reporting firm that is not owned by a certified reporter be appointed to the Court Reporters Certification Board (board) and to add an additional public member who is a citizen of the state to the board (Sec. 52.011). The substitute removes the $50 single transaction limit for an item given to a certified shorthand reporter (Sec. 52.029). The substitute specifies that the board is authorized to assess a reasonable fine against a shorthand reporting firm or affiliate office for certain conduct. The substitute provides that the board is authorized to reprimand, assess a reasonable fine against, or suspend or revoke the registration of a shorthand reporting firm or affiliate office for unprofessional conduct including benefitting from being employed as a result of anything of value over $100 that is not a value-added business service (Sec. 52.0295). The substitute also requires the Supreme Court of Texas to appoint two representatives of shorthand reporting firms to the board at the earliest date after the terms of the two replaced members expire (SECTION 18).