85R5266 SRS-D     By: Canales H.B. No. 663       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the ownership and disposition of official court   reporter notes and transcripts; authorizing fees.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 52.046, Government Code, is amended by   amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as   follows:          (a)  On request, an official court reporter shall:                (1)  attend all sessions of the court;                (2)  take full shorthand notes of oral testimony   offered before the court, including objections made to the   admissibility of evidence, court rulings and remarks on the   objections, and exceptions to the rulings;                (3)  take full shorthand notes of closing arguments if   requested to do so by the attorney of a party to the case, including   objections to the arguments, court rulings and remarks on the   objections, and exceptions to the rulings;                (4)  deliver the shorthand notes to the clerk of the   court [preserve the notes for future reference for three years from   the date on which they were taken]; and                (5)  furnish a transcript of the reported evidence or   other proceedings, in whole or in part, as provided by this chapter.          (e)  Shorthand notes of oral testimony and closing arguments   are property of the court. The clerk of the court shall preserve   the notes, and transcripts based on the notes, until the third   anniversary of the date of the documented proceeding.          SECTION 2.  Section 52.047, Government Code, is amended by   amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) and adding   Subsection (h) to read as follows:          (b)  The clerk of the court shall establish the transcription   fee [If an objection is made to the amount of the transcript fee,   the judge shall determine a reasonable fee, taking into   consideration the difficulty and technicality of the material to be   transcribed and any time constraints imposed by the person   requesting the transcript].          (c)  On payment of the fee, or as provided by Rule 20   [40(a)(3) or 53(j)], Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the person   requesting the transcript is entitled to the original and one copy   of the transcript. The person may purchase additional copies for a   fee per page that does not exceed one-third of the original cost per   page. The court may require that the official court reporter   deliver a copy of the transcript to the clerk at no cost to the   court.          (d)  A [An official] court [reporter] may charge an   additional fee for:                (1)  postage or express charges;                (2)  photostating, blueprinting, or other reproduction   of exhibits;                (3)  indexing; and                (4)  preparation for filing and special binding of   original exhibits.          (e)  [If an objection is made to the amount of these   additional fees, the judge shall set a reasonable fee.] If the   person applying for the transcript is entitled to a transcript   without charge under Rule 20 [40(a)(3) or 53(j)], Texas Rules of   Appellate Procedure, the court [reporter] may not charge any   additional fees under Subsection (d).          (f)  The court shall compensate the court reporter a   reasonable amount for transcribing shorthand notes, taking into   consideration the difficulty and technicality of the material to be   transcribed and any time constraints imposed by the person   requesting the transcript [If the official court reporter charges   an amount that exceeds a fee set by the judge, the reporter shall   refund the excess to the person to whom it is due on demand filed   with the court].          (g)  Notwithstanding Rule 20.2 [53(j)], Texas Rules of   Appellate Procedure, an official court reporter who is required to   prepare a transcript in a criminal case for which a transcription   fee is prohibited [without charging a fee] is not entitled to   payment for the transcript [from the state or county] if the county   paid a substitute court reporter to perform the official court   reporter's regular duties while the transcript was being prepared,   and a court may not charge a fee for the preparation of the   transcript.          (h)  To the extent that this section [subsection] conflicts   with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, this section   [subsection] controls. Notwithstanding Sections 22.004 and   22.108(b), the supreme court or the court of criminal appeals may   not amend or adopt rules in conflict with this section   [subsection].          SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to   shorthand notes or transcripts that document a proceeding that   begins on or after the effective date of this Act. The disposition   of shorthand notes or transcripts that document a proceeding that   begins before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law   in effect on the date the proceeding begins, and the former law is   continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.