Bill Text: TX HB2383 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to court deposition and transcription services and fees and to court reporters and certified court interpreters; establishing a civil penalty.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-04-03 - Reported favorably as substituted [HB2383 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2383-Introduced.html

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88R4130 JTZ-F
By: Leach H.B. No. 2383

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to court deposition and transcription services and fees
and to court reporters and certified court interpreters;
establishing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 20.001, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 20.001. PERSONS WHO MAY TAKE A DEPOSITION ON WRITTEN
QUESTIONS.
SECTION 2. Sections 20.001(b), (c), and (d), Civil Practice
and Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A deposition on written questions of a witness who is
alleged to reside or to be outside this state, but inside the United
States, may be taken in another state by:
(1) a clerk of a court of record having a seal;
(2) a commissioner of deeds appointed under the laws
of this state; or
(3) any notary public.
(c) A deposition on written questions of a witness who is
alleged to reside or to be outside the United States may be taken
by:
(1) a minister, commissioner, or charge d'affaires of
the United States who is a resident of and is accredited in the
country where the deposition is taken;
(2) a consul general, consul, vice-consul, commercial
agent, vice-commercial agent, deputy consul, or consular agent of
the United States who is a resident of the country where the
deposition is taken; or
(3) any notary public.
(d) A deposition on written questions of a witness who is
alleged to be a member of the United States Armed Forces or of a
United States Armed Forces Auxiliary or who is alleged to be a
civilian employed by or accompanying the armed forces or an
auxiliary outside the United States may be taken by a commissioned
officer in the United States Armed Forces or United States Armed
Forces Auxiliary or by a commissioned officer in the United States
Armed Forces Reserve or an auxiliary of it. If a deposition on
written questions appears on its face to have been taken as provided
by this subsection and the deposition or any part of it is offered
in evidence, it is presumed, absent pleading and proof to the
contrary, that the person taking the deposition as a commissioned
officer was a commissioned officer on the date that the deposition
was taken, and that the deponent was a member of the authorized
group of military personnel or civilians.
SECTION 3. Section 51.601, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 51.601. COURT REPORTER SERVICE FUND. (a) [(c)] The
commissioners court of the county shall administer the court
reporter service fund to assist in the payment of
court-reporter-related services, that may include maintaining an
adequate number of court reporters to provide services to the
courts, obtaining court reporter transcription services,
closed-caption transcription machines, Braille transcription
services, or other transcription services, including a court
reporter's preparation of an appellate record under the Texas Rules
of Appellate Procedure and Rule 145, Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure, to comply with state or federal laws, or providing any
other service related to the functions of a court reporter.
(b) [(d)] The commissioners court shall, in administering
the court reporter service fund, assist any court in which a case is
filed that requires the payment of the court reporter service fee.
SECTION 4. Section 52.041, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 52.041. APPOINTMENT OF OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER. (a)
Each judge of a court of record shall appoint an official court
reporter. An official court reporter is a sworn officer of the
court and holds office at the pleasure of the court.
(b) The judges of two or more courts of record that are not
located in the same judicial district on agreement may jointly
appoint an official court reporter to serve the courts.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, two or more judges of
courts of record may appoint a certified shorthand reporter to
serve each court as an official court reporter of the court. A
certified shorthand reporter appointed under this subsection may
serve as an official court reporter for more than one county and be
an employee of more than one county.
(d) An official court reporter may remotely serve any court
to which the official court reporter is appointed.
SECTION 5. Section 52.042, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) A deputy court reporter may remotely serve any court to
which the official court reporter is appointed.
SECTION 6. Sections 52.047(c), (e), and (g), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) On payment of the fee or as provided by the [Rule
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.
(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 the [Rule 40(a)(3) or 53(j),] Texas Rules of
Appellate Procedure, the court reporter may not charge any
additional fees under Subsection (d).
(g) Notwithstanding the [Rule 53(j),] Texas Rules of
Appellate Procedure, an official court reporter who is required to
prepare a transcript in a criminal case 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. To the extent that this subsection conflicts with
the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, this 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 subsection.
SECTION 7. Section 52.054, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A county responsible for payment of the salary of an
official court reporter jointly appointed in accordance with
Section 52.041(b) to serve courts of record in two or more counties
that are not in the same judicial district shall pay a portion of
the reporter's salary in an amount equal to the proportion that
county's population bears to the combined population of all the
counties responsible for payment of the salary.
SECTION 8. Section 52.055(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The expenses reimbursed under this section are subject
to annual limitations based on the size of the judicial district.
Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), a court reporter may not
receive more than the maximum reimbursement amount set for the
reporter's judicial district in any one year. The maximum
reimbursement amount is as follows:
(1) if the judicial district contains two counties,
the maximum reimbursement amount is $400 or a greater amount set by
the commissioners court of the county for which the expenses were
incurred;
(2) if the judicial district contains three counties,
the maximum reimbursement amount is $800 or a greater amount set by
the commissioners court of the county for which the expenses were
incurred;
(3) if the judicial district contains four counties,
the maximum reimbursement amount is $1,400 or a greater amount set
by the commissioners court of the county for which the expenses were
incurred; and
(4) if the judicial district contains five or more
counties, the maximum reimbursement amount is $2,000 or a greater
amount set by the commissioners court of the county for which the
expenses were incurred.
SECTION 9. Section 52.056(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) An official or deputy court reporter of a judicial
district who is required to leave the county of the reporter's [his]
residence to report proceedings as a substitute for the official
court reporter of another county is entitled to reimbursement for
actual and necessary travel expenses and a per diem allowance of $30
or the amount provided by the travel per diem policy of the county
for which the expenses were incurred, whichever is greater, for
each day or part of a day spent outside the reporter's [his] county
of residence in the performance of duties as a substitute. These
fees are in addition to the visiting reporter's regular salary.
SECTION 10. Section 52.058(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Travel expenses reimbursed under this section may not
exceed the mileage reimbursement rate established by the county [25
cents per mile] for the use of private conveyances, traveling the
shortest practical route.
SECTION 11. Sections 57.001(1) and (9), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(1) "Certified court interpreter" means an individual
who is a qualified interpreter as defined in Article 38.31, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or Section 21.003, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, or is qualified in accordance with the communication access
realtime translation services eligibility requirements established
by the Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services of the Health and
Human Services Commission, [certified under Subchapter B by the
Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services] to interpret
court proceedings for a hearing-impaired individual.
(9) "Certified CART provider" means an individual who
holds a certification to provide communication access realtime
translation services at an advanced or master level, including:
(A) a level I through level V certificate of
competency issued by the Texas Court Reporters Association;
(B) a certified realtime reporter, certified
realtime captioner, or other equivalent certified CART provider
certificate of competency issued by the National Court Reporters
Association; or
(C) a certificate of competency issued by another
certification association selected by the department.
SECTION 12. Section 154.101(f), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(f) Except as provided by Section 154.112 and by Section
20.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, all depositions conducted
in this state must be reported [recorded] by a certified shorthand
reporter.
SECTION 13. Sections 154.105(b), (c), and (d), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A certified shorthand reporter may administer oaths to
witnesses[:
[(1) anywhere in this state;
[(2) in a jurisdiction outside this state if:
[(A) the reporter is at the same location as the
witness; and
[(B) the witness is or may be a witness in a case
filed in this state; and
[(3) at any location authorized in a reciprocity
agreement between this state and another jurisdiction under Section
152.202(b).
[(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a shorthand reporter
may administer an oath as provided under this subsection to a person
who is or may be a witness in a case filed in this state] without
being at the same location as the witness[:
[(1) if the reporter is physically located in this
state at the time the oath is administered; or
[(2) as authorized in a reciprocity agreement between
this state and another jurisdiction under Section 152.202(b) if:
[(A) the witness is at a location in the other
jurisdiction; and
[(B) the reporter is at a location in the same
jurisdiction as the witness].
(c) [(d)] The identity of a witness who is not in the
physical presence of a certified shorthand reporter may be proven
by:
(1) a statement under oath on the record by a party to
the case stating that the party has actual knowledge of the
witness's identity;
(2) a statement on the record by an attorney for a
party to the case, or an attorney for the witness, verifying the
witness's identity;
(3) a statement on the record by a notary who is in the
presence of the witness verifying the witness's identity; or
(4) the witness's presentation for inspection by the
court reporter of an official document issued by this state,
another state, a federal agency, or another jurisdiction that
verifies the witness's identity.
SECTION 14. The heading to Section 154.112, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 154.112. EMPLOYMENT OF NONCERTIFIED PERSON FOR
SHORTHAND REPORTING; CIVIL PENALTY.
SECTION 15. Section 154.112, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (d), (e), (f), (g),
and (h) to read as follows:
(b) A person who is not certified as a court reporter may
engage in shorthand reporting to report an oral deposition only if:
(1) the uncertified person delivers an affidavit to
the parties or to their counsel before [present at] the deposition
begins stating that a certified shorthand reporter is not
available; or
(2) the parties or their counsel stipulate on the
record at the beginning of the deposition that a certified
shorthand reporter is not available.
(d) The person shall file the affidavit described by
Subsection (b)(1) with the court as part of the certification
required by Rule 203.2, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(e) In addition to any other remedy authorized by law, the
commission may:
(1) collect a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed
$1,000 from a person who fails to comply with Subsection (b)(1) or
(d); and
(2) seek injunctive relief for a second or subsequent
violation of Subsection (b)(1) or (d) to prohibit the person from
engaging in shorthand reporting unless the person is certified as a
court reporter under this chapter.
(f) The commission shall collect a civil penalty assessed
under Subsection (e)(1) following the same procedures the
commission uses in taking disciplinary action against a certified
court reporter for violating the laws and rules applicable to the
reporter.
(g) The attorney general, a county or district attorney
whose jurisdiction includes the location at which a deposition is
taken, or legal counsel the commission designates may represent the
commission for purposes of collecting the civil penalty or
obtaining the injunctive relief.
(h) In an action authorized by this section, the commission
may obtain reasonable attorney's fees, expenses, and costs incurred
in obtaining the civil penalty or injunctive relief.
SECTION 16. Section 154.105(e), Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 17. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Supreme Court shall revise the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure as the court determines necessary to conform to the
changes in law made by this Act to Section 154.112, Government Code.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.