| |
| |
| |
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the provision of certain self-help resources by state |
|
|
and county courts, including through the Internet website of a |
|
|
state court and in the office of the court clerk. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 51, Government Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 51.808 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 51.808. NOTICE OF SELF-HELP RESOURCES. (a) The clerk |
|
|
of each court in this state shall: |
|
|
(1) post on the court's Internet website, if any, a |
|
|
link to: |
|
|
(A) the self-help resources Internet website |
|
|
designated by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas |
|
|
Judicial System, in consultation with the Texas Access to Justice |
|
|
Commission, that includes information on: |
|
|
(i) lawyer referral services certified |
|
|
under Chapter 952, Occupations Code; |
|
|
(ii) the name, location, and any Internet |
|
|
website of any local legal aid office; and |
|
|
(iii) any court-affiliated self-help |
|
|
center serving the county in which the court is located; and |
|
|
(B) the State Law Library's Internet website; and |
|
|
(2) conspicuously display in the clerk's office in a |
|
|
location frequently accessed by the public a sign with the |
|
|
information described in Subdivision (1). |
|
|
(b) The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial |
|
|
System shall prescribe the format for the information required |
|
|
under Subsection (a). |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 323.021, Local Government Code, is |
|
|
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
(a) The commissioners court of a county by order may |
|
|
establish and maintain a county law library at the county seat or |
|
|
another location determined by the commissioners court. |
|
|
(c) The commissioners court of a county may establish, |
|
|
maintain, and operate in cooperation with other counties a joint |
|
|
free county law library for the benefit of the cooperating counties |
|
|
in the same manner that a joint county library may be established |
|
|
and operated under Section 323.010. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 323.023(b), Local Government Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The clerks of the respective courts shall collect the |
|
|
costs and pay them to the county treasurer, or to any other official |
|
|
who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the county |
|
|
treasurer, for deposit in a fund to be known as the county law |
|
|
library fund. The fund may be used only for: |
|
|
(1) establishing the law library after the entry of |
|
|
the order creating it; |
|
|
(2) purchasing or leasing library materials, |
|
|
maintaining the library, or acquiring furniture, shelving, or |
|
|
equipment for the library; [or] |
|
|
(3) purchasing or leasing library materials or |
|
|
acquiring library equipment, including computers, software, and |
|
|
subscriptions to obtain access to electronic research networks for |
|
|
use by judges in the county; or |
|
|
(4) establishing and maintaining a self-help center to |
|
|
provide resources to county residents representing themselves in |
|
|
legal matters. |
|
|
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
|
|
of this Act, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas |
|
|
Judicial System shall prescribe the format of the information |
|
|
required under Section 51.808, Government Code, as added by this |
|
|
Act. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
______________________________ |
______________________________ |
| |
President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1911 passed the Senate on |
|
|
April 26, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that |
|
|
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 26, 2017, by the |
|
|
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Secretary of the Senate |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1911 passed the House, with |
|
|
amendment, on May 23, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 145, |
|
|
Nays 0, two present not voting. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Approved: |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Governor |