Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB685 by Clardy (Relating to immunity from liability of a court clerk and county for the disclosure or release of certain court documents and information contained in the court documents.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Government Code by removing a court clerk from any responsibility for the management or removal of documents from a state court database and waiving the liability of the clerk if a document is released if the clerk acted in good faith; waiving the liability of the court clerk, the county, and the county commissioner for the release or disclosure of certain confidential documents accessed by a third party from a state court document database; and waiving the liability of the court clerk from the release of a sealed or confidential document unless the clerk acted intentionally or with malice. Based on the analysis of the Office of Court Administration, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council