ORDER NO. 31395 DISTRICT COURT TECHNOLOGY FUND Came to be heard this the 10th day of August, 2009, with a motion made by Commissioner Letz, seconded by Commissioner Williams, the Court unanimously approved by a vote of 4-0-0 to: Approve the District Clerks' Annual Plan for the preservation and restoration of the District Court records archive as presented, and set a public hearing for September 14, 2009 at 10:10 a.m. to establish a District Court Technology Fund, setting a fee of $5.00 to be assessed on the filing of Civil actions. j~l~ 3/3 9~ COMMISSIONERS' COURT AGENDA REQUEST PLEASE FURNISH ONE ORIGINAL AND TEN (101 COPIES OF THIS REOUEST AND DOCUMENTS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE COURT MADE BY: Linda Uecker MEETING DATE: August 10, 2009 OFFICE: District Clerk TIME PREFERRED: SUBJECT: Request public hearing in compliance with SB 1685, to establish a District Court Technology Fund, set a fee not to exceed $5.00 to be assessed on the filing of Civil actions and approve the District Clerks annual Plan for the preservation and restoration of the district court records archive. EXECUTIVE SESSION REQUESTED: (PLEASE STATE REASON) NAME OF PERSON ADDRESSING THE COURT: Linda Uecker ESTIMATED LENGTH OF PRESENTATION: 15 minutes IF PERSONNEL MATTER -NAME OF EMPLOYEE: Time for submitting this request for Court to assure that the matter is posted in accordance with Title 5, Chapter 551 and 552, Government Code, is as follows: Meeting scheduled for Mondays: 5:00 PM previous Tuesday THIS REQUEST RECEIVED BY: THIS RQUEST RECEIVED ON: @ .M. All Agenda Requests will be screened by the County Judge's Office to determine if adequate information has been prepared for the Court's formal consideration and action at time of Court Meetings. Your cooperation will be appreciated and contribute towards your request being addressed at the earliest opportunity. See Agenda Request Rules Adopted by Commissioners' Court. Proposed New Fee S B 1685 For Preservation and Restoration Of Archived Records Presented By Linda Uecker, District Clerk August 5, 2009 Page Summary and Steps to implement 2 Notice of Public Hearing 3 Notice to Post 4 Archive Plan 5 Projected Revenue g S B 1685 7 Additional fee information 8 1 Background The purpose of this document is to define the restoration and preservation, digital capture, storage, retention and management of archived records within the District Clerk's office.. Many offices are moving records to a digital format and/or microfilm to relieve storage problems. In order to comply with retention and preservation statutes and State Library rules (see Bulletin B at http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/Igbullb html), the film and digital images must be maintained permanently and a plan in place to store the film and secure the future transition of digitized records to new media that allows access to these records. The State Library suggests that a department head make a plan for future retention of the court records and have the appropriate person/body sign off on a guarantee that the funding will be in place to upgrade the ability to retrieve permanent records. However, a commissioner's court is powerless to obligate a future court to any expenditure. Therefore, this dedicated fund will insure the funds are available to do the necessary preservation and conversion work to preserve and restore archived records and this new legislation was designed to target archived records. Purpose S.B. 1685 creates a dedicated district court records technology fund and authorizes district clerks to collect an additional fee not to exceed $5 per filing. The bill provides that these funds be used only for the preservation and restoration of the district court records archive. The bill authorizes the district courts to effectively preserve and efficiently retrieve the large amount of legal documents that are required to be preserved. This bill authorizes the commissioner's court to adopt a records archive fee for deposit in the District Court Records Technology Fund as part of the county's annual budget. If the provisions of SB 1865 are implemented, the county will experience a revenue gain. This additional revenue will be dedicated to helping district clerk's focus on preserving older records. The effective date of this Act is June 19, 2009 and expires upon completion of the projects necessary to preserve and digitize the district court records Steps to Implement Prepare Archive Plan Public Hearing Commissioner's Court Approval Post Notice of Fee in a conspicuous place as follows: 2 NOTICE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF KERB COUNTY, TEXAS Notice is hereby given that a SPECIAL meeting of the Kerr County Commissioner's Court will be held on the day of August, 2009, at A. M. in the Commissioners Courtroom, first floor, Kerr County Courthouse, 700 Main St., Kerrville, Texas at which time the following subjects will be discussed. 1. PUBLIC HEARING - re: SB1685, District Clerk Technology Fund 2. Adjourned Dated this the 27th day August, 2009 County Judge, Kerr County Pat Tinley ATTEST: District Clerk, Kerr County Linda Uecker 3 NOTICE OF ADDITIONAL FEE THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF KERR COUNTY PURSUANT TO SB1685 AND GOVERNMENT CODE, Section 51.305 HAS DETERMINED THAT A RECORDS ARCHIVE FEE OF $_5.00 . IS NEEDED TO PRESERVE AND RESTORE DISTRICT COURT RECORDS EFFECTIVE DATE 2009 LINDA UECKER, DISTRICT CLERK, KERR CO. 4 ARCHIVE PLAN Introduction Currently, this office has records dating back to the mid 1800s. We are transferring records that were initially only on microfilm to digital format for faster and easier retrieval. The Odyssey system installed in 2006, has a better imaging system which allows us to create digital images. The ultimate goal is for the judiciary to use computers in the courtroom in order to move to a paperless system. Designation of Court Documents subject to the plan: All civil and criminal case files, pending and final or closed. The Process To accomplish our goals, we have purchased and installed a software system by CASO which is also supported by them. Active case documents are scanned into Odyssey Case Management System for Record Storage and retrieval convenience. After the case is final, All cases records are prepared and picked up by CASO for digitizing and the creation of microfilm. The Microfilm is archived and stored by CASO in the proper facility in San Antonio. The microfilm is not used for search purposes. Digital images are also stored on an easy searchable CASO program available to anyone and may be photo copied for a fee. Original documents are returned to this office for storage for a short time and eventually destroyed. The exception per State Library and Archive Rules are criminal judgments or docket sheets upon which defendant's finger prints have been placed. They remain as a permanent paper document. This is a continuing process as new cases are filed daily. The goal The goal is to reproduce and archive all documents, regardless of type, as efficiently as possible. The District Clerk's office is also in the process of the restoration of very old hand-written records, suspending their deterioration, improving public access. To complete our efforts toward electronic storage of all case files, we envision maintaining closed cases on our shelves for a short period of time and using computers to access all records with a view to the future of using the computers entirely for court activity. With less cost to the County, we may continue this ongoing process by using the archive fee to cover the cost of scanning paper source documents. In addition to preserving the documents, the images will be added to our existing imaging system and improve customer service. Additionally, significant space savings will be realized once paper documents are destroyed. Because all closed cases have been scanned and preserved, the approximate annual cost of continuing this ongoing project is $40,000. Additional funds are available in other county records preservation funds which are being increased monthly from fees collected by all fee officers on court cases. Expenditures, including but not limited to: Computer hardware, including any and all peripherals necessary, Computer software, Service Provider and other outsourcing services. Relevant staff salary Data storage supplies Travel expenses to and from a service provider to deliver and pickup case documents, if necessary. Projected Annual Revenue (SB1685) Document T e Documents Sub'ect to Fee Revenue at $5.00 Revenue at $4.00 Revenue at $3.00 Revenue at $2.00 Filing new suit, including appeal from lower court 1200 $ 6,000 $4,800 $ 3,600 $ 2,400 Filing cross-action, counterclaim, - intervention, contempt 500 $ 2,500 $ 2,000 $ 1,500 $ 1,000 action, motion for new trial, 3`d art etition Total 1600 $ 8,500 $ 6,800 $ 5,100 $ 3,400 6 SB 1685 Enrolled version -Bill Text S.B. No. 1685 AN ACT relating to the creation of a district court records technology fund. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 51, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 51.305 to read as follows: Sec. 51.305. DISTRICT COURT RECORDS TECHNOLOGY FUND (a) In this section (1) "Court document" means anv instrument document paper or other record that the district clerk is authorized to accept for filing or maintenance I2) "Deterioration" means anv naturally occurring process or a natural disaster that results in the destruction or partial destruction of a court document (3) "Preservation" means anv process that (A) suspends or reduces the deterioration of a court document or (B) provides public access to a court document in a manner that reduces the risk of deterioration. (4) "Restoration" means any process that permits the visual enhancement of a court document including making the document more legible (b) The commissioners court of a county may adopt a district court records archive fee of not more than $5 for the filing of a suit including an appeal from an inferior court or a cross action counterclaim intervention contempt action. motion for new trial or third-party petition in a district court in the county as part of the county's annual budget. The fee must be set and itemized in the county's budget as part of the budget preparation process and must be approved m a public meeting The fee is for preservation and restoration services performed in connection with maintaining a district court records archive Lc) The county treasurer or the official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the count' treasurer, in a county that adopts a fee under Subsection (b) shall establish a district court records technoloa fund in the general fund of the county for deposit of fees paid under Section 51 317(f) (d) Subject to Subsection (f) money generated from the fee imposed under this section may be expended only for the preservation and restoration of the district court records archive (e) The district clerk shall designate the court documents that are part of the records archive for purposes of this section. The designation of court documents by the district clerk under this subsection is subject to approval by the commissioners court in a public meeting Lf) The district clerk in a county that adopts a fee under this section shall prepare an annual written plan for the preservation and restoration of the district court records archive The plan may include a proposal for entering into a contract with another person for preservation and restoration services The commissioners court shall publish notice of a public hearing on the plan in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not later than the 15th day -before the date of the hearing. After the public hearing the plan shall be considered for approval by the commissioners court. Monev m the distnct court records technology fund may be expended only as provided by the plan. All expenditures from the records technology fund must comply with Subchapter C Chapter 262 Local Government Code. (g) If a county imposes a fee under this section a notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the district clerk's office.- The notice must state the amount of the fee in the following form "THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF (Insert name of county) COUNTY HAS DETERMINED THAT A RECORDS ARCHIVE FEE OF $ (Insert amount adopted by commissioners court) IS NEEDED TO PRESERVE AND RESTORE DISTRICT COURT RECORDS." (h) Monev remaining from the collection of fees imposed under this section after completion of a district court records archive preservation and restoration project may be expended for records management and preservation purposes m the manner provided by Section 51 317(d) The commissioners court of a county may not impose a fee under this section after the district court records archive preservation and restoration project is complete. SECTION 2. Section 51.317, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-2) and (f) to read as follows: (b) The fees are: (1) except as provided by Subsection (b-1 ), for filing a suit, including an appeal from an inferior courts $50~ (2) for filing across-action, counterclaim, intervention, contempt action, motion for new trial, or third-party petitions $15i 7 (3) for issuing a citation or other writ or process not otherwise provided for, including one copy, when requested at the time a suit or action is filedl $8i (4) for records management and preservation $10; and (5) in addition to the other fees imposed under this section, for filinq a suit, including an appeal from an inferior court, or across-action. counterclaim, intervention, contempt action motion for new trial or third- party petition. the amount adopted by the county commissioners court, not to exceed $5 for court records archiving. (b-2) The fee imposed under Subsection (b)(5) does not apply to a filinq by a state agenc rL. (fl The district clerk, after collecting a fee under Subsection (~(5) shall pay the fee to the county treasurer or to an official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the county treasurer for deposit to the district court records technology fund established under Section 51.305. SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 101, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 101.06116 to read as follows: Sec. 101.06116. ADDITIONAL DISTRICT COURT FEES: GOVERNMENT CODE. The clerk of a district court shall collect a district court records archive fee of not more than $5 under Section 51.317(b)(5) if adopted by the county commissioners court. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. ff this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009** **Passed each house by more than atwo-thirds majority and signed by the governor June 19, 2009 (effective date). Additional New Fee Information: not relevant to this plan HB3637 (effective 1-1-2010) requires a $4 fee to be assessed on criminal conviction and creates another new fund: "County- & District Court Technology Fund" Projected District Court revenue: $2000. And also assesses an additional fee not to exceed $10 in each civil case to be deposited into a "Court Records preservation fund". Projected District Court Revenue = $12,000. Existing related fees: Records preservation Fee of $10.00 assessed on all civil cases except "Fraudulent Filing" cases. $5 goes to the Clerks RPF and $5 to County RPF. Records preservation Fee of $25.00 assessed convicted of an offense in county court at law or district court. $22.50 applied to the county RPF and $2.50 to Clerks RPF. Related funds: County Records Preservation Fund, GC 51.317(b) & (c) &CCP 102.005(f), 28-635-411 County Clerk Records Preservation Fund LGC 118.011(b)(2) 41-635-411 District Clerk Records Pres. Fund GC 51.317 &CCP 102.005 33-635-411 Co & Dist Clerk Technology Fund, HB3637, CCP 102.0169 _-635-411 Court Records Preservation Fund, HB3637 GC 51.708 _-635-411 District Clerk Technology Funds, SB1685 GC 51.305 _-635-411 8 NOTICE REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF KERB COUNTY, TEXAS .......................................................................... Notice is hereby given that a REGULAR meeting of the Kerr County Commissioner's Court will be held on the 14th day of September, 2009, at 10:10 o'clock A.M. in the Commissioners Courtroom, first floor, Kerr County Courthouse, 700 Main St., Kerrville, Texas at which time the following subjects will be discussed. PUBLIC HEARING - re: SB1685, District Clerk Technology Fund Dated this the 10th day August, 2009 r County Judge, Kerr County Pa in ey ATTEST: District Clerk, Kerr County Li da Uecker 3