WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS TO OPPOSE E-FILING MANDATE

  

The Washington County Commissioners are expected to take a stand against a controversial e-filing mandate passed down by the Texas Supreme Court during their meeting on Tuesday.

Washington County Judge John Brieden says the Texas Office of Court Administration’s implementation of the re:SearchTx e-file system is a clear case of another unfunded mandate from the state. Furthermore, Brieden says the state is assuming the county’s duties with no legislative action or statute authorizing it.

Texas counties were originally told the sole purpose for the e-filing transition was to ease the burden for attorneys, who would no longer have to visit clerk’s offices to file case-related documents. When the implementation began, clerks, attorneys, and judges were assured that documents would only be on the state server for 30 days.

However, in June 2016, the Court of Criminal Appeals chose to expand the scope of the e-filing initiative by mandating e-filing in criminal matters. It was then announced that the portal would act as a repository for all the criminal file information, which would be available to the public in 2017 for a subscription charge.

Brieden says certain additional information could be added to cases later on and not put into the repository. He says members of the public could potentially find things that are later stricken off the record or sealed. Brieden says this is a big concern, since the Texas Constitution dictates that the county clerk is charged with maintaining these records and is ultimately responsible for them. Brieden also says the subscription fee will take money that once helped fund the clerk’s office and “sweep it” to the state.

In other business the commissioners will consider granting the authorization to pay all bills necessary to close the 2016 fiscal year; receive a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting; and hear monthly reports from county entities.