Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Official court
reporter. Consistent with its court reporting services agreement, the
commission will provide a certified court reporter to make a verbatim record
and transcript of any commission meeting, hearing, or other proceeding upon the
timely request of any person. The court reporter provided by the commission
shall be the official reporter for commission proceedings. If the commission
does not provide a court reporter a party may, at its own expense, furnish a
certified court reporter whom the commission may designate as the official
reporter for the proceeding.
(b)
Requests for court reporter services.
(1) A
request for a verbatim record or transcript of a proceeding may be submitted at
any time, but shall be submitted in writing to the chief clerk or the judge and
shall specify: the name, mailing address, and daytime telephone number of the
requester; the name and date of the commission proceeding; and a statement of
whether a transcript is requested. A request for a transcript of a proceeding
already reported may be made directly to the court reporter.
(2) A person requesting a verbatim record
without a transcript of a proceeding shall pay the applicable reporting fees in
the commission's court reporting services agreement.
(3) A person requesting a transcript of a
proceeding shall pay for at least an original and two copies of the transcript
in addition to any applicable reporting fees in accordance with the
commission's court reporting services agreement. The court reporter shall
provide the commission the original and one copy of the transcript free of
charge.
(4) Upon his or her own
motion, the judge may request a verbatim record and an original and two copies
of a transcript of a proceeding.
(5) The judge may require the applicant to
pay for the transcript in advance subject to reimbursement from other parties
upon assessment of costs.
(c) Cancellation of court reporter services.
A person who causes the judge or commission to cancel a hearing or meeting for
which a verbatim record or transcript has been requested is responsible for
paying the court reporter, upon demand, the full daily reporting fee in the
commission's court reporting services agreement unless the cancellation occurs
more than 24 hours before the scheduled beginning of the hearing or
meeting.
(d) Assessment of
reporting and transcription costs.
(1) Upon
the timely filed motion of a party or upon its own motion, the commission may
assess reporting and transcription costs to one or more of the parties
participating in the proceeding. The commission shall consider the following
factors in assessing reporting and transcription costs:
(A) the party who requested the
transcript;
(B) the financial
ability of the party to pay the costs;
(C) the extent to which the party
participated in the hearing;
(D)
the relative benefits to the various parties of having a transcript;
(E) the budgetary constraints of a state or
federal administrative agency participating in the proceeding;
(F) in rate proceedings, the extent to which
the expense of the rate proceeding is included in the utility's allowable
expenses; and
(G) any other factor
which is relevant to a just and reasonable assessment of costs.
(2) The commission will not assess
reporting or transcription costs to statutory parties who are precluded by law
from appealing any ruling, decision, or other act of the commission.
(3) In any proceeding where the assessment of
reporting or transcription costs is an issue, the judge shall provide the
parties an opportunity to present evidence and argument on the issue. A judge
shall include in the proposal for decision a recommendation for the assessment
of costs.
(4) The parties may agree
upon the division or assessment of reporting and transcription costs. The terms
of such an agreement shall be made part of the record of the
proceeding.
(e) Payment
of reporting or transcription assessment.
(1)
Each party assessed a reporting or transcription cost in a commission
proceeding shall pay the assessment in full within ten days after the
commission's order is final, as provided by the APA. The assessment shall be
paid by check payable to the order of the court reporter firm that reports or
transcribes the proceeding, or as otherwise ordered by the commission. Payment
shall be remitted to the chief clerk of the commission or as otherwise ordered
by the commission.
(2) If a party
fails to pay the assessment under subsection (a) of this section, the
commission may forward the matter to the attorney general of Texas for
prosecution and collection.
(3)
Upon a party's filing a sworn motion showing good cause for failure to pay its
assessment under subsection (a) of this section, accompanied by tender of
payment of the party's assessment in full, the commission may grant an
exception to the time within which payment must have been made under subsection
(a) of this section, accept the payment, and otherwise enforce its
assessment.
(f) Sale of
transcript copies. The court reporter may sell copies of a transcript of a
commission proceeding in accordance with the commission's court reporting
services agreement, but the commission shall not be precluded from complying
with the Public Information Act.
