Officials said Victoria County could lose about $14,000 in annual revenue and incur costs to maintain and provide security for the legal documents.
The opposition comes from the county because Tyler Technologies, a publicly traded vendor developing the database, would be allowed to sell copies of legal documents and charge attorneys and the general public a fee to access re:SearchTX.
The database initiative is being developed by the Texas Office of Court Administration at the behest of the Texas Supreme Court, said Victoria County Clerk Heidi Easley.
In a memo to commissioners, Easley wrote: "Re:SearchTX will shift revenue to the vendor, but the clerks will still be responsible for the maintenance and security of the files with less revenue to support the services."
Easley said she and District Clerk Cathy Stuart supported the county and District Clerks Association of Texas' opposition to Re:SearchTX.
"Tyler Technologies does not comment on matters of public policy," said company spokesman Tony Katsulos.
In other business, Victoria County commissioners approved a new contract to accommodate and treat Refugio County's juvenile offenders.
The Victoria County Juvenile Justice Center will charge Refugio County $110 a day for each juvenile it detains. The center will charge $115 a day to treat each juvenile it treats at a moderate level of care and $162.30 a day for each juvenile it treats at a specialized level of care. The juvenile detention center will charge Refugio County $200 a day for each pregnant juvenile offender it detains.
©2016 Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
