Art. 21.011.  FILING OF CHARGING INSTRUMENT OR RELATED DOCUMENT IN ELECTRONIC FORM.  (a)  An indictment, information, complaint, or other charging instrument or a related document in a criminal case may be filed in electronic form with a judge or clerk of the court authorized to receive the document.
(b)  A judge or clerk of the court is authorized to receive for filing purposes an information, indictment, complaint, or other charging instrument or a related document in electronic form in accordance with Subchapter I, Chapter 51, Government Code, if:
(1)  the document complies with the requirements that would apply if the document were filed in hard-copy form;
(2)  the clerk of the court has the means to electronically store the document for the statutory period of record retention;
(3)  the judge or clerk of the court is able to reproduce the document in hard-copy form on demand; and
(4)  the clerk of the court is able to display or otherwise make the document available in electronic form to the public at no charge.
(c)  The person filing the document and the person receiving the document must complete the electronic filing as provided by Section 51.804, Government Code.
(d)  Notwithstanding Section 51.806, Government Code, an indictment, information, complaint, or other charging instrument or a related document transmitted in electronic form is exempt from a requirement under this code that the pleading be endorsed by a natural person.  The requirement of an oath under this code is satisfied if:
(1)  all or part of the document was sworn to; and
(2)  the electronic form states which parts of the document were sworn to and the name of the officer administering the oath.
(e)  An electronically filed document described by this section may be amended or modified in compliance with Chapter 28 or other applicable law.  The amended or modified document must reflect that the original document has been superseded.
(f)  This section does not affect the application of Section 51.318, Government Code, Section 118.052(3), Local Government Code, or any other law permitting the collection of fees for the provision of services related to court documents.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 312 (S.B. 611), Sec. 3, eff. June 17, 2005.