Texas Government Code - GOV'T § 30.00226. Court Reporter

(a) The city shall provide a court reporter for the purpose of preserving a record in cases tried before the municipal court of record. The person selected as court reporter must meet the qualifications provided by law for official court reporters. The chief administrative officer of the city shall set the compensation of the court reporter on the recommendation of the presiding municipal judge.

(b) The court reporter may preserve the record through written notes, transcribing equipment, recording equipment, or any combination of those methods. The reporter is not required to record testimony in a case in which neither the defendant, the prosecutor, nor the judge demands it.

(c) Instead of using a court reporter to preserve a record in a case, the governing body may authorize the use of a good quality electronic recording device to report court proceedings. If the governing body authorizes an electronic recording, the court reporter is not required to be present to certify the reporter's record. The recording shall be kept for the 20-day period beginning the day after the last day of the court proceeding, trial, or denial of motion for new trial, whichever occurs last. If a case is appealed, the proceedings shall be transcribed from the recording by an official court reporter.