Sec. 5.45. PROOF OF DOCUMENT. (a) In a suit by the state or the commission or in which either is a party, a transcript from the papers, books, records, or proceedings of the commission purporting to contain a true statement of accounts between the commission or the state and any person, or a copy of a rule, order, audit, bond, contract, or other instrument relating to a transaction between the commission and a person, when certified by the administrator or chairman of the commission to be a true copy of the original on file with the commission and authenticated under the seal of the commission, is admissible as prima facie evidence of the existence and validity of the original document and entitled to the same credibility as the original document. If a suit is brought on a bond or other written instrument, and the person alleged to have executed the instrument denies by a sworn pleading to have executed the instrument, the court shall require the production and proof of the instrument.

(b) A member of the commission or the administrator may execute a certificate under the seal of the commission setting forth the terms of an order, rule, bond, or other instrument referred to in this section. In the case of an order or rule, the certificate may state that the order or rule was adopted, promulgated, and published and filed with the commission and was in force at any date or during any period of time. In the case of a bond or other instrument, the certificate may state that it was executed and filed with the commission and was in force at any date or during any period of time. The certificate is prima facie evidence of the facts stated in it and is admissible as evidence in any action, civil or criminal, involving the facts contained in the certificate without further proof of those facts.

Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 402, ch. 194, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.