Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1630 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1630
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the availability of information under the public
7	7	information law.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subdivision (1), Section 552.003, Government
10	10	Code, is amended to read as follows:
11	11	(1) "Governmental body":
12	12	(A) means:
13	13	(i) a board, commission, department,
14	14	committee, institution, agency, or office that is within or is
15	15	created by the executive or legislative branch of state government
16	16	and that is directed by one or more elected or appointed members;
17	17	(ii) a county commissioners court in the
18	18	state;
19	19	(iii) a municipal governing body in the
20	20	state;
21	21	(iv) a deliberative body that has
22	22	rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
23	23	department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or
24	24	municipality;
25	25	(v) a school district board of trustees;
26	26	(vi) a county board of school trustees;
27	27	(vii) a county board of education;
28	28	(viii) the governing board of a special
29	29	district;
30	30	(ix) the governing body of a nonprofit
31	31	corporation organized under Chapter 67, Water Code, that provides a
32	32	water supply or wastewater service, or both, and is exempt from ad
33	33	valorem taxation under Section 11.30, Tax Code;
34	34	(x) a local workforce development board
35	35	created under Section 2308.253;
36	36	(xi) a nonprofit corporation that is
37	37	eligible to receive funds under the federal community services
38	38	block grant program and that is authorized by this state to serve a
39	39	geographic area of the state; and
40	40	(xii) the part, section, or portion of an
41	41	organization, corporation, commission, committee, institution, or
42	42	agency that spends or that is supported in whole or in part by
43	43	public funds; and
44	44	(B) does not include:
45	45	(i) the judiciary; or
46	46	(ii) a nonprofit corporation that is
47	47	organized for the purposes of a chamber of commerce and provides
48	48	economic development services to a governmental body.
49	49	SECTION 2. (a) Section 552.008, Government Code, is
50	50	amended by adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
51	51	(b-1) A member, committee, or agency of the legislature
52	52	required by a governmental body to sign a confidentiality agreement
53	53	under Subsection (b) may seek a decision as provided by Subsection
54	54	(b-2) about whether the information covered by the confidentiality
55	55	agreement is confidential under law. A confidentiality agreement
56	56	signed under Subsection (b) is void to the extent that the agreement
57	57	covers information that is finally determined under Subsection
58	58	(b-2) to not be confidential under law.
59	59	(b-2) The member, committee, or agency of the legislature
60	60	may seek a decision from the attorney general about the matter. The
61	61	attorney general by rule shall establish procedures and deadlines
62	62	for receiving information necessary to decide the matter and briefs
63	63	from the requestor, the governmental body, and any other interested
64	64	person. The attorney general shall promptly render a decision
65	65	requested under this subsection, determining whether the
66	66	information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
67	67	confidential under law, not later than the 45th business day after
68	68	the date the attorney general received the request for a decision
69	69	under this subsection. The attorney general shall issue a written
70	70	decision on the matter and provide a copy of the decision to the
71	71	requestor, the governmental body, and any interested person who
72	72	submitted necessary information or a brief to the attorney general
73	73	about the matter. The requestor or the governmental body may appeal
74	74	a decision of the attorney general under this subsection to a Travis
75	75	County district court. A person may appeal a decision of the
76	76	attorney general under this subsection to a Travis County district
77	77	court if the person claims a proprietary interest in the
78	78	information affected by the decision or a privacy interest in the
79	79	information that a confidentiality law or judicial decision is
80	80	designed to protect.
81	81	(b) Subsections (b-1) and (b-2), Section 552.008,
82	82	Government Code, as added by this section, take effect September 1,
83	83	2010.
84	84	SECTION 3. Section 552.105, Government Code, is amended to
85	85	read as follows:
86	86	Sec. 552.105. EXCEPTION: INFORMATION RELATED TO LOCATION
87	87	OR PRICE OF PROPERTY. (a) Information is excepted from the
88	88	requirements of Section 552.021 if it is information relating to:
89	89	(1) the location of real or personal property for a
90	90	public purpose prior to public announcement of the project; or
91	91	(2) appraisals or purchase price of real or personal
92	92	property for a public purpose prior to the formal award of contracts
93	93	for the property.
94	94	(b) Section 552.022 does not apply to information described
95	95	by Subsection (a).
96	96	SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 552.221, Government
97	97	Code, is amended to read as follows:
98	98	(b) An officer for public information complies with
99	99	Subsection (a) by:
100	100	(1) providing the public information for inspection or
101	101	duplication in the offices of the governmental body; [or]
102	102	(2) sending copies of the public information by first
103	103	class United States mail if the person requesting the information
104	104	requests that copies be provided and pays the postage and any other
105	105	applicable charges that the requestor has accrued under Subchapter
106	106	F; or
107	107	(3)(A) informing the person requesting the
108	108	information, in writing, that the public information is available
109	109	on an Internet website that is:
110	110	(i) owned, controlled, or maintained by the
111	111	governmental body; and
112	112	(ii) accessible to members of the general
113	113	public;
114	114	(B) providing the person, in writing, the exact
115	115	Internet location or uniform resource locator (URL) address where
116	116	the person can access the public information; and
117	117	(C) offering the person access to a computer
118	118	terminal at no charge so that the person can access the public
119	119	information on the Internet website.
120	120	SECTION 5. Section 552.228, Government Code, is amended by
121	121	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
122	122	(a-1) The policy of a governmental body under Subsection (a)
123	123	is considered to be fulfilled if the governmental body complies
124	124	with Section 552.221(b). If a person who is provided public
125	125	information for inspection under Section 552.221(b)(1) or access to
126	126	a computer terminal under Section 552.221(b)(3)(C) to access public
127	127	information on an Internet website subsequently requests copies of
128	128	the public information, the provisions of Subchapter F apply. This
129	129	subsection does not apply to real property record title
130	130	information, including tax parcel identification numbers.
131	131	SECTION 6. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
132	132	Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of
133	133	all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39,
134	134	Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the
135	135	vote necessary for immediate effect, then except as otherwise
136	136	provided by this Act, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
137	137	COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
138	138	Amend S.B. 1630 as follows:
139	139	On page 2, line 20, after "body", insert "in a county of more
140	140	than one million."
141	141	Gallego