| 1 | 1 | | By: White (Senate Sponsor - Nichols) H.B. No. 1500 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2011; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 9, 2011, read first time and referred to Select Committee on |
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| 4 | 4 | | Open Government; May 20, 2011, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | 5 | | vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 20, 2011, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to allowing the commissioners court of a county to |
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| 11 | 11 | | deliberate in a closed meeting regarding business and financial |
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| 12 | 12 | | issues related to a contract being negotiated. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Section 551.0725(a), Government Code, is amended |
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| 15 | 15 | | to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (a) The commissioners court of a county [with a population |
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| 17 | 17 | | of 400,000 or more] may conduct a closed meeting to deliberate |
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| 18 | 18 | | business and financial issues relating to a contract being |
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| 19 | 19 | | negotiated if, before conducting the closed meeting: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (1) the commissioners court votes unanimously that |
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| 21 | 21 | | deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on |
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| 22 | 22 | | the position of the commissioners court in negotiations with a |
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| 23 | 23 | | third person; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2) the attorney advising the commissioners court |
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| 25 | 25 | | issues a written determination that deliberation in an open meeting |
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| 26 | 26 | | would have a detrimental effect on the position of the |
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| 27 | 27 | | commissioners court in negotiations with a third person. |
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| 28 | 28 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 29 | 29 | | to a meeting held on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 30 | 30 | | meeting held before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
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| 31 | 31 | | the law in effect on the date the meeting is held, and the former law |
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| 32 | 32 | | is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 34 | 34 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 35 | 35 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 36 | 36 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 37 | 37 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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| 38 | 38 | | * * * * * |
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