Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB669 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Wentworth S.B. No. 669
2	2	(Menendez)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to requests to inspect or be provided with copies of
8	8	information under the public information law.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subdivision (2), Section 552.003, Government
11	11	Code, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	(2) "Manipulation" means the process of modifying,
13	13	reordering, or decoding of information with human intervention.
14	14	The term includes a search of one or more e-mail or text message
15	15	accounts and the retrieval and transfer of e-mails or text messages
16	16	that are responsive to a request for public information into a paper
17	17	or other format that can be provided to or inspected by the
18	18	requestor.
19	19	SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 552.221, Government
20	20	Code, is amended to read as follows:
21	21	(b) An officer for public information complies with
22	22	Subsection (a) by:
23	23	(1) providing the public information for inspection or
24	24	duplication in the offices of the governmental body; [or]
25	25	(2) sending copies of the public information by first
26	26	class United States mail if the person requesting the information
27	27	requests that copies be provided and pays the postage and any other
28	28	applicable charges that the requestor has accrued under Subchapter
29	29	F;
30	30	(3)(A) informing the person requesting the
31	31	information, in writing, that the public information is available
32	32	on an Internet website that is:
33	33	(i) owned, controlled, or maintained by the
34	34	governmental body; and
35	35	(ii) accessible to members of the general
36	36	public;
37	37	(B) providing the person, in writing, the exact
38	38	Internet location or uniform resource locator (URL) address where
39	39	the person can access the public information; and
40	40	(C) if the person informs the governmental body
41	41	that the person does not have access to the Internet, providing the
42	42	person the choice of:
43	43	(i) access to a computer terminal at no
44	44	charge so that the person can access the public information on the
45	45	Internet website; or
46	46	(ii) a copy of the public information in
47	47	another medium that is acceptable to the requestor; or
48	48	(4)(A) posting the public information on an Internet
49	49	website that is:
50	50	(i) owned, controlled, or maintained by the
51	51	governmental body; and
52	52	(ii) accessible to members of the general
53	53	public;
54	54	(B) informing the person requesting the
55	55	information, in writing, that the public information is available
56	56	on the Internet website;
57	57	(C) providing the person, in writing, the exact
58	58	Internet location or uniform resource locator (URL) address where
59	59	the person can access the public information; and
60	60	(D) if the person informs the governmental body
61	61	that the person does not have access to the Internet, providing the
62	62	person the choice of:
63	63	(i) access to a computer terminal at no
64	64	charge so that the person can access the public information on the
65	65	Internet website; or
66	66	(ii) a copy of the public information in
67	67	another medium that is acceptable to the requestor.
68	68	SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 552.228, Government
69	69	Code, is amended to read as follows:
70	70	(a) It shall be a policy of a governmental body to provide a
71	71	suitable copy of public information within a reasonable time after
72	72	the date on which the copy is requested. This policy of a
73	73	governmental body is considered to be fulfilled if the governmental
74	74	body complies with Section 552.221(b).
75	75	SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 552.261, Government
76	76	Code, is amended to read as follows:
77	77	(a) The charge for providing a copy of public information
78	78	shall be an amount that reasonably includes all costs related to
79	79	reproducing the public information, including costs of materials,
80	80	labor, and overhead. Except as provided by Section 552.275(e), if
81	81	[If] a request is for 50 or fewer pages of paper records, the charge
82	82	for providing the copy of the public information may not include
83	83	costs of materials, labor, or overhead, but shall be limited to the
84	84	charge for each page of the paper record that is photocopied, unless
85	85	the pages to be photocopied are located in:
86	86	(1) two or more separate buildings that are not
87	87	physically connected with each other; or
88	88	(2) a remote storage facility.
89	89	SECTION 5. Section 552.263, Government Code, is amended by
90	90	adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
91	91	(e-1) If a requestor modifies the request in response to the
92	92	requirement of a deposit or bond authorized by this section, the
93	93	modified request is considered a separate request for the purposes
94	94	of this chapter and is considered received on the date the
95	95	governmental body receives the written modified request.
96	96	SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
97	97	amended by adding Section 552.276 to read as follows:
98	98	Sec. 552.276. MULTIPLE REQUESTS TO A GOVERNMENTAL BODY.
99	99	(a) Notwithstanding Sections 552.261, 552.262, 552.271, and
100	100	552.272, a governmental body may require payment of the actual
101	101	costs incurred in responding to a request for public information
102	102	if, on the date the governmental body receives the request, the
103	103	requestor has submitted to the governmental body seven or more
104	104	written requests for information during the preceding 31 calendar
105	105	days.
106	106	(b) If a governmental body requires payment of actual costs
107	107	in connection with a request for public information described by
108	108	Subsection (a), the governmental body shall provide the requestor
109	109	with a written estimate of the total cost, including materials,
110	110	personnel time, and overhead expenses, necessary to comply with the
111	111	request. The written estimate must be provided to the requestor on
112	112	or before the 10th day after the date on which the public
113	113	information was requested.
114	114	(c) If a governmental body provides a requestor with the
115	115	written statement under Subsection (b), the governmental body is
116	116	not required to produce public information for inspection or
117	117	duplication or to provide copies of public information in response
118	118	to the requestor's request unless on or before the 10th day after
119	119	the date the governmental body provided the written statement under
120	120	that subsection, the requestor submits a statement in writing to
121	121	the governmental body in which the requestor commits to pay the
122	122	actual costs incurred in complying with the requestor's request.
123	123	(d) If the requestor fails or refuses to submit the written
124	124	statement under Subsection (c), the requestor is considered to have
125	125	withdrawn the requestor's pending request for public information.
126	126	(e) An officer for public information or the officer's agent
127	127	may require a deposit or bond for payment of unpaid amounts owing to
128	128	the governmental body in relation to previous requests in which the
129	129	requestor agreed to make a payment as provided by Subsection (c)
130	130	before responding to a new request. The officer for public
131	131	information or the officer's agent may not seek payment of those
132	132	unpaid amounts through any other means.
133	133	(f) The governmental body must fully document the existence
134	134	and amount of those unpaid amounts or the amount of any anticipated
135	135	costs, as applicable, before requiring a deposit or bond under this
136	136	section. The documentation is subject to required public
137	137	disclosure under this chapter.
138	138	(g) The attorney general by rule shall define "actual costs"
139	139	for the purpose of this section.
140	140	(h) This section does not prohibit a governmental body from
141	141	providing a copy of public information without charge or at a
142	142	reduced rate under Section 552.267 or from waiving a charge for
143	143	providing a copy of public information under that section.
144	144	(i) This section does not apply if the requestor is an
145	145	individual who, for a substantial portion of the individual's
146	146	livelihood or for substantial financial gain, gathers, compiles,
147	147	prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports,
148	148	investigates, processes, or publishes news or information for and
149	149	is seeking the information for:
150	150	(1) a radio or television broadcast station that holds
151	151	a broadcast license for an assigned frequency issued by the Federal
152	152	Communications Commission;
153	153	(2) a newspaper that is qualified under Section
154	154	2051.044 to publish legal notices or is a free newspaper of general
155	155	circulation and that is published at least once a week and available
156	156	and of interest to the general public in connection with the
157	157	dissemination of news;
158	158	(3) a newspaper of general circulation that is
159	159	published on the Internet by a news medium engaged in the business
160	160	of disseminating news or information to the general public; or
161	161	(4) a magazine that is published at least once a week
162	162	or on the Internet by a news medium engaged in the business of
163	163	disseminating news or information to the general public.
164	164	(j) This section does not apply if the requestor is an
165	165	elected official of the United States, this state, or a political
166	166	subdivision of this state.
167	167	(k) This section does not apply if the requestor is a
168	168	representative of a publicly funded legal services organization
169	169	that is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(a),
170	170	Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, by being listed as an
171	171	exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of that code.
172	172	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
173	173	a request for information that is received by a governmental body or
174	174	an officer for public information on or after the effective date of
175	175	this Act. A request for information that was received before the
176	176	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
177	177	date the request was received, and the former law is continued in
178	178	effect for that purpose.
179	179	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.