| 1 | 1 | | By: Ellis S.B. No. 984 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Perry) |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the meeting of a governmental body held by |
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| 8 | 8 | | videoconference call. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subsections (c), (e), (f), and (h), Section |
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| 11 | 11 | | 551.127, Government Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (c) A meeting of a state governmental body or a governmental |
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| 13 | 13 | | body that extends into three or more counties may be held by |
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| 14 | 14 | | videoconference call only if the member [a majority of the quorum] |
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| 15 | 15 | | of the governmental body presiding over the meeting is physically |
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| 16 | 16 | | present at one location of the meeting that is open to the public |
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| 17 | 17 | | during the open portions of the meeting. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (e) The notice of a meeting to be held by videoconference |
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| 19 | 19 | | call must specify as a location of the meeting the location where a |
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| 20 | 20 | | quorum of the governmental body will be physically present and |
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| 21 | 21 | | specify the intent to have a quorum present at that location, except |
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| 22 | 22 | | that the notice of a meeting to be held by videoconference call |
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| 23 | 23 | | under Subsection (c) must specify as a location of the meeting the |
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| 24 | 24 | | [each] location where the member [a majority of the quorum] of the |
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| 25 | 25 | | governmental body presiding over the meeting will be physically |
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| 26 | 26 | | present and specify the intent to have the member [a majority of the |
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| 27 | 27 | | quorum] of the governmental body presiding over the meeting present |
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| 28 | 28 | | at that location. The location where the member of the governmental |
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| 29 | 29 | | body presiding over the meeting is physically present [In addition, |
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| 30 | 30 | | the notice of the meeting must specify as a location of the meeting |
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| 31 | 31 | | each other location where a member of the governmental body who will |
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| 32 | 32 | | participate in the meeting will be physically present during the |
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| 33 | 33 | | meeting. Each of the locations] shall be open to the public during |
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| 34 | 34 | | the open portions of the meeting. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (f) Each portion of a meeting held by videoconference call |
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| 36 | 36 | | that is required to be open to the public shall be visible and |
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| 37 | 37 | | audible to the public at the [each] location specified under |
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| 38 | 38 | | Subsection (e). If a problem occurs that causes a meeting to no |
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| 39 | 39 | | longer be visible and audible to the public at that location, the |
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| 40 | 40 | | meeting must be recessed until the problem is resolved. If the |
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| 41 | 41 | | problem is not resolved in six hours or less, the meeting must be |
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| 42 | 42 | | adjourned. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (h) The [Each] location specified under Subsection (e), and |
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| 44 | 44 | | each remote location from which a member of the governmental body |
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| 45 | 45 | | participates, shall have two-way communication with each other |
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| 46 | 46 | | location during the entire meeting. The face of each [Each] |
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| 47 | 47 | | participant in the videoconference call, while that participant is |
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| 48 | 48 | | speaking, shall be clearly visible, and the voice audible, to each |
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| 49 | 49 | | other participant and, during the open portion of the meeting, to |
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| 50 | 50 | | the members of the public in attendance at a location of the |
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| 51 | 51 | | meeting. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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