Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB283 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1		-	By: Fallon, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) H.B. No. 283
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 14, 2015;
3		-	May 15, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Business
4		-	and Commerce; May 22, 2015, reported favorably by the following
5		-	vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 22, 2015, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 283
7	2
8	3
9		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	4		AN ACT
11	5		relating to the requirement that certain governmental bodies make
12	6		audio and video recordings of open meetings available on the
13	7		Internet.
14	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	9		SECTION 1. Section 551.128, Government Code, is amended by
16	10		amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (b-1),
17	11		(b-2), (b-3), (b-4), (b-5), and (b-6) to read as follows:
18	12		(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1) and subject
19	13		[Subject] to the requirements of this section, a governmental body
20	14		may broadcast an open meeting over the Internet.
21	15		(b-1) A transit authority or department subject to Chapter
22	16		451, 452, 453, or 460, Transportation Code, an elected school
23	17		district board of trustees for a school district that has a student
24	18		enrollment of 10,000 or more, an elected governing body of a
25	19		home-rule municipality that has a population of 50,000 or more, or a
26	20		county commissioners court for a county that has a population of
27	21		125,000 or more shall:
28	22		(1) make a video and audio recording of reasonable
29	23		quality of each regularly scheduled open meeting that is not a work
30	24		session or a special called meeting; and
31	25		(2) make available an archived copy of the video and
32	26		audio recording of each meeting described by Subdivision (1) on the
33	27		Internet.
34	28		(b-2) A governmental body described by Subsection (b-1) may
35	29		make available the archived recording of a meeting required by
36	30		Subsection (b-1) on an existing Internet site, including a publicly
37	31		accessible video-sharing or social networking site. The
38	32		governmental body is not required to establish a separate Internet
39	33		site and provide access to archived recordings of meetings from
40	34		that site.
41	35		(b-3) A governmental body described by Subsection (b-1)
42	36		that maintains an Internet site shall make available on that site,
43	37		in a conspicuous manner:
44	38		(1) the archived recording of each meeting to which
45	39		Subsection (b-1) applies; or
46	40		(2) an accessible link to the archived recording of
47	41		each such meeting.
48	42		(b-4) A governmental body described by Subsection (b-1)
49	43		shall:
50	44		(1) make the archived recording of each meeting to
51	45		which Subsection (b-1) applies available on the Internet not later
52	46		than seven days after the date the recording was made; and
53	47		(2) maintain the archived recording on the Internet
54	48		for not less than two years after the date the recording was first
55	49		made available.
56	50		(b-5) A governmental body described by Subsection (b-1) is
57	51		exempt from the requirements of Subsections (b-2) and (b-4) if the
58	52		governmental body's failure to make the required recording of a
59	53		meeting available is the result of a catastrophe, as defined by
60	54		Section 551.0411, or a technical breakdown. Following a catastrophe
61	55		or breakdown, a governmental body must make all reasonable efforts
62	56		to make the required recording available in a timely manner.
63	57		(b-6) A governmental body described by Subsection (b-1) may
64	58		broadcast a regularly scheduled open meeting of the body on
65	59		television.
66	60		(c) Except as provided by Subsection (b-2), a [A]
67	61		governmental body that broadcasts a meeting over the Internet shall
68	62		establish an Internet site and provide access to the broadcast from
69	63		that site. The governmental body shall provide on the Internet site
70	64		the same notice of the meeting that the governmental body is
71	65		required to post under Subchapter C. The notice on the Internet must
72	66		be posted within the time required for posting notice under
73	67		Subchapter C.
74	68		SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
75	69		an open meeting held on or after the effective date of this Act. An
76	70		open meeting held before the effective date of this Act is governed
77	71		by the law in effect on the date of the open meeting, and the former
78	72		law is continued in effect for that purpose.
79	73		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016.
80		-	* * * * *
	74	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	75	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	76	+	I certify that H.B. No. 283 was passed by the House on May 13,
	77	+	2015, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 4, 1 present, not
	78	+	voting.
	79	+	______________________________
	80	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	81	+	I certify that H.B. No. 283 was passed by the Senate on May
	82	+	25, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2.
	83	+	______________________________
	84	+	Secretary of the Senate
	85	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	86	+	Date
	87	+	_____________________
	88	+	Governor