Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3234 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R1351 PAM-D
2	2	By: Galindo H.B. No. 3234
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the right of municipal officers to obtain information,
8	8	documents, and records.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 51, Local Government Code,
11	11	is amended by adding Section 51.004 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 51.004. SPECIAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY
13	13	MUNICIPAL OFFICERS. (a) In this section:
14	14	(1) "Municipal governmental body":
15	15	(A) means:
16	16	(i) the governing body of a municipality;
17	17	(ii) a deliberative body that has
18	18	rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
19	19	department, agency, or political subdivision of a municipality; or
20	20	(iii) the part, section, or portion of a
21	21	municipality described by Section 552.003(1)(A)(xii), Government
22	22	Code, that is a governmental body for purposes of Chapter 552,
23	23	Government Code; and
24	24	(B) does not include:
25	25	(i) the judiciary; or
26	26	(ii) a private entity that spends or is
27	27	supported wholly or partly by public funds.
28	28	(2) "Municipal officer" means:
29	29	(A) an elected or appointed officer who
30	30	supervises, manages, or controls a municipal governmental body; or
31	31	(B) a member of a board, a commission, a
32	32	committee, or another body consisting of more than one individual
33	33	elected or appointed to supervise, manage, or control a municipal
34	34	governmental body.
35	35	(3) "Public information" has the meaning assigned by
36	36	Section 552.002, Government Code.
37	37	(b) A municipal officer has a right of access to information
38	38	that is for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, public
39	39	information of the municipal governmental body that the municipal
40	40	officer oversees.
41	41	(c) A municipal governmental body on request by a municipal
42	42	officer who oversees the governmental body shall provide public
43	43	information, including confidential information or information
44	44	otherwise excepted from disclosure, to the municipal officer in
45	45	accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code.
46	46	(d) A municipal governmental body, by providing public
47	47	information under this section that is confidential or otherwise
48	48	excepted from required disclosure under law, does not waive or
49	49	affect the confidentiality of the information for purposes of state
50	50	or federal law or waive the right of the municipal governmental body
51	51	to assert exceptions to required disclosure of the information in
52	52	the future. The municipal governmental body may require the
53	53	requesting municipal officer or the employees of the requesting
54	54	municipal officer who will view or handle information that is
55	55	received under this section and that is confidential under law or
56	56	otherwise excepted from disclosure to sign a confidentiality
57	57	agreement that covers the information and requires that:
58	58	(1) the information not be disclosed outside the
59	59	office of the requesting municipal officer, or within that office
60	60	for purposes other than the purpose for which it was received;
61	61	(2) the information be labeled as confidential;
62	62	(3) the information be kept securely; or
63	63	(4) the number of copies made of the information or the
64	64	notes taken from the information that implicate the confidential
65	65	nature of the information be controlled, with all copies or notes
66	66	that are not destroyed or returned to the municipal governmental
67	67	body remaining confidential and subject to the confidentiality
68	68	agreement.
69	69	(e) An individual required by a municipal governmental body
70	70	to sign a confidentiality agreement under Subsection (d) may seek a
71	71	decision as provided by Subsection (f) about whether the
72	72	information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
73	73	confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure. A
74	74	confidentiality agreement signed under Subsection (d) is void to
75	75	the extent that the agreement covers information that is finally
76	76	determined under Subsection (f) to not be confidential under law or
77	77	otherwise excepted from disclosure.
78	78	(f) A municipal officer may seek a decision from the
79	79	attorney general about whether the information covered by the
80	80	confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
81	81	excepted from disclosure. The attorney general by rule shall
82	82	establish procedures and deadlines for receiving information
83	83	necessary to determine whether the information covered by the
84	84	confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
85	85	excepted from disclosure and for receiving briefs from the
86	86	requesting municipal officer, the municipal governmental body, and
87	87	any other interested person. The attorney general shall promptly
88	88	render a decision requested under this subsection, determining
89	89	whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
90	90	confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure, not
91	91	later than the 45th business day after the date the attorney general
92	92	receives the request for a decision under this subsection. The
93	93	attorney general shall issue a written decision and provide a copy
94	94	of the decision to the requesting municipal officer, the municipal
95	95	governmental body, and any interested person who submitted
96	96	necessary information or a brief to the attorney general under this
97	97	subsection. The requesting municipal officer or the municipal
98	98	governmental body may appeal a decision of the attorney general
99	99	under this subsection to a district court in a county in which the
100	100	municipality is located. A person may appeal a decision of the
101	101	attorney general under this subsection to a district court in a
102	102	county in which the municipality is located if the person claims a
103	103	proprietary interest in the information affected by the decision or
104	104	a privacy interest in the information that a confidentiality law or
105	105	judicial decision is designed to protect.
106	106	(g) This section does not affect:
107	107	(1) the right of a municipal officer to obtain
108	108	information from the municipal governmental body under other law;
109	109	(2) the procedures under which the information is
110	110	obtained under other law; or
111	111	(3) the use that may be made of the information
112	112	obtained under other law.
113	113	(h) This section does not grant authority to a municipal
114	114	governmental body to withhold information from municipal officers.
115	115	SECTION 2. Section 51.004, Local Government Code, as added
116	116	by this Act, applies only to a request for information by a
117	117	municipal officer that is made on or after the effective date of
118	118	this Act. A request for information made before the effective date
119	119	of this Act is governed by the applicable law in effect immediately
120	120	before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
121	121	effect for that purpose.
122	122	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
123	123	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
124	124	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
125	125	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
126	126	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.