Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1087 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R6002 BEF-F
2	2	By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1087
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the definition of, custody of, and access to public
8	8	information; providing a criminal penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 552.002(a), Government Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	(a) In this chapter, "public information" means:
13	13	(1) a state record;
14	14	(2) a local government record; or
15	15	(3) information that is written, produced, collected,
16	16	assembled, or maintained under a law or ordinance or in connection
17	17	with the transaction of official business:
18	18	(A) [(1)] by a governmental body;
19	19	(B) [(2)] for a governmental body and the
20	20	governmental body:
21	21	(i) [(A)] owns the information;
22	22	(ii) [(B)] has a right of access to the
23	23	information; or
24	24	(iii) [(C)] spends or contributes public
25	25	money for the purpose of writing, producing, collecting,
26	26	assembling, or maintaining the information; or
27	27	(C) [(3)] by an individual officer or employee of
28	28	a governmental body [in the officer's or employee's official
29	29	capacity and the information pertains to official business of the
30	30	governmental body].
31	31	SECTION 2. Section 552.003, Government Code, is amended by
32	32	amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a), (1-b), and
33	33	(7) to read as follows:
34	34	(1) "Custodian" means a public officer or employee
35	35	who:
36	36	(A) by law, ordinance, or administrative policy
37	37	is in charge of an office that creates or receives a state record or
38	38	local government record; or
39	39	(B) in the transaction of official business,
40	40	creates or receives public information that the public officer or
41	41	employee has not provided to the records management officer or the
42	42	officer for public information of the governmental body.
43	43	(1-a) "Governmental body":
44	44	(A) means:
45	45	(i) a board, commission, department,
46	46	committee, institution, agency, or office that is within or is
47	47	created by the executive or legislative branch of state government
48	48	and that is directed by one or more elected or appointed members;
49	49	(ii) a county commissioners court in the
50	50	state;
51	51	(iii) a municipal governing body in the
52	52	state;
53	53	(iv) a deliberative body that has
54	54	rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
55	55	department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or
56	56	municipality;
57	57	(v) a school district board of trustees;
58	58	(vi) a county board of school trustees;
59	59	(vii) a county board of education;
60	60	(viii) the governing board of a special
61	61	district;
62	62	(ix) the governing body of a nonprofit
63	63	corporation organized under Chapter 67, Water Code, that provides a
64	64	water supply or wastewater service, or both, and is exempt from ad
65	65	valorem taxation under Section 11.30, Tax Code;
66	66	(x) a local workforce development board
67	67	created under Section 2308.253;
68	68	(xi) a nonprofit corporation that is
69	69	eligible to receive funds under the federal community services
70	70	block grant program and that is authorized by this state to serve a
71	71	geographic area of the state; and
72	72	(xii) the part, section, or portion of an
73	73	organization, corporation, commission, committee, institution, or
74	74	agency that spends or that is supported in whole or in part by
75	75	public funds; and
76	76	(B) does not include the judiciary.
77	77	(1-b) "Local government record" has the meaning
78	78	assigned by Section 441.151.
79	79	(7) "State record" has the meaning assigned by Section
80	80	441.031.
81	81	SECTION 3. Section 552.203, Government Code, is amended to
82	82	read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 552.203. GENERAL DUTIES OF OFFICER FOR PUBLIC
84	84	INFORMATION. Each officer for public information, subject to
85	85	penalties provided in this chapter, shall:
86	86	(1) make public information available for public
87	87	inspection and copying;
88	88	(2) carefully protect public information from
89	89	deterioration, alteration, mutilation, loss, or unlawful removal;
90	90	[and]
91	91	(3) repair, renovate, or rebind public information as
92	92	necessary to maintain it properly; and
93	93	(4) obtain information from a custodian who has access
94	94	to public information being requested from the governmental body.
95	95	SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
96	96	amended by adding Section 552.233 to read as follows:
97	97	Sec. 552.233. OWNERSHIP OF PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a) A
98	98	current or former officer or employee of a governmental body does
99	99	not have, by virtue of the officer's or employee's position or
100	100	former position, a personal or property right to public information
101	101	the officer or employee created or received in the performance of
102	102	the officer's or employee's duties.
103	103	(b) A current or former officer or employee with possession,
104	104	custody, or control of public information shall surrender or return
105	105	that public information to the governmental body on request or
106	106	demand by the custodian or officer for public information of the
107	107	governmental body.
108	108	(c) A requestor, custodian, or officer for public
109	109	information may sue in district court for an injunction or mandamus
110	110	to compel a current or former officer or employee of a governmental
111	111	body with possession, custody, or control of public information to
112	112	surrender or return the public information as required by
113	113	Subsection (b).
114	114	(d) A governmental body, custodian, or officer for public
115	115	information shall obtain possession, custody, or control of public
116	116	information from a current or former officer or employee to the
117	117	extent necessary to comply with the governmental body's obligations
118	118	under this chapter to produce public information for inspection or
119	119	copying. A governmental body, custodian, or officer for public
120	120	information who fails to comply with this subsection may be
121	121	included in a suit under Subsection (c).
122	122	SECTION 5. Section 552.321(a), Government Code, is amended
123	123	to read as follows:
124	124	(a) A requestor or the attorney general may file suit for a
125	125	writ of mandamus compelling a governmental body or its officer for
126	126	public information to obtain and [to] make information available
127	127	for public inspection if the governmental body or its officer for
128	128	public information fails [refuses] to request an attorney general's
129	129	decision as provided by Subchapter G, fails to promptly [or refuses
130	130	to] supply public information, or fails to promptly supply
131	131	information that the attorney general has determined is public
132	132	information that is not excepted from disclosure under Subchapter
133	133	C.
134	134	SECTION 6. The heading to Section 552.353, Government Code,
135	135	is amended to read as follows:
136	136	Sec. 552.353. FAILURE OR REFUSAL OF OFFICER FOR PUBLIC
137	137	INFORMATION OR CUSTODIAN TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO OR COPYING OF PUBLIC
138	138	INFORMATION.
139	139	SECTION 7. Sections 552.353(a) and (b), Government Code,
140	140	are amended to read as follows:
141	141	(a) An officer for public information, [or] the officer's
142	142	agent, or the custodian of the records at issue commits an offense
143	143	if, with criminal negligence, the officer, [or] the officer's
144	144	agent, or the custodian fails or refuses to give access to, or to
145	145	permit or provide copying of, public information to a requestor as
146	146	provided by this chapter.
147	147	(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
148	148	Subsection (a) that the officer for public information or the
149	149	custodian reasonably believed that public access to the requested
150	150	information was not required and that:
151	151	(1) the officer or custodian acted in reasonable
152	152	reliance on a court order or a written interpretation of this
153	153	chapter contained in an opinion of a court of record or of the
154	154	attorney general issued under Subchapter G;
155	155	(2) the officer or custodian requested a decision from
156	156	the attorney general in accordance with Subchapter G, and the
157	157	decision is pending; or
158	158	(3) not later than the 10th calendar day after the date
159	159	of receipt of a decision by the attorney general that the
160	160	information is public, the officer, the custodian, or the
161	161	governmental body for whom the defendant is the officer for public
162	162	information filed a petition for a declaratory judgment against the
163	163	attorney general in a Travis County district court seeking relief
164	164	from compliance with the decision of the attorney general, as
165	165	provided by Section 552.324, and the cause is pending.
166	166	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.