By: Taylor of Collin S.B. No. 335
(In the Senate - Filed January 23, 2015; February 2, 2015,
read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
April 9, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 9, 2015,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 335 By: Creighton
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the right of officers of counties, county boards of
school trustees, and county boards of education to obtain
information, documents, and records.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 89, Local Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 89.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 89.007. SPECIAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY
OFFICERS OF COUNTIES, COUNTY BOARDS OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES, AND COUNTY
BOARDS OF EDUCATION. (a) In this section:
(1) "County governmental body":
(A) means:
(i) a county commissioners court;
(ii) a deliberative body that has
rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
department, agency, or political subdivision of a county;
(iii) a county board of school trustees;
(iv) a county board of education; or
(v) the part, section, or portion of a
county, county board of school trustees, or county board of
education described by Section 552.003(1)(A)(xii), Government
Code, that is a governmental body for purposes of Chapter 552,
Government Code; and
(B) does not include:
(i) the judiciary; or
(ii) a private entity that spends or is
supported wholly or partly by public funds.
(2) "County officer" means:
(A) an elected or appointed officer who
supervises, manages, or controls a county governmental body; or
(B) a member of a board, a commission, a
committee, or another body consisting of more than one individual
elected or appointed to supervise, manage, or control a county
governmental body.
(3) "Public information" has the meaning assigned by
Section 552.002, Government Code.
(b) A county officer has a right of access to information
that is for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, public
information of the county governmental body that the county officer
oversees.
(c) A county governmental body on request by the county
officer who oversees the governmental body shall provide public
information, including confidential information or information
otherwise excepted from disclosure, to the county officer in
accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code.
(d) A county governmental body, by providing public
information under this section that is confidential or otherwise
excepted from required disclosure under law, does not waive or
affect the confidentiality of the information for purposes of state
or federal law or waive the right of the county governmental body to
assert exceptions to required disclosure of the information in the
future. The county governmental body may require the requesting
county officer or a designated employee of the requesting county
officer who will view or handle information that is received under
this section and that is confidential under law or otherwise
excepted from disclosure to sign a confidentiality agreement that
covers the information and requires that:
(1) the information not be disclosed outside the
office of the requesting county officer, or within that office for
purposes other than the purpose for which it was received;
(2) the information be labeled as confidential;
(3) the information be kept securely; or
(4) the number of copies made of the information or the
notes taken from the information that implicate the confidential
nature of the information be controlled, with all copies or notes
that are not destroyed or returned to the county governmental body
remaining confidential and subject to the confidentiality
agreement.
(e) An individual required by a county governmental body to
sign a confidentiality agreement under Subsection (d) may seek a
decision as provided by Subsection (f) about whether the
information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure. A
confidentiality agreement signed under Subsection (d) is void to
the extent that the agreement covers information that is finally
determined under Subsection (f) to not be confidential under law or
otherwise excepted from disclosure.
(f) A county officer may seek a decision from the attorney
general about whether the information covered by the
confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
excepted from disclosure. The attorney general by rule shall
establish procedures and deadlines for receiving information
necessary to determine whether the information covered by the
confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
excepted from disclosure and for receiving briefs from the
requesting county officer, the county governmental body, and any
other interested person. The attorney general shall promptly
render a decision requested under this subsection, determining
whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure, not
later than the 45th business day after the date the attorney general
receives the request for a decision under this subsection. If the
attorney general is unable to issue the decision within the 45-day
period, the attorney general may extend the period for issuing the
decision by an additional 10 business days by informing the county
governmental body and the requesting county officer, during the
original 45-day period, of the reason for the delay. The attorney
general shall issue a written decision and provide a copy of the
decision to the requesting county officer, the county governmental
body, and any interested person who submitted necessary information
or a brief to the attorney general under this subsection. The
requesting county officer or the county governmental body may
appeal a decision of the attorney general under this subsection to a
district court in the county. A person may appeal a decision of the
attorney general under this subsection to a district court in the
county if the person claims a proprietary interest in the
information affected by the decision or a privacy interest in the
information that a confidentiality law or judicial decision is
designed to protect.
(g) This section does not affect:
(1) the right of a county officer to obtain
information from a county governmental body under other law;
(2) the procedures under which the information is
obtained under other law; or
(3) the use that may be made of the information
obtained under other law.
(h) This section does not grant authority to a county
governmental body to withhold information from county officers.
SECTION 2. Section 89.007, Local Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a request for information by a county
officer that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. A
request for information made before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the applicable law in effect immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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