Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB336 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Taylor of Collin S.B. No. 336
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed January 23, 2015; February 2, 2015,
3		-	read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
4		-	April 9, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5		-	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 1; April 9, 2015,
6		-	sent to printer.)
7		-	Click here to see the committee vote
8		-	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 336 By: Huffines
9	2
10	3
11	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	5		AN ACT
13	6		relating to the right of municipal officers to obtain information,
14	7		documents, and records.
15	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	9		SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 51, Local Government Code,
17	10		is amended by adding Section 51.004 to read as follows:
18	11		Sec. 51.004. SPECIAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY
19	12		MUNICIPAL OFFICERS. (a) In this section:
20	13		(1) "Municipal governmental body":
21	14		(A) means:
22	15		(i) the governing body of a municipality;
23	16		(ii) a deliberative body that has
24	17		rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
25	18		department, agency, or political subdivision of a municipality; or
26	19		(iii) the part, section, or portion of a
27	20		municipality described by Section 552.003(1)(A)(xii), Government
28	21		Code, that is a governmental body for purposes of Chapter 552,
29	22		Government Code; and
30	23		(B) does not include:
31	24		(i) the judiciary; or
32	25		(ii) a private entity that spends or is
33	26		supported wholly or partly by public funds.
34	27		(2) "Municipal officer" means:
35	28		(A) an elected or appointed officer who
36	29		supervises, manages, or controls a municipal governmental body; or
37	30		(B) a member of a board, a commission, a
38	31		committee, or another body consisting of more than one individual
39	32		elected or appointed to supervise, manage, or control a municipal
40	33		governmental body.
41	34		(3) "Public information" has the meaning assigned by
42	35		Section 552.002, Government Code.
43	36		(b) A municipal officer has a right of access to information
44	37		that is for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, public
45	38		information of the municipal governmental body that the municipal
46	39		officer oversees.
47	40		(c) A municipal governmental body on request by a municipal
48	41		officer who oversees the governmental body shall provide public
49	42		information, including confidential information or information
50	43		otherwise excepted from disclosure, to the municipal officer in
51	44		accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code.
52	45		(d) A municipal governmental body, by providing public
53	46		information under this section that is confidential or otherwise
54	47		excepted from required disclosure under law, does not waive or
55	48		affect the confidentiality of the information for purposes of state
56	49		or federal law or waive the right of the municipal governmental body
57	50		to assert exceptions to required disclosure of the information in
58	51		the future. The municipal governmental body may require the
59	52		requesting municipal officer or a designated employee of the
60	53		requesting municipal officer who will view or handle information
61	54		that is received under this section and that is confidential under
62	55		law or otherwise excepted from disclosure to sign a confidentiality
63	56		agreement that covers the information and requires that:
64	57		(1) the information not be disclosed outside the
65	58		office of the requesting municipal officer, or within that office
66	59		for purposes other than the purpose for which it was received;
67	60		(2) the information be labeled as confidential;
68	61		(3) the information be kept securely; or
69	62		(4) the number of copies made of the information or the
70	63		notes taken from the information that implicate the confidential
71	64		nature of the information be controlled, with all copies or notes
72	65		that are not destroyed or returned to the municipal governmental
73	66		body remaining confidential and subject to the confidentiality
74	67		agreement.
75	68		(e) An individual required by a municipal governmental body
76	69		to sign a confidentiality agreement under Subsection (d) may seek a
77	70		decision as provided by Subsection (f) about whether the
78	71		information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
79	72		confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure. A
80	73		confidentiality agreement signed under Subsection (d) is void to
81	74		the extent that the agreement covers information that is finally
82	75		determined under Subsection (f) to not be confidential under law or
83	76		otherwise excepted from disclosure.
84	77		(f) A municipal officer may seek a decision from the
85	78		attorney general about whether the information covered by the
86	79		confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
87	80		excepted from disclosure. The attorney general by rule shall
88	81		establish procedures and deadlines for receiving information
89	82		necessary to determine whether the information covered by the
90	83		confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
91	84		excepted from disclosure and for receiving briefs from the
92	85		requesting municipal officer, the municipal governmental body, and
93	86		any other interested person. The attorney general shall promptly
94	87		render a decision requested under this subsection, determining
95	88		whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
96	89		confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure, not
97	90		later than the 45th business day after the date the attorney general
98	91		receives the request for a decision under this subsection. If the
99	92		attorney general is unable to issue the decision within the 45-day
100	93		period, the attorney general may extend the period for issuing the
101	94		decision by an additional 10 business days by informing the
102	95		municipal governmental body and the requesting municipal officer,
103	96		during the original 45-day period, of the reason for the delay. The
104	97		attorney general shall issue a written decision and provide a copy
105	98		of the decision to the requesting municipal officer, the municipal
106	99		governmental body, and any interested person who submitted
107	100		necessary information or a brief to the attorney general under this
108	101		subsection. The requesting municipal officer or the municipal
109	102		governmental body may appeal a decision of the attorney general
110	103		under this subsection to a district court in a county in which the
111	104		municipality is located. A person may appeal a decision of the
112	105		attorney general under this subsection to a district court in a
113	106		county in which the municipality is located if the person claims a
114	107		proprietary interest in the information affected by the decision or
115	108		a privacy interest in the information that a confidentiality law or
116	109		judicial decision is designed to protect.
117	110		(g) This section does not affect:
118	111		(1) the right of a municipal officer to obtain
119	112		information from the municipal governmental body under other law;
120	113		(2) the procedures under which the information is
121	114		obtained under other law; or
122	115		(3) the use that may be made of the information
123	116		obtained under other law.
124	117		(h) This section does not grant authority to a municipal
125	118		governmental body to withhold information from municipal officers.
126	119		SECTION 2. Section 51.004, Local Government Code, as added
127	120		by this Act, applies only to a request for information by a
128	121		municipal officer that is made on or after the effective date of
129	122		this Act. A request for information made before the effective date
130	123		of this Act is governed by the applicable law in effect immediately
131	124		before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
132	125		effect for that purpose.
133	126		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
134	127		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
135	128		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
136	129		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
137	130		Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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