By: Schofield, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Kolkhorst) H.B. No. 523
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 9, 2017;
May 9, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on
Education; May 19, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 19, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the requirement that certain elected school district
boards make audio and video recordings of certain work sessions and
special called meetings available on the Internet.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 551.128(b-1), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b-1) A transit authority or department subject to Chapter
451, 452, 453, or 460, Transportation Code, an elected school
district board of trustees for a school district that has a student
enrollment of 10,000 or more, an elected governing body of a
home-rule municipality that has a population of 50,000 or more, or a
county commissioners court for a county that has a population of
125,000 or more shall:
(1) make a video and audio recording of reasonable
quality of each:
(A) regularly scheduled open meeting that is not
a work session or a special called meeting; and
(B) open meeting that is a work session or
special called meeting if:
(i) the governmental body is an elected
school district board of trustees for a school district that has a
student enrollment of 10,000 or more; and
(ii) at the work session or special called
meeting, the board of trustees votes on any matter or allows public
comment or testimony; and
(2) make available an archived copy of the video and
audio recording of each meeting described by Subdivision (1) on the
Internet.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an open meeting held on or after the effective date of this Act. An
open meeting that is held before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date of the open meeting, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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