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| 4 | 4 | | SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, The Texas Public Information Act has recently been |
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| 6 | 6 | | impacted by court decisions; and |
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| 7 | 7 | | WHEREAS, During the 85th Legislative Session, lawmakers and |
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| 8 | 8 | | other stakeholders spent months collaborating on several bills to |
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| 9 | 9 | | improve the Act, with many proposals garnering broad support; |
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| 10 | 10 | | despite those efforts, significant reforms failed to pass, leaving |
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| 11 | 11 | | TPIA still susceptible to a number of loopholes; and |
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| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Government transparency is a vital component of an |
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| 13 | 13 | | informed citizenry, and it is incumbent on the State of Texas to |
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| 14 | 14 | | ensure that the public have access to information regarding how |
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| 15 | 15 | | their government functions in order to promote accountability, |
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| 16 | 16 | | openness, and honesty; now, therefore, be it |
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| 17 | 17 | | RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 18 | 18 | | hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house |
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| 19 | 19 | | of representatives to create a joint interim committee to examine |
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| 20 | 20 | | all state open-government laws, including the Texas Public |
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| 21 | 21 | | Information Act, for opportunities to improve transparency and |
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| 22 | 22 | | accountability; and, be it further |
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| 23 | 23 | | RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including |
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| 24 | 24 | | its findings and recommendations, to the 86th Texas Legislature |
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| 25 | 25 | | before it convenes in January 2019; and, be it further |
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| 26 | 26 | | RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be |
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| 27 | 27 | | governed by such general rules and policies for joint interim |
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| 28 | 28 | | committees as the 85th Legislature may adopt. |
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| 29 | | - | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 30 | | - | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 31 | | - | I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 56 was adopted by the Senate |
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| 32 | | - | on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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| 33 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 34 | | - | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 35 | | - | I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 56 was adopted by the House |
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| 36 | | - | on May 28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, one |
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| 37 | | - | present not voting. |
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| 38 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 39 | | - | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 40 | | - | Approved: |
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| 41 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 42 | | - | Date |
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| 43 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 44 | | - | Governor |
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