Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1700 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R8904 BEF-F
2	2	By: Hunter H.B. No. 1700
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to public information in the possession, custody, or
8	8	control of a current or former officer or employee of a governmental
9	9	body; creating a criminal offense.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 552.003, Government Code, is amended by
12	12	adding Subdivision (7) to read as follows:
13	13	(7) "Temporary custodian" means an officer or employee
14	14	of a governmental body who, in the transaction of official
15	15	business, creates or receives public information that the officer
16	16	or employee has not provided to the officer for public information
17	17	of the governmental body or the officer's agent. The term includes
18	18	a former officer or employee of a governmental body who created or
19	19	received public information in the officer's or employee's official
20	20	capacity that has not been provided to the officer for public
21	21	information of the governmental body or the officer's agent.
22	22	SECTION 2. Section 552.004, Government Code, is amended to
23	23	read as follows:
24	24	Sec. 552.004. PRESERVATION OF INFORMATION. (a) A
25	25	governmental body or, for information of an elective county office,
26	26	the elected county officer, may determine a time for which
27	27	information that is not currently in use will be preserved, subject
28	28	to Subsection (b) and to any applicable rule or law governing the
29	29	destruction and other disposition of state and local government
30	30	records or public information.
31	31	(b) A current or former officer or employee of a
32	32	governmental body who maintains public information on a privately
33	33	owned device shall:
34	34	(1) forward or transfer the public information to the
35	35	governmental body or a governmental body server to be preserved as
36	36	provided by Subsection (a); or
37	37	(2) preserve the public information in its original
38	38	form on the privately owned device for the time required under
39	39	Subsection (a).
40	40	SECTION 3. Section 552.203, Government Code, is amended to
41	41	read as follows:
42	42	Sec. 552.203. GENERAL DUTIES OF OFFICER FOR PUBLIC
43	43	INFORMATION. Each officer for public information, subject to
44	44	penalties provided in this chapter, shall:
45	45	(1) make public information available for public
46	46	inspection and copying;
47	47	(2) carefully protect public information from
48	48	deterioration, alteration, mutilation, loss, or unlawful removal;
49	49	[and]
50	50	(3) repair, renovate, or rebind public information as
51	51	necessary to maintain it properly; and
52	52	(4) make reasonable efforts to obtain public
53	53	information from a temporary custodian if:
54	54	(A) the information has been requested from the
55	55	governmental body;
56	56	(B) the officer for public information is aware
57	57	of facts sufficient to warrant a reasonable belief that the
58	58	temporary custodian has possession, custody, or control of the
59	59	information;
60	60	(C) the officer for public information is unable
61	61	to comply with the duties imposed by this chapter without obtaining
62	62	the information from the temporary custodian; and
63	63	(D) the temporary custodian has not provided the
64	64	information to the officer for public information of the
65	65	governmental body or the officer's agent.
66	66	SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
67	67	amended by adding Section 552.234 to read as follows:
68	68	Sec. 552.234. OWNERSHIP OF PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a) A
69	69	current or former officer or employee of a governmental body does
70	70	not have, by virtue of the officer's or employee's position or
71	71	former position, a personal or property right to public information
72	72	the officer or employee created or received while acting in an
73	73	official capacity.
74	74	(b) A temporary custodian with possession, custody, or
75	75	control of public information shall surrender or return the
76	76	information to the governmental body not later than the 10th day
77	77	after the date the officer for public information of the
78	78	governmental body or the officer's agent requests the temporary
79	79	custodian to surrender or return the information.
80	80	(c) If a temporary custodian fails to surrender or return
81	81	public information to a governmental body as required by Subsection
82	82	(b), the officer for public information of the governmental body
83	83	shall, not later than the 10th business day after the deadline to
84	84	surrender or return information under Subsection (b), notify the
85	85	attorney general in writing of the facts related to the failure and
86	86	send a copy of the written notice to the requestor. On receipt of
87	87	written notice from an officer for public information as provided
88	88	by this subsection, the attorney general may sue for an injunction
89	89	or writ of mandamus to compel a temporary custodian with
90	90	possession, custody, or control of public information to surrender
91	91	or return the information as required by Subsection (b). A suit
92	92	filed under this subsection:
93	93	(1) must be filed in a district court for the county in
94	94	which the main offices of the governmental body are located;
95	95	(2) may not proceed, and process may not be issued,
96	96	until the court enters a written finding that the petition sets
97	97	forth facts sufficient to warrant probable cause that the current
98	98	or former officer or employee against whom the action is filed is in
99	99	possession, custody, or control of public information that has not
100	100	been made available to the governmental body that owns the
101	101	information; and
102	102	(3) shall be dismissed, with prejudice except as
103	103	provided by Subsection (e), if the current or former officer or
104	104	employee files an answer containing a general denial supported by a
105	105	sworn affidavit stating the current or former officer or employee
106	106	is not in possession, custody, or control of public information
107	107	responsive to the request at issue.
108	108	(d) The attorney general shall send a copy of a petition
109	109	filed under Subsection (c) to the requestor.
110	110	(e) A suit dismissed under Subsection (c)(3) is dismissed
111	111	without prejudice and may be refiled by the attorney general if the
112	112	current or former officer or employee, in providing the affidavit
113	113	authorized under Subsection (c)(3), engaged in conduct that is an
114	114	offense under Section 37.02 or 37.03, Penal Code, and is arrested,
115	115	charged, or indicted for that offense. Subsection (c)(3) does not
116	116	apply to a suit refiled under this subsection.
117	117	(f) For purposes of the application of Subchapter G to
118	118	information surrendered or returned to a governmental body by a
119	119	temporary custodian under Subsection (b) or as a result of a suit
120	120	under Subsection (c), the governmental body is considered to
121	121	receive the request for that information on the date the
122	122	information is surrendered or returned to the governmental body.
123	123	SECTION 5. The heading to Section 552.353, Government Code,
124	124	is amended to read as follows:
125	125	Sec. 552.353. FAILURE OR REFUSAL OF OFFICER FOR PUBLIC
126	126	INFORMATION OR TEMPORARY CUSTODIAN TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO OR COPYING
127	127	OF PUBLIC INFORMATION.
128	128	SECTION 6. Section 552.353, Government Code, is amended by
129	129	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
130	130	(a-1) A temporary custodian who has possession, custody, or
131	131	control of public information responsive to a request commits an
132	132	offense if, with criminal negligence, the temporary custodian fails
133	133	to surrender or return the information to the governmental body on
134	134	request of the officer for public information or the officer's
135	135	agent, as required by Section 552.234(b).
136	136	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.