Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3402 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	86R23014 BEF-D
2		-	By: Phelan, Guerra, Murr, Meyer, Canales H.B. No. 3402
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3402:
4		-	By: Guerra C.S.H.B. No. 3402
	1	+	By: Phelan H.B. No. 3402
5	2
6	3
7	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	5		AN ACT
9		-	relating to the open meetings law.
	6	+	relating to changing the criminal offense of conspiracy to
	7	+	circumvent the open meetings law.
10	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11		-	SECTION 1. Section 551.001(2), Government Code, is amended
	9	+	SECTION 1.
	10	+	Section 551.143(a), Government Code, is amended
12	11		to read as follows:
13		-	(2) "Deliberation" means a verbal or written exchange
14		-	[during a meeting] between a quorum of a governmental body, or
15		-	between a quorum of a governmental body and another person,
16		-	concerning an issue within the jurisdiction of the governmental
17		-	body [or any public business].
18		-	SECTION 2. The heading to Section 551.143, Government Code,
19		-	is amended to read as follows:
20	12		Sec. 551.143. PROHIBITED SERIES OF COMMUNICATIONS
21		-	[CONSPIRACY TO CIRCUMVENT CHAPTER]; OFFENSE; PENALTY.
22		-	SECTION 3. Section 551.143(a), Government Code, is amended
23		-	to read as follows:
24		-	(a) A member [or group of members] of a governmental body
25		-	commits an offense if the member:
26		-	(1) [or group of members] knowingly engages in at
27		-	least one communication among a series of communications that each
28		-	occur outside of a meeting authorized by this chapter and that
29		-	concern an issue within the jurisdiction of the governmental body
30		-	in which the members engaging in the individual communications
31		-	constitute fewer than a quorum of members; and
32		-	(2) knew at the time the member engaged in the
33		-	communication that the series of communications:
34		-	(A) involved or would involve a quorum; and
35		-	(B) would constitute a deliberation once a quorum
36		-	of members engaged in the series of communications [conspires to
37		-	circumvent this chapter by meeting in numbers less than a quorum for
38		-	the purpose of secret deliberations in violation of this chapter].
39		-	SECTION 4. Section 551.143, Government Code, as amended by
40		-	this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the
41		-	effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
42		-	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
43		-	date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
44		-	effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
45		-	was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
46		-	of the offense occurred before that date.
47		-	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	13	+	[CONSPIRACY TO CIRCUMVENT CHAPTER]; OFFENSE; PENALTY. (a) A
	14	+	member [or group of members] of a governmental body commits an
	15	+	offense if:
	16	+	(1) the member [or group of members] knowingly engages
	17	+	in at least one among a series of communications that each occur
	18	+	outside of an open meeting concerning any public business of the
	19	+	governmental body where individual communications are among fewer
	20	+	than a quorum of members; and [conspires to circumvent this chapter
	21	+	by meeting in numbers less than a quorum for the purpose of secret
	22	+	deliberations in violation of this chapter]
	23	+	(2) the member knew at the time the member engaged in
	24	+	the series of communications that the series:
	25	+	(A) involved or would involve a quorum and,
	26	+	(B) would constitute a deliberation in violation
	27	+	of this chapter if the series of communications had occurred in a
	28	+	single instance among every member involved in the series.
	29	+	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
	30	+	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
	31	+	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
	32	+	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
	33	+	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
	34	+	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
	35	+	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
	36	+	before that date.
	37	+	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
48	38		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
49	39		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
50	40		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
51	41		Act takes effect September 1, 2019.