| 1 | 1 | | By: Toth H.B. No. 3697 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to changing the elements of an offense for certain open |
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| 7 | 7 | | meetings requirements for a member of a governmental body. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Sec. 551.143(a), Government Code, is amended to |
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| 10 | 10 | | read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 551.143. CIRCUMVENTION OF [CONSPIRACY TO CIRCUMVENT] |
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| 12 | 12 | | CHAPTER; OFFENSE; PENALTY. (a) A member [or group of members] of a |
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| 13 | 13 | | governmental body commits an offense if the member, outside of a |
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| 14 | 14 | | meeting, [or group of members] knowingly engages, directly or |
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| 15 | 15 | | indirectly, in a series of verbal or written communications with |
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| 16 | 16 | | other members of the governmental body without [conspires to |
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| 17 | 17 | | circumvent this chapter by meeting in numbers less than] a quorum |
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| 18 | 18 | | present regarding a tacit or explicit agreement to act uniformly in |
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| 19 | 19 | | sufficient number to constitute a quorum concerning: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (1) an issue within the jurisdiction of the |
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| 21 | 21 | | governmental body; or |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2) any public business [for the purpose of secret |
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| 23 | 23 | | deliberations in violation of this chapter]. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b) if the member, outside of a meeting, knowingly engages |
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| 25 | 25 | | in conduct intended to learn or affect the votes of other members of |
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| 26 | 26 | | the governmental body, directly or indirectly, in sufficient |
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| 27 | 27 | | numbers to constitute a quorum, concerning an issue within the |
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| 28 | 28 | | jurisdiction of the governmental body or any public business. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (c) [(b)] An offense under Subsection (a) is a misdemeanor |
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| 30 | 30 | | punishable by: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (2) confinement in the county jail for not less than |
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| 33 | 33 | | one month or more than six months; or |
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| 34 | 34 | | (3) both the fine and confinement. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 36 | 36 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 37 | 37 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 38 | 38 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 39 | 39 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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