88R13008 TJB-D
By: Landgraf H.B. No. 3033
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to attorney general decisions under the public information
law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 552.306, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 552.011, the attorney
general shall promptly render a decision requested under this
subchapter, consistent with the standards of due process,
determining whether the requested information is within one of the
exceptions of Subchapter C. The attorney general shall render the
decision not later than the 30th [45th] business day after the date
the attorney general received the request for a decision. [If the
attorney general is unable to issue the decision within the 45-day
period, the attorney general may extend the period for issuing the
decision by an additional 10 business days by informing the
governmental body and the requestor, during the original 45-day
period, of the reason for the delay.]
(c) A governmental body shall as soon as practicable but not
later than the 15th day after the date a decision is issued:
(1) produce the information subject to the decision
that is required to be produced; or
(2) notify in writing the person who requested the
information that the governmental body is withholding the
information as authorized by the decision.
SECTION 2. Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 552.310 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.310. SEARCHABLE DATABASE. (a) The office of the
attorney general shall make available on the office's Internet
website an easily accessible and searchable database consisting of:
(1) each request for an attorney general decision made
under this subchapter; and
(2) the attorney general's decision on the request.
(b) The database at a minimum must allow a person to search
for a request or decision described by Subsection (a) by:
(1) the name of the governmental body making the
request; and
(2) the exception under Subchapter C that a
governmental body asserts in the request applies to its request to
withhold information from public disclosure.
(c) The database must allow a person to view the current
status of a request described by Subsection (a)(1) and an estimated
timeline indicating the date each stage of review of the request
will be started and completed.
SECTION 3. Section 552.306, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to a request for an attorney general decision made
under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, of that code on or after the
effective date of this Act. A request for an attorney general
decision made before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the request was made, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable, but not later than
January 1, 2024, the office of the attorney general shall make the
database required by Section 552.310, Government Code, as added by
this Act, available on the office's Internet website.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.