| 1 | 1 | | By: Garcia H.B. No. 4357 |
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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 the persons who must be physically present for certain |
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| 7 | 7 | | remote meetings under the open meetings law. |
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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. Section 551.127, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | amending Subsections (c) and (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (c) A meeting of a state governmental body or a governmental |
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| 13 | 13 | | body that extends into three or more counties may be held by |
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| 14 | 14 | | videoconference call only if the member of the governmental body |
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| 15 | 15 | | presiding over the meeting or the member's designee is physically |
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| 16 | 16 | | present at one location of the meeting that is open to the public |
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| 17 | 17 | | during the open portions of the meeting. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (e) The notice of a meeting to be held by videoconference |
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| 19 | 19 | | call must specify as a location of the meeting the location where a |
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| 20 | 20 | | quorum of the governmental body will be physically present and |
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| 21 | 21 | | specify the intent to have a quorum present at that location. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (e-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (e), [except that] the |
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| 23 | 23 | | notice of a meeting to be held by videoconference call under |
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| 24 | 24 | | Subsection (c) must specify as a location of the meeting the |
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| 25 | 25 | | location where the member of the governmental body presiding over |
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| 26 | 26 | | the meeting or the member's designee will be physically present and |
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| 27 | 27 | | specify the intent to have that person [the member of the |
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| 28 | 28 | | governmental body presiding over the meeting] present at that |
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| 29 | 29 | | location. The location [where the member of the governmental body |
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| 30 | 30 | | presiding over the meeting is physically present] shall be open to |
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| 31 | 31 | | the public during the open portions of the meeting. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 33 | 33 | | an open meeting held on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 34 | 34 | | open meeting that is held before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 35 | 35 | | governed by the law in effect on the date of the open meeting, and |
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| 36 | 36 | | the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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