| 1 | 1 | | 88R10757 JON-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Middleton S.B. No. 2286 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the assessment of litigation costs and attorney fees in |
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| 8 | 8 | | certain lawsuits under the public information law. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 552.323, Government Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 552.323. ASSESSMENT OF COSTS OF LITIGATION AND |
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| 13 | 13 | | REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES. (a) Except as provided by Subsections |
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| 14 | 14 | | (b) and (c), in [In] an action brought under Section 552.321, [or] |
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| 15 | 15 | | 552.3215, 552.324, or 552.325, the court shall assess costs of |
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| 16 | 16 | | litigation and reasonable attorney fees incurred by a plaintiff or |
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| 17 | 17 | | intervening requestor: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) who substantially prevails; or |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) to whom a governmental body voluntarily releases |
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| 20 | 20 | | the requested information, unless before suit is filed: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (A) the body releases the information; or |
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| 22 | 22 | | (B) the body certifies a date and hour within a |
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| 23 | 23 | | reasonable time when the information will be available for |
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| 24 | 24 | | inspection or duplication. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (b) The [, except that the] court may not assess [those] |
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| 26 | 26 | | costs or [and] fees against a governmental body under Subsection |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a) if the court finds that the governmental body acted in |
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| 28 | 28 | | reasonable reliance on: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) a judgment or an order of a court applicable to the |
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| 30 | 30 | | governmental body; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2) the published opinion of an appellate court; or |
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| 32 | 32 | | (3) a written decision of the attorney general, |
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| 33 | 33 | | including a decision issued under Subchapter G or an opinion issued |
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| 34 | 34 | | under Section 402.042. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), in an action brought |
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| 36 | 36 | | under Section 552.325 by a person or entity other than a |
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| 37 | 37 | | governmental body or officer for public information, the court |
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| 38 | 38 | | shall assess costs of litigation and reasonable attorney fees |
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| 39 | 39 | | incurred by an intervening requestor if the intervening requestor |
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| 40 | 40 | | substantially prevails. |
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| 41 | 41 | | [(b) In an action brought under Section 552.324, the court |
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| 42 | 42 | | may not assess costs of litigation or reasonable attorney's fees |
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| 43 | 43 | | incurred by a plaintiff or defendant who substantially prevails |
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| 44 | 44 | | unless the court finds the action or the defense of the action was |
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| 45 | 45 | | groundless in fact or law. In exercising its discretion under this |
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| 46 | 46 | | subsection, the court shall consider whether the conduct of the |
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| 47 | 47 | | governmental body had a reasonable basis in law and whether the |
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| 48 | 48 | | litigation was brought in good faith.] |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 50 | 50 | | a request for public information received by a governmental body or |
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| 51 | 51 | | officer for public information on or after the effective date of |
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| 52 | 52 | | this Act. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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