Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB42 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R613 SGM-F
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 42
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to remote and other meetings held under the open meetings
8	8	law.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 551, Government Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Section 551.008 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 551.008. PUBLIC ACCESS TO CERTAIN MEETINGS. (a) This
13	13	section applies only to an open meeting of a governmental body at
14	14	which at least a majority of the members of the body participate by
15	15	a method other than by appearing in person at the meeting's physical
16	16	location, including by telephone conference call or
17	17	videoconference call.
18	18	(b) The requirements prescribed by this section are in
19	19	addition to other requirements of law applicable to an open
20	20	meeting. Except as provided by this section, this section prevails
21	21	to the extent of a conflict with another provision of law.
22	22	(c) A governmental body shall ensure that members of the
23	23	public are able to listen to and, if applicable, speak at an open
24	24	meeting to which this section applies by telephone.
25	25	(d) A governmental body that holds an open meeting to which
26	26	this section applies shall:
27	27	(1) make the open meeting audible to the public by
28	28	telephone and at each location described by Subsection (e)(2);
29	29	(2) if the meeting is broadcast live over the Internet
30	30	or held wholly or partly by videoconference call, provide public
31	31	access to both audiovisual and audio-only feeds of the open meeting
32	32	over the Internet or by using a free, widely available computer
33	33	application; and
34	34	(3) if applicable, allow members of the public to
35	35	address the governmental body as provided by Section 551.007:
36	36	(A) by telephone; and
37	37	(B) by videoconference call if the meeting is
38	38	held wholly or partly by videoconference call.
39	39	(e) The notice of an open meeting to which this section
40	40	applies must:
41	41	(1) comply with the requirements of this chapter;
42	42	(2) list each physical location where a member of the
43	43	public may observe and participate in the meeting, including:
44	44	(A) any location that is open to the public where
45	45	a member of the governmental body intends to participate in the
46	46	meeting; and
47	47	(B) any facility provided by the governmental
48	48	body for a member of the public to observe or speak at the meeting;
49	49	(3) include a toll-free telephone number that members
50	50	of the public may use to hear and, if applicable, speak at the
51	51	meeting;
52	52	(4) include access information for any audiovisual or
53	53	audio-only feeds required by Subsection (d)(2); and
54	54	(5) include instructions for a member of the public to
55	55	speak at the meeting:
56	56	(A) from a remote location; or
57	57	(B) while physically present at a location
58	58	described by Subdivision (2).
59	59	(f) An open meeting to which this section applies shall be
60	60	recorded. Except as otherwise provided by law, the recording shall
61	61	be made available to the public not later than 24 hours after the
62	62	adjourning of the meeting.
63	63	SECTION 2. The heading to Section 551.023, Government Code,
64	64	is amended to read as follows:
65	65	Sec. 551.023. RECORDING OR LIVESTREAMING OF MEETING BY
66	66	PERSON IN ATTENDANCE.
67	67	SECTION 3. Sections 551.023(a) and (b), Government Code,
68	68	are amended to read as follows:
69	69	(a) A person in attendance at an open meeting of a
70	70	governmental body may:
71	71	(1) record all or any part of the [an open] meeting [of
72	72	a governmental body] by means of a recorder, video camera, or other
73	73	means of aural or visual reproduction; or
74	74	(2) stream live video and audio of all or any part of
75	75	the meeting over the Internet.
76	76	(b) A governmental body may adopt reasonable rules to
77	77	maintain order at a meeting, including rules relating to:
78	78	(1) the location of recording or livestreaming
79	79	equipment; and
80	80	(2) the manner in which the recording or livestreaming
81	81	is conducted.
82	82	SECTION 4. Section 551.041, Government Code, is amended to
83	83	read as follows:
84	84	Sec. 551.041. NOTICE OF MEETING REQUIRED. (a) A
85	85	governmental body shall give written notice of the date, hour,
86	86	place, and subject of each meeting held by the governmental body.
87	87	(b) The notice must include:
88	88	(1) an agenda of the specific subjects to be
89	89	considered in the open meeting so that the public is aware of the
90	90	subjects for public deliberation; and
91	91	(2) to the extent foreseeable at the time the notice is
92	92	posted, the subjects to be considered in a closed meeting.
93	93	(c) A governmental body may not conduct a closed meeting on
94	94	a subject not included in the notice as prescribed by Subsection
95	95	(b)(2) unless the body determines by official action during the
96	96	open meeting for which the notice was posted that the necessity of
97	97	considering the subject was not reasonably foreseeable at the time
98	98	the notice was posted.
99	99	SECTION 5. Sections 551.128(b) and (c), Government Code,
100	100	are amended to read as follows:
101	101	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1) and subject to
102	102	the requirements of this section, a governmental body may broadcast
103	103	an open meeting over the Internet. A governmental body shall
104	104	broadcast an open meeting over the Internet, or shall hold an open
105	105	meeting by telephone conference call or videoconference call, if
106	106	the physical location of the meeting is not accessible to members of
107	107	the public or is not large enough to accommodate all persons seeking
108	108	to attend the meeting in person, including if the location has
109	109	reduced capacity as the result of an emergency or urgent public
110	110	necessity, as described by Section 551.045(b).
111	111	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (b-2), a governmental
112	112	body that broadcasts a meeting over the Internet shall establish an
113	113	Internet site and provide free and open access for members of the
114	114	public to the broadcast from that site. The governmental body shall
115	115	provide on the Internet site the same notice of the meeting that the
116	116	governmental body is required to post under Subchapter C. The
117	117	notice on the Internet must be posted within the time required for
118	118	posting notice under Subchapter C.
119	119	SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 551, Government Code, is
120	120	amended by adding Section 551.1284 to read as follows:
121	121	Sec. 551.1284. INTERNET BROADCAST OF OPEN MEETINGS OF
122	122	CERTAIN LARGE STATE AGENCIES. (a) This section applies only to a
123	123	governmental body that is an agency within the executive or
124	124	legislative branch of state government to which the total
125	125	appropriation made in the General Appropriations Act from general
126	126	revenue for any fiscal year beginning on or after September 1, 2023,
127	127	including any amount of general revenue transferred to the
128	128	governmental body under that Act for that fiscal year, is greater
129	129	than $10 million and for which the bill pattern for the General
130	130	Appropriations Act for the same fiscal year designates 100 or more
131	131	full-time employees.
132	132	(b) A governmental body that becomes subject to this section
133	133	under Subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall comply with this
134	134	section in each following fiscal year.
135	135	(c) A governmental body subject to this section shall
136	136	broadcast over the Internet live video and audio of each open
137	137	meeting of the governmental body. The governmental body shall
138	138	provide access to the broadcast on the governmental body's Internet
139	139	website.
140	140	(d) Not later than the seventh day after the date an open
141	141	meeting is broadcast under this section, the governmental body
142	142	shall make available through the governmental body's Internet
143	143	website archived video and audio of the open meeting. The
144	144	governmental body shall maintain the archived video and audio of
145	145	the open meeting on the governmental body's Internet website until
146	146	the second anniversary of the date the archived video and audio was
147	147	first made available on the website.
148	148	(e) The governmental body shall provide on the governmental
149	149	body's Internet website the same notice of the open meeting that the
150	150	governmental body is required to post under Subchapter C. The
151	151	notice must be posted on the governmental body's Internet website
152	152	within the time required for posting notice under Subchapter C.
153	153	(f) The governmental body may use for an Internet broadcast
154	154	of an open meeting of the governmental body a room made available to
155	155	the governmental body on request in any state building, as defined
156	156	by Section 2165.301.
157	157	(g) The governmental body is exempt from the requirements of
158	158	this section to the extent a catastrophe, as defined by Section
159	159	551.0411, or a technical breakdown prevents the governmental body
160	160	from complying with this section. Following the catastrophe or
161	161	technical breakdown, the governmental body shall make all
162	162	reasonable efforts to make the required video and audio of the open
163	163	meeting available in a timely manner.
164	164	(h) The governmental body shall consider contracting
165	165	through competitive bidding with a private individual or entity to
166	166	broadcast and archive an open meeting subject to this section to
167	167	minimize the cost of complying with this section.
168	168	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
169	169	a meeting of a governmental body held on or after the effective date
170	170	of this Act.
171	171	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.