Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB969 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Garcia Hernandez H.B. No. 969
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the applicability of the open meetings law and the
9	9	public information law to the Texas Energy Reliability Council and
10	10	to independent organizations established to manage power regions.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Sections 418.309(c) and (d), Government Code,
13	13	are amended to read as follows:
14	14	(c) The [Except as provided by Subsection (d), the meetings
15	15	of the council and information obtained or created by the] council
16	16	is [are not] subject to the requirements of Chapters [Chapter] 551
17	17	and [or] 552.
18	18	(d) Information written, produced, collected, assembled, or
19	19	maintained under law or in connection with the transaction of
20	20	official business by the council or an officer or employee of the
21	21	council is subject to Section 552.008 [in the same manner as public
22	22	information].
23	23	SECTION 2. Section 551.001(3), Government Code, is amended
24	24	to read as follows:
25	25	(3) "Governmental body" means:
26	26	(A) a board, commission, department, committee,
27	27	or agency within the executive or legislative branch of state
28	28	government that is directed by one or more elected or appointed
29	29	members;
30	30	(B) a county commissioners court in the state;
31	31	(C) a municipal governing body in the state;
32	32	(D) a deliberative body that has rulemaking or
33	33	quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a department,
34	34	agency, or political subdivision of a county or municipality;
35	35	(E) a school district board of trustees;
36	36	(F) a county board of school trustees;
37	37	(G) a county board of education;
38	38	(H) the governing board of a special district
39	39	created by law;
40	40	(I) a local workforce development board created
41	41	under Section 2308.253;
42	42	(J) a nonprofit corporation that is eligible to
43	43	receive funds under the federal community services block grant
44	44	program and that is authorized by this state to serve a geographic
45	45	area of the state;
46	46	(K) a nonprofit corporation organized under
47	47	Chapter 67, Water Code, that provides a water supply or wastewater
48	48	service, or both, and is exempt from ad valorem taxation under
49	49	Section 11.30, Tax Code;
50	50	(L) a joint board created under Section 22.074,
51	51	Transportation Code; [and]
52	52	(M) a board of directors of a reinvestment zone
53	53	created under Chapter 311, Tax Code; and
54	54	(N) an independent organization established
55	55	under Section 39.151, Utilities Code, to manage a power region.
56	56	SECTION 3. Section 552.003(1), Government Code, is amended
57	57	to read as follows:
58	58	(1) "Governmental body":
59	59	(A) means:
60	60	(i) a board, commission, department,
61	61	committee, institution, agency, or office that is within or is
62	62	created by the executive or legislative branch of state government
63	63	and that is directed by one or more elected or appointed members;
64	64	(ii) a county commissioners court in the
65	65	state;
66	66	(iii) a municipal governing body in the
67	67	state;
68	68	(iv) a deliberative body that has
69	69	rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
70	70	department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or
71	71	municipality;
72	72	(v) a school district board of trustees;
73	73	(vi) a county board of school trustees;
74	74	(vii) a county board of education;
75	75	(viii) the governing board of a special
76	76	district;
77	77	(ix) the governing body of a nonprofit
78	78	corporation organized under Chapter 67, Water Code, that provides a
79	79	water supply or wastewater service, or both, and is exempt from ad
80	80	valorem taxation under Section 11.30, Tax Code;
81	81	(x) a local workforce development board
82	82	created under Section 2308.253;
83	83	(xi) a nonprofit corporation that is
84	84	eligible to receive funds under the federal community services
85	85	block grant program and that is authorized by this state to serve a
86	86	geographic area of the state;
87	87	(xii) a confinement facility operated under
88	88	a contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal
89	89	Justice;
90	90	(xiii) a civil commitment housing facility
91	91	owned, leased, or operated by a vendor under contract with the state
92	92	as provided by Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code;
93	93	(xiv) an entity that receives public funds
94	94	in the current or preceding state fiscal year to manage the daily
95	95	operations or restoration of the Alamo, or an entity that oversees
96	96	such an entity; [and]
97	97	(xv) the part, section, or portion of an
98	98	organization, corporation, commission, committee, institution, or
99	99	agency that spends or that is supported in whole or in part by
100	100	public funds; and
101	101	(xvi) an independent organization
102	102	established under Section 39.151, Utilities Code, to manage a power
103	103	region; and
104	104	(B) does not include:
105	105	(i) the judiciary; or
106	106	(ii) an economic development entity whose
107	107	mission or purpose is to develop and promote the economic growth of
108	108	a state agency or political subdivision with which the entity
109	109	contracts if:
110	110	(a) the entity does not receive $1
111	111	million or more in public funds from a single state agency or
112	112	political subdivision in the current or preceding state fiscal
113	113	year; or
114	114	(b) the entity:
115	115	(1) either:
116	116	(A) does not have the
117	117	authority to make decisions or recommendations on behalf of a state
118	118	agency or political subdivision regarding tax abatements or tax
119	119	incentives; or
120	120	(B) does not require an
121	121	officer of the state agency or political subdivision to hold office
122	122	as a member of the board of directors of the entity;
123	123	(2) does not use staff or office
124	124	space of the state agency or political subdivision for no or nominal
125	125	consideration, unless the space is available to the public;
126	126	(3) to a reasonable degree,
127	127	tracks the entity's receipt and expenditure of public funds
128	128	separately from the entity's receipt and expenditure of private
129	129	funds; and
130	130	(4) provides at least quarterly
131	131	public reports to the state agency or political subdivision
132	132	regarding work performed on behalf of the state agency or political
133	133	subdivision.
134	134	SECTION 4. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
135	135	only to a meeting held on or after the effective date of this Act. A
136	136	meeting held before the effective date of this Act is governed by
137	137	the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act,
138	138	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
139	139	(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a
140	140	request for public information received on or after the effective
141	141	date of this Act. A request for public information received before
142	142	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
143	143	the request was received, and the former law is continued in effect
144	144	for that purpose.
145	145	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.