89R4066 BEF-D
By: West S.B. No. 2566
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to request for public information for legislative
purposes; providing an administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by amending Section 552.008 and adding Sections 552.0081
and 552.0082 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.008. INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES:
SPECIAL RIGHT OF ACCESS. (a) This chapter does not grant authority
to withhold information from individual members, agencies, or
committees of the legislature to use for legislative purposes.
(b) Each individual member, agency, and committee of the
legislature has a special right of access to public information for
legislative purposes. The special right of access applies to all
public information, including information that is confidential or
excepted from required disclosure under law, unless another statute
expressly excludes the information from the application of this
section.
(c) A governmental body on request by an individual member,
agency, or committee of the legislature shall provide public
information described by Subsection (b), including confidential
information, to the requesting member, agency, or committee for
inspection or duplication in accordance with this chapter if the
requesting member, agency, or committee states that the public
information is requested under this chapter for legislative
purposes. Except as otherwise provided by this section and Section
552.0081, a governmental body shall treat a request made under this
section in the same manner as a request for public information under
this chapter by a member of the public and shall comply with the
procedures and deadlines provided by this chapter for producing the
information.
(d) A governmental body, by providing public information
under this section that is confidential or otherwise excepted from
required disclosure under law, does not waive or affect the
confidentiality of the information for purposes of state or federal
law or waive the right to assert exceptions to required disclosure
of the information in the future.
(e) An individual member of the legislature may delegate the
exercise of the member's special right of access to public
information under this section in writing to specified legislative
staff employed by the member. Those legislative staff serve as an
extension of the member when exercising the special right of access
on the member's behalf.
(f) A governmental body may not charge a member, agency, or
committee of the legislature for providing copies of information
requested under this section.
(g) This section and Sections 552.0081 and 552.0082 do not
affect:
(1) the right of an individual member, agency, or
committee of the legislature to obtain information from a
governmental body under other law, including under the rules of
either house of the legislature;
(2) the procedures under which the information is
obtained under other law; or
(3) the use that may be made of the information
obtained under other law.
Sec. 552.0081. INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES:
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT. (a) A [The] governmental body that
provides confidential information under Section 552.008 may
require the requesting individual member of the legislature, the
head or chair of the requesting legislative agency or committee, or
the members or employees of the requesting member or entity who will
personally view or handle information [that is] received under
Section 552.008 [this section and] that is confidential under law
to sign a confidentiality agreement that covers the information and
complies with this section. A governmental body may not require a
member of a committee or an employee of a member, agency, or
committee to sign a confidentiality agreement unless the member or
employee will personally view or handle confidential information
covered by the agreement.
(b) A confidentiality agreement under Subsection (a):
(1) may require [and requires] that:
(A) [(1)] the information not be disclosed
outside the requesting entity, or within the requesting entity for
purposes other than the purpose for which it was received;
(B) [(2)] the information be labeled as
confidential;
(C) [(3)] the information be kept securely; or
(D) [(4)] the number of copies made of the
information or the notes taken from the information that implicate
the confidential nature of the information be controlled, with all
copies or notes that are not destroyed or returned to the
governmental body remaining confidential and subject to the
confidentiality agreement; and
(2) may not include other requirements.
(c) The office of the attorney general shall develop and
make available on the office's Internet website for use by
governmental bodies a template of a confidentiality agreement that
complies with Subsection (b).
(d) A member, agency, or committee of the legislature that
receives information subject to a confidentiality agreement under
Subsection (a) may share the information with another member,
agency, or committee of the legislature if:
(1) the other member, agency head, or committee chair
and any members or employees of the other member or entity who will
personally view or handle the information sign the original
confidentiality agreement; and
(2) the member, agency, or committee that originally
received the information notifies the governmental body of each
additional signatory's name and office or employer.
(e) A member, committee, or agency of the legislature
requested or required by a governmental body to sign a
confidentiality agreement under Subsection (a) may seek a written
decision from the attorney general about whether the agreement
complies with the requirements of Subsection (b). The attorney
general shall promptly render the decision not later than the 10th
business day after the date the attorney general received the
request for the decision and provide a copy of the decision to the
requestor and the governmental body. A confidentiality agreement
is void if the attorney general's decision determines that the
agreement fails to comply with the requirements of Subsection (b).
(f) [(b-1)] A member, committee, or agency of the
legislature requested or required by a governmental body to sign a
confidentiality agreement under Subsection (a) [(b)] may seek a
decision as provided by Subsection (g) [(b-2)] about whether the
information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
confidential under law. A confidentiality agreement [signed under
Subsection (b)] is void to the extent [that] the agreement covers
information that is finally determined under Subsection (g) [(b-2)]
to not be confidential under law.
(g) This subsection applies to a request for a decision
under Subsection (f) [(b-2) The member, committee, or agency of
the legislature may seek a decision from the attorney general about
the matter]. The attorney general by rule shall establish
procedures and deadlines for receiving briefs or other information
necessary to decide whether the information covered by a
confidentiality agreement is confidential under law [the matter and
briefs] from the requestor, the governmental body, and any other
interested person. The attorney general shall promptly render a
decision requested under Subsection (f) [this subsection],
determining whether the information covered by the confidentiality
agreement is confidential under law, not later than the 45th
business day after the date the attorney general received the
request [for a decision under this subsection]. The attorney
general shall issue a written decision on the matter and provide a
copy of the decision to the requestor, the governmental body, and
any interested person who submitted necessary information or a
brief to the attorney general about the matter. The requestor or
the governmental body may appeal a decision of the attorney general
under this subsection to a Travis County district court. A person
may appeal a decision of the attorney general under this subsection
to a Travis County district court if the person claims a proprietary
interest in the information affected by the decision or a privacy
interest in the information that a confidentiality law or judicial
decision is designed to protect.
[(c) This section does not affect:
[(1) the right of an individual member, agency, or
committee of the legislature to obtain information from a
governmental body under other law, including under the rules of
either house of the legislature;
[(2) the procedures under which the information is
obtained under other law; or
[(3) the use that may be made of the information
obtained under other law.]
Sec. 552.0082. INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES:
COMPLAINT PROCEDURES; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) A member of the
legislature who believes a governmental body is violating or has
violated Section 552.008 or 552.0081 may file a complaint with the
attorney general. The complaint must be in writing and include any
documents relevant to the complaint.
(b) The attorney general shall promptly investigate the
allegations made in the complaint and, not later than the 45th day
after the date the complaint was received, provide written findings
on the allegations made in the complaint to the member of the
legislature and the governmental body.
(c) If the attorney general determines under Subsection (b)
that a governmental body is violating or has violated Section
552.008 or 552.0081, the attorney general:
(1) shall require:
(A) the governmental body to provide to the
requesting member all public information originally requested by
the member not later than the 10th business day after the date the
written finding of the violation is issued; and
(B) the public information officer for the
governmental body to complete additional training on the
requirements of Sections 552.008 and 552.0081; and
(2) may impose an administrative penalty against the
governmental body under Subsection (d).
(d) The attorney general may impose an administrative
penalty against a governmental body that commits a serious or
repeat violation of Section 552.008 or 552.0081 or refuses to
provide public information as required by Subsection (c)(1)(A).
The amount of the administrative penalty may not exceed $5,000 per
violation per day. The governmental body may appeal the
administrative penalty to a district court in Travis County.
(e) A member of the legislature or governmental body that is
party to a complaint may appeal the written findings under
Subsection (b) to a district court in Travis County. The deadline
under Subsection (c)(1)(A) for producing information is stayed
pending the appeal unless otherwise ordered by the court.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a request for public information for legislative purposes under
Chapter 552, Government Code, received by a governmental body on or
after the effective date of this Act. A request received before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
complaint was received, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.