Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2566 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	89R4066 BEF-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 2566
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6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to request for public information for legislative
10	10	purposes; providing an administrative penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
13	13	amended by amending Section 552.008 and adding Sections 552.0081
14	14	and 552.0082 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 552.008. INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES:
16	16	SPECIAL RIGHT OF ACCESS. (a) This chapter does not grant authority
17	17	to withhold information from individual members, agencies, or
18	18	committees of the legislature to use for legislative purposes.
19	19	(b) Each individual member, agency, and committee of the
20	20	legislature has a special right of access to public information for
21	21	legislative purposes. The special right of access applies to all
22	22	public information, including information that is confidential or
23	23	excepted from required disclosure under law, unless another statute
24	24	expressly excludes the information from the application of this
25	25	section.
26	26	(c) A governmental body on request by an individual member,
27	27	agency, or committee of the legislature shall provide public
28	28	information described by Subsection (b), including confidential
29	29	information, to the requesting member, agency, or committee for
30	30	inspection or duplication in accordance with this chapter if the
31	31	requesting member, agency, or committee states that the public
32	32	information is requested under this chapter for legislative
33	33	purposes. Except as otherwise provided by this section and Section
34	34	552.0081, a governmental body shall treat a request made under this
35	35	section in the same manner as a request for public information under
36	36	this chapter by a member of the public and shall comply with the
37	37	procedures and deadlines provided by this chapter for producing the
38	38	information.
39	39	(d) A governmental body, by providing public information
40	40	under this section that is confidential or otherwise excepted from
41	41	required disclosure under law, does not waive or affect the
42	42	confidentiality of the information for purposes of state or federal
43	43	law or waive the right to assert exceptions to required disclosure
44	44	of the information in the future.
45	45	(e) An individual member of the legislature may delegate the
46	46	exercise of the member's special right of access to public
47	47	information under this section in writing to specified legislative
48	48	staff employed by the member. Those legislative staff serve as an
49	49	extension of the member when exercising the special right of access
50	50	on the member's behalf.
51	51	(f) A governmental body may not charge a member, agency, or
52	52	committee of the legislature for providing copies of information
53	53	requested under this section.
54	54	(g) This section and Sections 552.0081 and 552.0082 do not
55	55	affect:
56	56	(1) the right of an individual member, agency, or
57	57	committee of the legislature to obtain information from a
58	58	governmental body under other law, including under the rules of
59	59	either house of the legislature;
60	60	(2) the procedures under which the information is
61	61	obtained under other law; or
62	62	(3) the use that may be made of the information
63	63	obtained under other law.
64	64	Sec. 552.0081. INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES:
65	65	CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT. (a) A [The] governmental body that
66	66	provides confidential information under Section 552.008 may
67	67	require the requesting individual member of the legislature, the
68	68	head or chair of the requesting legislative agency or committee, or
69	69	the members or employees of the requesting member or entity who will
70	70	personally view or handle information [that is] received under
71	71	Section 552.008 [this section and] that is confidential under law
72	72	to sign a confidentiality agreement that covers the information and
73	73	complies with this section. A governmental body may not require a
74	74	member of a committee or an employee of a member, agency, or
75	75	committee to sign a confidentiality agreement unless the member or
76	76	employee will personally view or handle confidential information
77	77	covered by the agreement.
78	78	(b) A confidentiality agreement under Subsection (a):
79	79	(1) may require [and requires] that:
80	80	(A) [(1)] the information not be disclosed
81	81	outside the requesting entity, or within the requesting entity for
82	82	purposes other than the purpose for which it was received;
83	83	(B) [(2)] the information be labeled as
84	84	confidential;
85	85	(C) [(3)] the information be kept securely; or
86	86	(D) [(4)] the number of copies made of the
87	87	information or the notes taken from the information that implicate
88	88	the confidential nature of the information be controlled, with all
89	89	copies or notes that are not destroyed or returned to the
90	90	governmental body remaining confidential and subject to the
91	91	confidentiality agreement; and
92	92	(2) may not include other requirements.
93	93	(c) The office of the attorney general shall develop and
94	94	make available on the office's Internet website for use by
95	95	governmental bodies a template of a confidentiality agreement that
96	96	complies with Subsection (b).
97	97	(d) A member, agency, or committee of the legislature that
98	98	receives information subject to a confidentiality agreement under
99	99	Subsection (a) may share the information with another member,
100	100	agency, or committee of the legislature if:
101	101	(1) the other member, agency head, or committee chair
102	102	and any members or employees of the other member or entity who will
103	103	personally view or handle the information sign the original
104	104	confidentiality agreement; and
105	105	(2) the member, agency, or committee that originally
106	106	received the information notifies the governmental body of each
107	107	additional signatory's name and office or employer.
108	108	(e) A member, committee, or agency of the legislature
109	109	requested or required by a governmental body to sign a
110	110	confidentiality agreement under Subsection (a) may seek a written
111	111	decision from the attorney general about whether the agreement
112	112	complies with the requirements of Subsection (b). The attorney
113	113	general shall promptly render the decision not later than the 10th
114	114	business day after the date the attorney general received the
115	115	request for the decision and provide a copy of the decision to the
116	116	requestor and the governmental body. A confidentiality agreement
117	117	is void if the attorney general's decision determines that the
118	118	agreement fails to comply with the requirements of Subsection (b).
119	119	(f) [(b-1)] A member, committee, or agency of the
120	120	legislature requested or required by a governmental body to sign a
121	121	confidentiality agreement under Subsection (a) [(b)] may seek a
122	122	decision as provided by Subsection (g) [(b-2)] about whether the
123	123	information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
124	124	confidential under law. A confidentiality agreement [signed under
125	125	Subsection (b)] is void to the extent [that] the agreement covers
126	126	information that is finally determined under Subsection (g) [(b-2)]
127	127	to not be confidential under law.
128	128	(g) This subsection applies to a request for a decision
129	129	under Subsection (f) [(b-2) The member, committee, or agency of
130	130	the legislature may seek a decision from the attorney general about
131	131	the matter]. The attorney general by rule shall establish
132	132	procedures and deadlines for receiving briefs or other information
133	133	necessary to decide whether the information covered by a
134	134	confidentiality agreement is confidential under law [the matter and
135	135	briefs] from the requestor, the governmental body, and any other
136	136	interested person. The attorney general shall promptly render a
137	137	decision requested under Subsection (f) [this subsection],
138	138	determining whether the information covered by the confidentiality
139	139	agreement is confidential under law, not later than the 45th
140	140	business day after the date the attorney general received the
141	141	request [for a decision under this subsection]. The attorney
142	142	general shall issue a written decision on the matter and provide a
143	143	copy of the decision to the requestor, the governmental body, and
144	144	any interested person who submitted necessary information or a
145	145	brief to the attorney general about the matter. The requestor or
146	146	the governmental body may appeal a decision of the attorney general
147	147	under this subsection to a Travis County district court. A person
148	148	may appeal a decision of the attorney general under this subsection
149	149	to a Travis County district court if the person claims a proprietary
150	150	interest in the information affected by the decision or a privacy
151	151	interest in the information that a confidentiality law or judicial
152	152	decision is designed to protect.
153	153	[(c) This section does not affect:
154	154	[(1) the right of an individual member, agency, or
155	155	committee of the legislature to obtain information from a
156	156	governmental body under other law, including under the rules of
157	157	either house of the legislature;
158	158	[(2) the procedures under which the information is
159	159	obtained under other law; or
160	160	[(3) the use that may be made of the information
161	161	obtained under other law.]
162	162	Sec. 552.0082. INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES:
163	163	COMPLAINT PROCEDURES; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) A member of the
164	164	legislature who believes a governmental body is violating or has
165	165	violated Section 552.008 or 552.0081 may file a complaint with the
166	166	attorney general. The complaint must be in writing and include any
167	167	documents relevant to the complaint.
168	168	(b) The attorney general shall promptly investigate the
169	169	allegations made in the complaint and, not later than the 45th day
170	170	after the date the complaint was received, provide written findings
171	171	on the allegations made in the complaint to the member of the
172	172	legislature and the governmental body.
173	173	(c) If the attorney general determines under Subsection (b)
174	174	that a governmental body is violating or has violated Section
175	175	552.008 or 552.0081, the attorney general:
176	176	(1) shall require:
177	177	(A) the governmental body to provide to the
178	178	requesting member all public information originally requested by
179	179	the member not later than the 10th business day after the date the
180	180	written finding of the violation is issued; and
181	181	(B) the public information officer for the
182	182	governmental body to complete additional training on the
183	183	requirements of Sections 552.008 and 552.0081; and
184	184	(2) may impose an administrative penalty against the
185	185	governmental body under Subsection (d).
186	186	(d) The attorney general may impose an administrative
187	187	penalty against a governmental body that commits a serious or
188	188	repeat violation of Section 552.008 or 552.0081 or refuses to
189	189	provide public information as required by Subsection (c)(1)(A).
190	190	The amount of the administrative penalty may not exceed $5,000 per
191	191	violation per day. The governmental body may appeal the
192	192	administrative penalty to a district court in Travis County.
193	193	(e) A member of the legislature or governmental body that is
194	194	party to a complaint may appeal the written findings under
195	195	Subsection (b) to a district court in Travis County. The deadline
196	196	under Subsection (c)(1)(A) for producing information is stayed
197	197	pending the appeal unless otherwise ordered by the court.
198	198	SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
199	199	a request for public information for legislative purposes under
200	200	Chapter 552, Government Code, received by a governmental body on or
201	201	after the effective date of this Act. A request received before the
202	202	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
203	203	complaint was received, and the former law is continued in effect
204	204	for that purpose.
205	205	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.