89R8460 JON-F
By: Middleton S.B. No. 824
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the public information law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 552.221, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows:
(f) If the governmental body determines it has no
information responsive to a request for information, the officer
for public information shall notify the requestor in writing not
later than the 10th business day after the date the request is
received.
(g) If a governmental body determines the requested
information is subject to a previous determination that permits or
requires the governmental body to withhold the requested
information, the officer for public information shall, not later
than the 10th business day after the date the request is received:
(1) notify the requestor in writing that the
information is being withheld; and
(2) identify in the notice the specific previous
determination the governmental body is relying on to withhold the
requested information.
SECTION 2. Section 552.261, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) A governmental body may not impose a charge under this
subchapter for providing a copy of public information if:
(1) the information is a report required to be filed
with the governmental body under Subchapter C or D, Chapter 254,
Election Code, unless all of those reports filed with the
governmental body during the preceding three years are available to
the public on the governmental body's Internet website;
(2) the officer for public information is required to
make a certification under Section 552.221(d) that the officer
cannot produce the public information for inspection or duplication
within 10 business days after the date the information is
requested;
(3) the governmental body asked for clarification of
the request under Section 552.222 later than the 10th business day
after the date the information was requested;
(4) the governmental body asked for a decision under
Section 552.301 with respect to the requested information and did
not provide to the requestor the information required by Section
552.301(d) or (e-1); or
(5) the attorney general issued a written opinion
under Section 552.306(b) determining that the requested
information is subject to mandatory disclosure under this chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 552.306(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) A governmental body shall as soon as practicable but
within a reasonable period of time after the date the attorney
general issues an opinion under Subsection (b) regarding
information requested under this chapter:
(1) [provide the requestor of the information an
itemized estimate of charges for production of the information if
the estimate is required by Section 552.2615;
[(2)] if the requested information is voluminous:
(A) take the following actions if the
governmental body determines that it is able to disclose the
information in a single batch:
(i) provide a written certified notice to
the requestor and the attorney general that it is impractical or
impossible for the governmental body to produce the information
within a reasonable period of time;
(ii) include in the notice the date and hour
that the governmental body will disclose the information to the
requestor, which may not be later than the 15th business day after
the date the governmental body provides the notice; and
(iii) produce the information at the date
and time included in the notice; or
(B) take the following actions if the
governmental body determines that it is unable to disclose the
information in a single batch:
(i) provide a written certified notice to
the requestor and the attorney general that it is impractical or
impossible for the governmental body to produce the information
within a reasonable period of time and in a single batch;
(ii) include in the notice the date and hour
that the governmental body will disclose the first batch of
information to the requestor, which may not be later than the 15th
business day after the date the governmental body provides the
notice;
(iii) provide a written certified notice to
the requestor and the attorney general when each subsequent batch
of information is disclosed to the requestor of the date and hour
that the governmental body will disclose the next batch of
information to the requestor, which may not be later than the 15th
business day after the date the governmental body provides the
notice; and
(iv) produce the requested information at
each date and time included in a notice;
(2) [(3)] produce the information if it is required to
be produced;
(3) [(4)] notify the requestor in writing that the
governmental body is withholding the information as authorized by
the opinion; or
(4) [(5)] notify the requestor in writing that the
governmental body has filed suit against the attorney general under
Section 552.324 regarding the information.
SECTION 4. Section 552.323, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.323. ASSESSMENT OF COSTS OF LITIGATION AND
REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES. (a) Except as provided by Subsections
(b) and (c), in [In] an action brought under Section 552.321, [or]
552.3215, 552.324, or 552.325, the court shall assess costs of
litigation and reasonable attorney fees incurred by a plaintiff or
intervening requestor:
(1) who substantially prevails; or
(2) to whom a governmental body voluntarily releases
the requested information, unless before suit is filed:
(A) the body releases the information; or
(B) the body certifies a date and hour within a
reasonable time when the information will be available for
inspection or duplication.
(b) The [, except that the] court may not assess [those]
costs or [and] fees against a governmental body under Subsection
(a) if the court finds that the governmental body acted in
reasonable reliance on:
(1) a judgment or an order of a court applicable to the
governmental body;
(2) the published opinion of an appellate court; or
(3) a written decision of the attorney general,
including a decision issued under Subchapter G or an opinion issued
under Section 402.042.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), in an action brought
under Section 552.325 by a person or entity other than a
governmental body or officer for public information, the court
shall assess costs of litigation and reasonable attorney fees
incurred by an intervening requestor if the intervening requestor
substantially prevails.
[(b) In an action brought under Section 552.324, the court
may not assess costs of litigation or reasonable attorney's fees
incurred by a plaintiff or defendant who substantially prevails
unless the court finds the action or the defense of the action was
groundless in fact or law. In exercising its discretion under this
subsection, the court shall consider whether the conduct of the
governmental body had a reasonable basis in law and whether the
litigation was brought in good faith.]
SECTION 5. The heading to Subchapter H, Chapter 552,
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT; COMPLAINT
SECTION 6. Subchapter H, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 552.328 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.328. FAILURE TO RESPOND TO REQUESTOR. (a) If a
governmental body fails to respond to a requestor as required by
Section 552.221, the requestor may send a written complaint to the
attorney general.
(b) The complaint must include:
(1) the original request for information; and
(2) any correspondence received from the governmental
body in response to the request.
(c) If the attorney general determines the governmental
body improperly failed to comply with Section 552.221 in connection
with a request for which a complaint is made under this section:
(1) the attorney general shall notify the governmental
body in writing and require the governmental body to complete open
records training not later than six months after receiving the
notification;
(2) the governmental body may not assess costs to the
requestor for producing information in response to the request; and
(3) if the governmental body seeks to withhold
information in response to the request, the governmental body must:
(A) request an attorney general decision under
Section 552.301 not later than the fifth business day after the date
the governmental body receives the notification under Subdivision
(1); and
(B) release the requested information unless
there is a compelling reason to withhold the information.
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a request for information that is received by a governmental body or
an officer for public information on or after the effective date of
this Act. A request for information that was received before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the request was received, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.