BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 858

By: Johnson

Transportation

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised regarding the disclosure of information regarding the travel patterns of consumers who use mobile applications to purchase public transit tickets. There have been calls to protect this personal information, which may include information relating to trip time, date, origin, and destination, and demographic data, from public disclosure. S.B. 858 seeks to address this issue by excepting from disclosure under state public information law a person's trip data and other personal information collected by certain transportation entities.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 858 amends the Transportation Code to make the following information collected by a metropolitan rapid transit authority, regional transportation authority, municipal transit department, and coordinated county transportation authority confidential and excepted from disclosure under state public information law:

· a person's trip data, including the time, date, origin, and destination of a trip, and demographic information collected when the person purchases a ticket or schedules a trip; and

· other personal information.

The bill also extends the confidentiality and disclosure exception applicable to the other personal identifying information collected by those authorities under current law to that information collected by a municipal transit department. The bill provides for the disclosure of personal trip data and demographic information collected by these transportation entities to a governmental agency or institution of higher education for research or statistical report purposes under certain conditions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.