BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 390

By: Howard

State Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

State agencies hold public meetings to increase transparency regarding agency decisions and policies that impact the lives of Texans. However, it is difficult to maintain public awareness and understanding of these meetings when so many Texans are unable to attend meetings in person. Transparency and engagement would be significantly increased by improved access to online broadcasts, both through the use of live Internet streaming and archived footage. Many state agencies already broadcast live and archive their public meetings with video and audio, with minimal costs. However, not all agencies provide such access, post consistently or in a timely manner, or post in a clear location on the agency's website. H.B. 390 seeks to ensure that members of the public have an opportunity to engage with state government, even if unable to physically attend an open meeting, by requiring each legislative or executive branch state agency of qualifying size to broadcast its open meetings live on the Internet and by requiring other, smaller agencies to promptly make recordings of their meetings available online.

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

H.B. 390 amends the Government Code to require an executive or legislative branch state agency of qualifying size to broadcast over the Internet live video and audio of each of its open meetings and to provide access to the broadcast on the agency's website. The bill authorizes the agency to use for such a broadcast any room made available on request in any state building and sets out provisions requiring the agency to make available and maintain for two years archived video and audio of the meeting through the agency's website. The bill requires the agency to consider contracting through competitive bidding with a private individual or entity to broadcast and archive an open meeting to minimize compliance costs. These provisions apply if an applicable agency meets the following criteria:

· receives a total appropriation greater than $10 million from general revenue in the General Appropriations Act for any fiscal year beginning on or after September 1, 2023, including any amount of general revenue transferred to the agency for that fiscal year; and

· is designated 100 or more full-time employees in the bill pattern for the General Appropriations Act for the same fiscal year.

An agency that becomes subject to these provisions for a given fiscal year must also comply in each following fiscal year.

H.B. 390 requires an executive or legislative branch state agency not required to air live video and audio broadcasts of its open meetings under the bill's provisions to make an audio recording of each open meeting available through the agency's website or an associated social media account not later than the seventh day after the meeting date.

H.B. 390 sets out certain requirements for executive and legislative branch state agencies regarding the posting of open meeting notices on the Internet or the agency's social media account, as applicable, and exempts an agency from all applicable bill requirements to the extent a catastrophe, as defined by state open meetings law, or a technical breakdown prevents compliance. The agency must make all reasonable efforts following the catastrophe or technical breakdown to make available in a timely manner the requisite video and audio or audio recording, as applicable.

H.B. 390 applies only to an open meeting held on or after September 1, 2025.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.