Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 247 amends the Government Code to add an exception to the open records law for information relating to the home address, home telephone number, or social security number of a commissioned security officer or identifying whether the officer has family members. Moreover, a security officer, peace officer, county jailer, or Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee may elect to make such information totally confidential without regard to the occurrence of an open records request and to have that confidentiality applied to any governmental body or bodies that hold the information. A confidentiality elective remains in effect until rescinded.

            The Tax Code is amended to allow the same four classes of individuals to elect to restrict public access to the individual's home address information contained in appraisal records. Address information can be made public if it does not identify the individual, but otherwise is available for official use only by the appraisal district, the comptroller, the state, and taxing units and political subdivisions. The bill makes appraisal record address information for a family violence shelter center or sexual assault program confidential, except for official use.