By Jones of Lubbock                             H.B. No. 3177

      75R9332 JD-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to public access to certain information under, and for the

 1-3     purposes of, the open records law.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is

 1-6     amended by adding Section 411.135 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 411.135.  ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION BY PUBLIC.  (a)

 1-8     Any person is entitled to obtain from the department:

 1-9                 (1)  any information described as public information

1-10     under Section 5, Article 6252-13c.1, Revised Statutes; and

1-11                 (2)  criminal history record information maintained by

1-12     the department that is a court record of a public judicial

1-13     proceeding and that relates to:

1-14                       (A)  the conviction of a person for any criminal

1-15     offense; or

1-16                       (B)  a grant of deferred adjudication to a person

1-17     charged with a felony offense.

1-18           (b)  The department by rule shall design and implement a

1-19     system to respond to electronic inquiries and other inquiries for

1-20     information described  by Subsection (a).

1-21           (c)  A person who obtains information from the department

1-22     under Subsection (a) may:

1-23                 (1)  use the information for any purpose; or

1-24                 (2)  release the information to any other person.

 2-1           SECTION 2.  Section 552.001, Government Code, is amended by

 2-2     adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

 2-3           (c)  A governmental body may not use this chapter or the

 2-4     procedures in this chapter to raise revenue or to compete unfairly

 2-5     with individuals and entities in the private sector.

 2-6           SECTION 3.  Section 552.261, Government Code, is amended to

 2-7     read as follows:

 2-8           Sec. 552.261.  DETERMINING COST OF COPIES.  (a)  Copies of

 2-9     public information provided under this chapter must be provided at

2-10     their actual cost.  The cost of obtaining a copy of public

2-11     information shall be an amount that reasonably includes all costs

2-12     related to reproducing the public information, including costs of

2-13     materials, labor, and overhead and may not include a charge for

2-14     capital expenditures for computer or copying equipment.

2-15           (b)  If a request is for 50 or fewer pages of paper records,

2-16     the charge for the public information may not include costs of

2-17     materials, labor, or overhead, but shall be limited to the

2-18     photocopying costs, unless the pages to be copied are located in:

2-19                 (1)  more than one building; or

2-20                 (2)  a remote storage facility.

2-21           SECTION 4.  The Department of Public Safety shall implement

2-22     the system described by Section 411.135, Government Code, as added

2-23     by this Act, not later than January 1, 1998.

2-24           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-25           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-2     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.