By: Armbrister S.B. No. 1850
97S0885/1
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the requirement of open meetings and public disclosure
1-2 of information by the governing bodies of entities that are parties
1-3 to certain contracts with the state.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 552.003, Government Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 552.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-8 (1) "Governmental body":
1-9 (A) means:
1-10 (i) a board, commission, department,
1-11 committee, institution, agency, or office that is within or is
1-12 created by the executive or legislative branch of state government
1-13 and that is directed by one or more elected or appointed members;
1-14 (ii) a county commissioners court in the
1-15 state;
1-16 (iii) a municipal governing body in the
1-17 state;
1-18 (iv) a deliberative body that has
1-19 rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
1-20 department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or
1-21 municipality;
1-22 (v) a school district board of trustees;
1-23 (vi) a county board of school trustees;
2-1 (vii) a county board of education;
2-2 (viii) the governing board of a special
2-3 district;
2-4 (ix) the governing body of a nonprofit
2-5 corporation organized under Chapter 76, Acts of the 43rd
2-6 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 1434a, Vernon's
2-7 Texas Civil Statutes), that provides a water supply or wastewater
2-8 service, or both, and is exempt from ad valorem taxation under
2-9 Section 11.30, Tax Code; [and]
2-10 (x) the part, section, or portion of an
2-11 organization, corporation, commission, committee, institution, or
2-12 agency that spends or that is supported in whole or in part by
2-13 public funds; and
2-14 (xi) the governing body of an entity that
2-15 is a party to a contract with the state, a state agency, or a
2-16 political subdivision of the state under which the entity provides
2-17 a service or performs a duty that constitutes a governmental
2-18 function; and
2-19 (B) does not include the judiciary.
2-20 (2) "Governmental function" means a service that a
2-21 public authority would provide itself or a duty it would perform
2-22 itself but for a contract with an entity to provide the service or
2-23 perform the duty.
2-24 (3) "Manipulation" means the process of modifying,
2-25 reordering, or decoding of information with human intervention.
3-1 (4) [(3)] "Processing" means the execution of a
3-2 sequence of coded instructions by a computer producing a result.
3-3 (5) [(4)] "Programming" means the process of producing
3-4 a sequence of coded instructions that can be executed by a
3-5 computer.
3-6 (6) [(5)] "Public funds" means funds of the state or
3-7 of a governmental subdivision of the state.
3-8 (7) [(6)] "Requestor" means a person who submits a
3-9 request to a governmental body for inspection or copies of public
3-10 information.
3-11 SECTION 2. Section 552.021, Government Code, is amended to
3-12 read as follows:
3-13 Sec. 552.021. AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC INFORMATION.
3-14 (a) Public information is available to the public at a minimum
3-15 during the normal business hours of the governmental body.
3-16 (b) Information is public information if, under a law or
3-17 ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official
3-18 business, it is collected, assembled, or maintained:
3-19 (1) by a governmental body as defined by Section
3-20 552.003(1)(A)(i)-(x);
3-21 (2) for a governmental body that owns the information
3-22 or has a right of access to it; or
3-23 (3) by a governmental body as defined by Section
3-24 552.003(1)(A)(xi), but only to the extent that the information to
3-25 be obtained from that governmental body directly relates to the
4-1 provision of a service or performance of a duty that constitutes a
4-2 governmental function. Public information to be obtained from a
4-3 governmental body as defined by Section 552.003(1)(A)(xi) does not
4-4 include financial information, other than that directly related to
4-5 the receipt or expenditure of public funds, or proprietary or trade
4-6 secret information.
4-7 SECTION 3. Section 551.001, Government Code, is amended to
4-8 read as follows:
4-9 Sec. 551.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
4-10 (1) "Closed meeting" means a meeting to which the
4-11 public does not have access.
4-12 (2) "Deliberation" means a verbal exchange during a
4-13 meeting between a quorum of a governmental body, or between a
4-14 quorum of a governmental body and another person, concerning an
4-15 issue within the jurisdiction of the governmental body or any
4-16 public business.
4-17 (3) "Governmental body" means:
4-18 (A) a board, commission, department, committee,
4-19 or agency within the executive or legislative branch of state
4-20 government that is directed by one or more elected or appointed
4-21 members;
4-22 (B) a county commissioners court in the state;
4-23 (C) a municipal governing body in the state;
4-24 (D) a deliberative body that has rulemaking or
4-25 quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a department,
5-1 agency, or political subdivision of a county or municipality;
5-2 (E) a school district board of trustees;
5-3 (F) a county board of school trustees;
5-4 (G) a county board of education;
5-5 (H) the governing board of a special district
5-6 created by law; [and]
5-7 (I) a nonprofit corporation organized under
5-8 Chapter 76, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933
5-9 (Article 1434a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), that provides a
5-10 water supply or wastewater service, or both, and is exempt from ad
5-11 valorem taxation under Section 11.30, Tax Code; and
5-12 (J) the governing body of an entity that is a
5-13 party to a contract with the state, a state agency, or a political
5-14 subdivision of the state under which the entity provides a service
5-15 or performs a duty that constitutes a governmental function.
5-16 (4) "Governmental function" means a service that a
5-17 public authority would provide itself or a duty it would perform
5-18 itself but for a contract with an entity to provide the service or
5-19 perform the duty.
5-20 (5)(A) "Meeting," when applied to a governmental body
5-21 as defined in Subdivision (3)(A)-(1), ["Meeting"] means a
5-22 deliberation between a quorum of a governmental body, or between a
5-23 quorum of a governmental body and another person, during which
5-24 public business or public policy over which the governmental body
5-25 has supervision or control is discussed or considered or during
6-1 which the governmental body takes formal action. The term does not
6-2 include the gathering of a quorum of a governmental body at a
6-3 social function unrelated to the public business that is conducted
6-4 by the body, or the attendance by a quorum of a governmental body
6-5 at a regional, state, or national convention or workshop, if formal
6-6 action is not taken and any discussion of public business is
6-7 incidental to the social function, convention, or workshop. The
6-8 term includes a session of a governmental body.
6-9 (B) "Meeting," when applied to a governmental
6-10 body as defined in Subdivision (3)(J), means a meeting of a
6-11 governing body or an entity that engages in a deliberation relating
6-12 to:
6-13 (i) the contract by which the entity
6-14 provides or performs a governmental function or a matter pertaining
6-15 to such a contract;
6-16 (ii) the provision by the entity of a
6-17 service under such a contract; or
6-18 (iii) the performance by the entity of a
6-19 duty under such a contract.
6-20 (6) [(5)] "Open" means open to the public.
6-21 (7) [(6)] "Quorum" means a majority of a governmental
6-22 body, unless defined differently by applicable law or rule or the
6-23 charter of the governmental body.
6-24 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. The
6-25 change in law made by this Act applies only to the governing body
7-1 of an entity that is a party to a contract with the state, a state
7-2 agency, or a political subdivision of the state, that is entered
7-3 into on or after September 4, 1997. A governing body of an entity
7-4 that is a party to a contract with the state, a state agency, or a
7-5 political subdivision of the state, that before September 4, 1997,
7-6 is covered by the law in effect when the contract was entered into,
7-7 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
7-8 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
7-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.