76R9478 JD-D
By Reyna of Bexar H.B. No. 445
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 445:
By Danburg C.S.H.B. No. 445
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the audio and video recording of a closed meeting held
1-3 by a governmental body.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 551.103, Government Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 551.103. [CERTIFIED AGENDA OR TAPE] RECORDING OF CLOSED
1-8 MEETING REQUIRED. (a) A governmental body shall [either keep a
1-9 certified agenda or] make a [tape] recording of the proceedings of
1-10 each closed meeting, except for a private consultation permitted
1-11 under Section 551.071. The recording must audibly and visually
1-12 record the proceedings of and the persons in the closed meeting.
1-13 (b) [The presiding officer shall certify that an agenda kept
1-14 under Subsection (a) is a true and correct record of the
1-15 proceedings.]
1-16 [(c) The certified agenda must include:]
1-17 [(1) a statement of the subject matter of each
1-18 deliberation;]
1-19 [(2) a record of any further action taken; and]
1-20 [(3) an announcement by the presiding officer at the
1-21 beginning and the end of the meeting indicating the date and time.]
1-22 [(d)] A [tape] recording made under Subsection (a) must
1-23 include announcements by the presiding officer at the beginning and
1-24 the end of the meeting indicating the date and time.
2-1 SECTION 2. Section 551.104, Government Code, is amended to
2-2 read as follows:
2-3 Sec. 551.104. RECORDING OF CLOSED MEETING [CERTIFIED AGENDA
2-4 OR TAPE]; PRESERVATION; DISCLOSURE. (a) A governmental body shall
2-5 preserve the audible and visual [certified agenda or tape]
2-6 recording of a closed meeting for at least two years after the date
2-7 of the meeting. If an action involving the meeting is brought
2-8 within that period, the governmental body shall preserve the
2-9 recording [certified agenda or tape] while the action is pending.
2-10 (b) In litigation in a district court involving an alleged
2-11 violation of this chapter, the court:
2-12 (1) is entitled to make an in camera inspection of the
2-13 audible and visual recording made of the closed meeting [certified
2-14 agenda or tape];
2-15 (2) may admit all or part of the recording made of the
2-16 closed meeting [certified agenda or tape] as evidence, on entry of
2-17 a final judgment; and
2-18 (3) may grant legal or equitable relief it considers
2-19 appropriate, including an order that the governmental body make
2-20 available to the public the recording made of the closed meeting
2-21 [certified agenda or tape] of any part of a meeting that was
2-22 required to be open under this chapter.
2-23 (c) The recording made [certified agenda or tape] of a
2-24 closed meeting is available for public inspection and copying only
2-25 under a court order issued under Subsection (b)(3).
2-26 (d) A governmental body that before September 1, 1999,
2-27 prepared a certified agenda or made a tape recording of a closed
3-1 meeting shall preserve that certified agenda or recording for at
3-2 least two years after the date of the meeting. Subsections (b) and
3-3 (c) apply to the certified agenda or tape recording in the manner
3-4 those subsections apply to an audible and visual recording made of
3-5 the proceedings of a closed meeting that begins on or after
3-6 September 1, 1999. This subsection expires September 1, 2004.
3-7 SECTION 3. Section 551.145, Government Code, is amended to
3-8 read as follows:
3-9 Sec. 551.145. CLOSED MEETING WITHOUT [CERTIFIED AGENDA OR
3-10 TAPE] RECORDING; OFFENSE; PENALTY. (a) A member of a governmental
3-11 body commits an offense if the member participates in a closed
3-12 meeting of the governmental body knowing that a [certified agenda
3-13 of the closed meeting is not being kept or that a tape] recording
3-14 of the closed meeting that complies with Section 551.103 is not
3-15 being made.
3-16 (b) Except as provided by Subsections (c)-(e), an [An]
3-17 offense under Subsection (a) is a Class B [C] misdemeanor.
3-18 (c) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
3-19 section that the defendant has previously been convicted one time
3-20 of an offense under this section, the offense is a Class A
3-21 misdemeanor.
3-22 (d) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
3-23 section that the defendant has previously been convicted two times
3-24 of an offense under this section, the offense is a state jail
3-25 felony.
3-26 (e) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
3-27 section that the defendant has previously been convicted three or
4-1 more times of an offense under this section, the offense is a
4-2 felony of the third degree.
4-3 SECTION 4. Section 551.146, Government Code, is amended to
4-4 read as follows:
4-5 Sec. 551.146. DISCLOSURE OF [CERTIFIED AGENDA OR TAPE]
4-6 RECORDING OF CLOSED MEETING; OFFENSE; PENALTY; CIVIL LIABILITY.
4-7 (a) An individual, corporation, or partnership that without lawful
4-8 authority knowingly discloses to a member of the public the
4-9 [certified agenda or tape] recording of a meeting that was lawfully
4-10 closed to the public under this chapter:
4-11 (1) commits an offense; and
4-12 (2) is liable to a person injured or damaged by the
4-13 disclosure for:
4-14 (A) actual damages, including damages for
4-15 personal injury or damage, lost wages, defamation, or mental or
4-16 other emotional distress;
4-17 (B) reasonable attorney fees and court costs;
4-18 and
4-19 (C) at the discretion of the trier of fact,
4-20 exemplary damages.
4-21 (b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class B
4-22 misdemeanor.
4-23 (c) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(1)
4-24 and an affirmative defense to a civil action under Subsection
4-25 (a)(2) that:
4-26 (1) the defendant had good reason to believe the
4-27 disclosure was lawful; or
5-1 (2) the disclosure was the result of a mistake of fact
5-2 concerning the nature or content of the [certified agenda or tape]
5-3 recording.
5-4 (d) Subsections (a)-(c) apply to a certified agenda or tape
5-5 recording of a closed meeting that was made before September 1,
5-6 1999, in the manner those subsections apply to an audible and
5-7 visual recording made of the proceedings of a closed meeting that
5-8 begins on or after September 1, 1999.
5-9 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
5-10 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
5-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.