By Naishtat                                           H.B. No. 3637
         76R7685 KLA-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the disclosure of certain information regarding
 1-3     applicants and recipients of public assistance.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 12.003(a), Human Resources Code, is
 1-6     amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (a)  Except for purposes directly connected with the
 1-8     administration of the department's assistance programs, it is an
 1-9     offense for a person to solicit, disclose, receive, or make use of,
1-10     or to authorize, knowingly permit, participate in, or acquiesce in
1-11     the use of the names of or any other identifying information
1-12     regarding [, or any  information concerning,] persons applying for
1-13     or receiving assistance if the information is directly or
1-14     indirectly derived from the records, papers,  files, or
1-15     communications of the department or acquired by employees of the
1-16     department in the performance of their official duties.
1-17           SECTION 2.  Section 21.012, Human Resources Code, is amended
1-18     to read as follows:
1-19           Sec. 21.012.  CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.  (a)  The
1-20     department shall establish and enforce reasonable rules governing
1-21     the custody, use, and preservation of the department's records,
1-22     papers, files, and communications.  Except as provided by
1-23     Subsection (c), the [The] department shall provide safeguards
1-24     which restrict the use or disclosure of information concerning
 2-1     applicants for or recipients of the department's assistance
 2-2     programs to purposes directly connected with the administration of
 2-3     the  programs.
 2-4           (b)  If under a provision of law lists of the names and
 2-5     addresses of recipients of the department's assistance programs are
 2-6     furnished to or held by a governmental agency other than the
 2-7     department, that agency shall adopt rules necessary to prevent the
 2-8     publication of the lists or the use of the lists for purposes not
 2-9     directly connected with the administration of the assistance
2-10     programs.
2-11           (c)  To the extent permitted by federal law, nonidentifying
2-12     information regarding persons applying for or receiving assistance
2-13     maintained by the department is public information subject to
2-14     disclosure under the open records law, Chapter 552, Government
2-15     Code.
2-16           SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by Section 1 of this
2-17     Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective
2-18     date of this  Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is
2-19     committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
2-20     the offense occurs before that date.
2-21           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-22     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-23     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-24           SECTION 4.  The change in law made by Section 2 of this Act
2-25     applies to information that is collected, assembled, or maintained
2-26     before, on, or after the effective date of this Act under a law or
2-27     in connection with the transaction of official business by the
 3-1     Texas Department of Human Services.
 3-2           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 3-3           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the
 3-4     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-5     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-6     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-7     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.