By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1045
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to making government information available on the Internet
1-2 and to the cost of making government information available to the
1-3 public.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Sections 552.009 and 552.010 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 552.009. OPEN RECORDS STEERING COMMITTEE: ADVICE TO
1-8 COMMISSION; ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC INFORMATION.
1-9 (a) The open records steering committee is composed of:
1-10 (1) a representative of each state governmental body
1-11 in the following list, appointed by the governing entity of the
1-12 governmental body:
1-13 (A) the attorney general's office;
1-14 (B) the comptroller's office;
1-15 (C) the Department of Public Safety;
1-16 (D) the Department of Information Resources;
1-17 (E) the Texas Department of Human Services;
1-18 (F) the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy;
1-19 (G) the Texas State Library and Archives
1-20 Commission; and
1-21 (H) the General Services Commission;
1-22 (2) a public member, appointed by the General Services
2-1 Commission; and
2-2 (3) a representative of each local governmental body
2-3 in the following list, appointed by the General Services
2-4 Commission:
2-5 (A) a municipality;
2-6 (B) a county;
2-7 (C) a school district; and
2-8 (D) an appraisal district.
2-9 (b) The representative of the General Services Commission is
2-10 the presiding officer of the committee. The committee shall meet as
2-11 prescribed by committee rule or at the call of the presiding
2-12 officer.
2-13 (c) The committee shall advise the General Services
2-14 Commission regarding the commission's performance of its duties
2-15 under this chapter.
2-16 (d) The members of the committee who represent state
2-17 governmental bodies shall periodically study and determine the
2-18 types of public information for which it would be useful to the
2-19 public or cost effective for the government if that type of
2-20 information were made available by state governmental bodies
2-21 through the Internet or through another electronic format. The
2-22 committee shall report its findings and recommendations under this
2-23 subsection to the governor, the presiding officer of each house of
2-24 the legislature, and the budget committees and state affairs
2-25 committees of each house of the legislature.
2-26 Sec. 552.010. STATE GOVERNMENTAL BODIES: FISCAL AND OTHER
3-1 INFORMATION RELATING TO MAKING INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE. (a) Each
3-2 state governmental body shall report to the Legislative Budget
3-3 Board the information that the board requires regarding:
3-4 (1) the number and nature of requests for information
3-5 that the state governmental body processes under this chapter; and
3-6 (2) the cost to the state governmental body in terms
3-7 of capital expenditures and personnel time of:
3-8 (A) responding to requests for information under
3-9 this chapter; and
3-10 (B) making information available to the public
3-11 through the Internet or through another electronic format.
3-12 (b) The board shall design and phase in the reporting
3-13 requirements in a way that:
3-14 (1) minimizes the reporting burden on state
3-15 governmental bodies; and
3-16 (2) allows the legislature and state governmental
3-17 bodies to estimate the extent to which it is cost effective for
3-18 state government, and if possible the extent to which it is cost
3-19 effective or useful for members of the public, to make information
3-20 available to the public through the Internet or through another
3-21 electronic format as a supplement or alternative to publicizing the
3-22 information only in other ways or making the information available
3-23 only in response to requests made under this chapter.
3-24 (c) The open records steering committee and the state
3-25 auditor, at the request of the board, shall assist the board in
3-26 designing its reporting requirements under this section. The board
4-1 shall share the information reported under this section with the
4-2 open records steering committee.
4-3 SECTION 2. Section 552.274(a), Government Code, is amended
4-4 to read as follows:
4-5 (a) Not later than December [September] 1 of each
4-6 odd-numbered year, each state agency shall provide the General
4-7 Services Commission detailed information, for use by the commission
4-8 in preparing the report required by Sections 2(c) and (d), Chapter
4-9 428, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993,
4-10 describing the agency's procedures for charging and collecting fees
4-11 for providing copies of public information.
4-12 SECTION 3. Section 2(d), Chapter 428, Acts of the 73rd
4-13 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
4-14 (d) The commission shall revise and update the report
4-15 biennially and shall provide a copy of the updated report to each
4-16 state agency not later than March 1 of each even-numbered year.