By West                                               S.B. No. 1252
         76R8287 MCK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to broadcasting public meetings over the Internet.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 551, Government Code, is
 1-5     amended by adding Section 551.128 to read as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 551.128.  INTERNET BROADCAST OF OPEN MEETING.  (a)  In
 1-7     this section, "Internet" means the largest nonproprietary
 1-8     cooperative public computer network, popularly known as the
 1-9     Internet.
1-10           (b)  Subject to the requirements of this section, a
1-11     governmental body may broadcast an open meeting over the Internet.
1-12           (c)  A governmental body that broadcasts a meeting over the
1-13     Internet shall establish an Internet site and provide access to the
1-14     broadcast from that site.  The governmental body shall provide on
1-15     the Internet site the same notice of the meeting that the
1-16     governmental body is required to post under Subchapter C.  The
1-17     notice on the Internet must be posted within the time required for
1-18     posting notice under Subchapter C.
1-19           SECTION 2.  The subchapter heading to Subchapter F, Chapter
1-20     551, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-21                SUBCHAPTER F.  MEETINGS USING [BY] TELEPHONE,
1-22          [CONFERENCE CALL OR] VIDEOCONFERENCE, OR INTERNET [CALL]
1-23           SECTION 3.  (a)  The Department of Information Resources
1-24     shall form a task force to determine whether:
 2-1                 (1)  a governmental body can:
 2-2                       (A)  receive real-time testimony from a person
 2-3     watching the broadcast of a meeting of the governmental body over
 2-4     the Internet; and
 2-5                       (B)  provide a way for the public to comment to
 2-6     the governmental body over the Internet on the issues discussed at
 2-7     the meeting; and
 2-8                 (2)  the audio and video signals broadcast over the
 2-9     Internet can be of sufficient quality so that members of the public
2-10     watching the broadcast of the meeting can observe the demeanor and
2-11     hear the voice of each participant in the open portion of the
2-12     meeting.
2-13           (b)  The Department of Information Resources shall report its
2-14     findings to the legislature not later than September 1, 2000.
2-15           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-16           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-17     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-18     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-19     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-20     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.