1-1 By: West S.B. No. 1252
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 11, 1999; March 11, 1999, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
1-4 March 29, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8,
1-5 Nays 0; March 29, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to broadcasting public meetings over the Internet.
1-9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10 SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 551, Government Code, is
1-11 amended by adding Section 551.128 to read as follows:
1-12 Sec. 551.128. INTERNET BROADCAST OF OPEN MEETING. (a) In
1-13 this section, "Internet" means the largest nonproprietary
1-14 cooperative public computer network, popularly known as the
1-15 Internet.
1-16 (b) Subject to the requirements of this section, a
1-17 governmental body may broadcast an open meeting over the Internet.
1-18 (c) A governmental body that broadcasts a meeting over the
1-19 Internet shall establish an Internet site and provide access to the
1-20 broadcast from that site. The governmental body shall provide on
1-21 the Internet site the same notice of the meeting that the
1-22 governmental body is required to post under Subchapter C. The
1-23 notice on the Internet must be posted within the time required for
1-24 posting notice under Subchapter C.
1-25 SECTION 2. The subchapter heading to Subchapter F, Chapter
1-26 551, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-27 SUBCHAPTER F. MEETINGS USING [BY] TELEPHONE,
1-28 [CONFERENCE CALL OR] VIDEOCONFERENCE, OR INTERNET [CALL]
1-29 SECTION 3. (a) The Department of Information Resources
1-30 shall form a task force to determine whether:
1-31 (1) a governmental body can:
1-32 (A) receive real-time testimony from a person
1-33 watching the broadcast of a meeting of the governmental body over
1-34 the Internet; and
1-35 (B) provide a way for the public to comment to
1-36 the governmental body over the Internet on the issues discussed at
1-37 the meeting; and
1-38 (2) the audio and video signals broadcast over the
1-39 Internet can be of sufficient quality so that members of the public
1-40 watching the broadcast of the meeting can observe the demeanor and
1-41 hear the voice of each participant in the open portion of the
1-42 meeting.
1-43 (b) The Department of Information Resources shall report its
1-44 findings to the legislature not later than September 1, 2000.
1-45 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-46 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
1-47 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-48 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-49 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-50 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-51 * * * * *