AN ACT
1-1 relating to legislative access to information.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Section 552.264, Government Code, is amended to
1-4 read as follows:
1-5 Sec. 552.264. COPY OF PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTED BY MEMBER
1-6 OF LEGISLATURE. One copy of public information that is requested
1-7 from a state agency by a member, agency, or committee of the
1-8 legislature under Section 552.008 shall be provided without charge.
1-9 SECTION 2. Chapter 323, Government Code, is amended by
1-10 adding Section 323.019 to read as follows:
1-11 Sec. 323.019. STATISTICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AND
1-12 STUDIES. (a) The council may gather and analyze information
1-13 relating to public education and other public services for the
1-14 purpose of conducting statistical and demographic research and
1-15 producing reports.
1-16 (b) State agencies in each branch of government shall
1-17 cooperate with the council in the gathering of information and the
1-18 production of reports under this section and shall provide
1-19 information as requested by the council to the maximum extent
1-20 permitted by state or federal law.
1-21 (c) In order to develop and evaluate legislative policy, the
1-22 council is entitled to collect data from any state agency,
1-23 including data that is confidential under state or federal law. In
1-24 addition to other uses consistent with this section, the council
2-1 may use data collected for the purpose of matching data from
2-2 various agencies. Confidential data collected by the council does
2-3 not lose its character as confidential information because of its
2-4 collection by the council, and the providing of that data to the
2-5 council does not constitute a release of the information by the
2-6 state agency. For the limited purpose of collecting and matching
2-7 data subject to 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g or other federal law
2-8 governing education records, employees of the council are
2-9 considered state school officials.
2-10 (d) The council is subject to any federal law governing the
2-11 release of or providing access to any personally identifiable
2-12 information to the same extent as the agency from which the data is
2-13 collected. The council may not release or distribute the data to
2-14 any individual member of the legislature, or to any other person,
2-15 in a form that contains personally identifiable information.
2-16 (e) In collecting personally identifiable information under
2-17 this section, the council and the state agency from which the data
2-18 is collected shall cooperate in the confidential handling of the
2-19 data, such as the encoding, decoding, and reencoding of the
2-20 information. Personally identifiable information may be used by
2-21 the council solely for the purpose of statistical and policy
2-22 analysis, including data matching, and must be destroyed
2-23 immediately when no longer needed for that analysis.
2-24 (f) Using information collected and matched under this
2-25 section, the council may produce and release statistical data that
2-26 does not include any personally identifiable information.
3-1 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 276.008, Election Code,
3-2 is amended to read as follows:
3-3 (a) On the written request of the Texas Legislative Council,
3-4 the secretary of state, a county clerk or county elections
3-5 administrator, a city secretary, or a voter registrar shall provide
3-6 without charge to the council information or data maintained by the
3-7 appropriate officer relating to voter registration, voter turnout,
3-8 election returns for statewide, district, county, precinct, or city
3-9 offices, or county election precincts, including precinct maps.
3-10 SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 6, Tax Code, is amended by
3-11 adding Section 6.14 to read as follows:
3-12 Sec. 6.14. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO TEXAS LEGISLATIVE
3-13 COUNCIL. (a) On the written request of the Texas Legislative
3-14 Council, an appraisal district that maintains its appraisal records
3-15 in electronic format shall provide a copy of the information or
3-16 data maintained in the district's appraisal records to the council
3-17 without charge.
3-18 (b) The appraisal district shall provide the requested
3-19 information or data to the council as soon as practicable but not
3-20 later than the 30th day after the date the request is received by
3-21 the district.
3-22 (c) The information or data shall be provided in a form
3-23 approved by the council.
3-24 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-26 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-3 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-4 passage, and it is so enacted.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1367 passed the Senate on
April 8, 1999, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 18, 1999, by the
following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1367 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 6, 1999, by the following vote: Yeas 145,
Nays 0, one present not voting.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
_______________________________
Date
_______________________________
Governor