SRC-BWC S.B. 695 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterS.B. 695
By: Wentworth
State Affairs
5/22/2001
Enrolled


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Many rural school districts and small cities in Texas (over 80 percent of
the cities in the state are under 20,000 in population) do not have an
attorney on staff and must rely on outside counsel.  These small
communities pay the outside attorney on an hourly basis.  The attorney
fees, including travel time, that a rural school board or small city pays
to have an attorney attend their meetings is often cost prohibitive. These
communities are often forced to make important decisions without the
benefit of legal advice. State law requires the attorney to be present when
a governmental body is discussing litigation.  S.B. 695 allows an attorney
to be present at an open or closed meeting of a governmental body either in
person, by telephone conference, or by video conference. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 551F, Government Code, by adding Section
551.129, as follows: 

Sec. 551.129.  CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN GOVERNMENTAL BODY AND ITS ATTORNEY.
(a) Authorizes a governmental body to use a telephone conference call,
video conference call, or communications over the Internet to conduct a
public consultation with its attorney in an open meeting of the
governmental body or a private consultation with its attorney in a closed
meeting of the governmental body.   

(b) Requires each part of a public consultation by a governmental body with
its attorney in an open meeting under Subsection (a) to be audible to the
public at the location specified in the notice of the meeting as the
location of the meeting.   

(c) Provides that Subsection (a) does not authorize the members of a
governmental body to conduct a meeting of the governmental body by
telephone conference call, video conference call, or communications over
the Internet or create an exception to the application of this subchapter.

(d) Provides that Subsection (a) does not apply to a consultation with an
attorney who is an employee of the governmental body.   

(e) Provides that for purposes of Subsection (d), an attorney who receives
compensation for legal services performed, from which employment taxes are
deducted by the governmental body, is an employee of the governmental body. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date:  upon passage or September 1, 2001.