By:  Madla                                             S.B. No. 796
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the exception to disclosure under the public
 1-3     information law of certain audit working papers.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 552.116, Government Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 552.116.  EXCEPTION:  AUDIT WORKING PAPERS.  (a)  An
 1-8     audit working paper of an audit of the state auditor or the auditor
 1-9     of a state agency or institution of higher education as defined by
1-10     Section 61.003, Education Code, is excepted from the requirements
1-11     of Section 552.021.
1-12           (b)  An audit working paper of an auditor of a political
1-13     subdivision of this state is excepted from the requirements of
1-14     Section 552.021 if the audit is conducted in accordance with
1-15     generally accepted auditing standards as prescribed by the American
1-16     Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Governmental
1-17     Accounting Standards Board, the United States General Accounting
1-18     Office, or another professionally recognized entity that prescribes
1-19     auditing standards.
1-20           (c)  If information in an audit working paper is also
1-21     maintained in another record, that other record is not excepted
1-22     from the requirements of Section 552.021 by this section.
1-23           (d) [(b)]  In this section:
1-24                 (1)  "Audit" means an audit authorized or required by a
1-25     statute of this state or the United States and includes an
 2-1     investigation.
 2-2                 (2)  "Audit working paper" includes all information,
 2-3     documentary or otherwise, prepared or maintained in conducting an
 2-4     audit or preparing an audit report, including:
 2-5                       (A)  intra-agency and interagency communications;
 2-6     and
 2-7                       (B)  drafts of the audit report or portions of
 2-8     those drafts.
 2-9           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-10     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-11     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
2-12     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-13     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.