BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

                                                                                                                                    C.S.H.B. 2264

                                                                                                                                           By: Baxter

                                                                                                                                       State Affairs

                                                                                                        Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Under current law, requestors of public information may break their requests down into subparts to avoid going over the 50-page threshold.  This threshold is relevant due to the charges that a governmental entity may impose on a requestor after the first 50 pages.  CSHB 2264 simply applies the current threshold to subsequent requests if the requests are made within 30 days of each other. 

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. 

 

ANALYSIS

 

CSHB 2264 amends Section 552.261 of the Government Code by requiring a requestor of public information to pay for materials and overhead costs for copies of open records beyond a 50-page limit per month.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2005

 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

 

CSHB 2264 requires that the 50 pages of paper records for which the requestor cannot be charged for costs relating to labor and overhead be "responsive."  Specifies that the compliance costs for additional pages over 50 are limited to locating, compiling, and photocopying.