By: Wentworth S.B. No. 452
(In the Senate - Filed February 10, 2005; February 22, 2005,
read first time and referred to Committee on Government
Organization; May 4, 2005, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 4, 2005, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to transferring the duties of the Texas Building and
Procurement Commission under the public information law to the
attorney general.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Section 552.009,
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The open records steering committee is composed of:
(1) a representative of each of the following,
appointed by its governing entity:
(A) the attorney general's office;
(B) the comptroller's office;
(C) the Department of Public Safety;
(D) the Department of Information Resources;
(E) the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission; and
(F) the Texas Building and Procurement [General
Services] Commission;
(2) five public members, appointed by the attorney
general [General Services Commission]; and
(3) a representative of each of the following types of
local governments, appointed by the attorney general [General
Services Commission]:
(A) a municipality;
(B) a county; and
(C) a school district.
(b) The representative of the attorney general [General
Services Commission] is the presiding officer of the committee.
The committee shall meet as prescribed by committee procedures or
at the call of the presiding officer.
(c) The committee shall advise the attorney general
[General Services Commission] regarding the office of the attorney
general's [commission's] performance of its duties under Sections
552.010, 552.205, 552.262, 552.269, and 552.274 [this chapter].
SECTION 2. Section 552.010, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.010. STATE GOVERNMENTAL BODIES: FISCAL AND OTHER
INFORMATION RELATING TO MAKING INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE. (a) Each
state governmental body shall report to the attorney general [Texas
Building and Procurement Commission] the information the attorney
general [commission] requires regarding:
(1) the number and nature of requests for information
the state governmental body processes under this chapter in the
period covered by the report; and
(2) the cost to the state governmental body in that
period in terms of capital expenditures and personnel time of:
(A) responding to requests for information under
this chapter; and
(B) making information available to the public by
means of the Internet or another electronic format.
(b) The attorney general [Texas Building and Procurement
Commission] shall design and phase in the reporting requirements in
a way that:
(1) minimizes the reporting burden on state
governmental bodies; and
(2) allows the legislature and state governmental
bodies to estimate the extent to which it is cost-effective for
state government, and if possible the extent to which it is
cost-effective or useful for members of the public, to make
information available to the public by means of the Internet or
another electronic format as a supplement or alternative to
publicizing the information only in other ways or making the
information available only in response to requests made under this
chapter.
(c) The attorney general [commission] shall share the
information reported under this section with the open records
steering committee.
SECTION 3. Section 552.205, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.205. INFORMING PUBLIC OF BASIC RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THIS CHAPTER. (a) An officer for public
information shall prominently display a sign in the form prescribed
by the attorney general [General Services Commission] that contains
basic information about the rights of a requestor, the
responsibilities of a governmental body, and the procedures for
inspecting or obtaining a copy of public information under this
chapter. The officer shall display the sign at one or more places
in the administrative offices of the governmental body where it is
plainly visible to:
(1) members of the public who request public
information in person under this chapter; and
(2) employees of the governmental body whose duties
include receiving or responding to requests under this chapter.
(b) The attorney general [General Services Commission] by
rule shall prescribe the content of the sign and the size, shape,
and other physical characteristics of the sign. In prescribing the
content of the sign, the attorney general [commission] shall
include plainly written basic information about the rights of a
requestor, the responsibilities of a governmental body, and the
procedures for inspecting or obtaining a copy of public information
under this chapter that, in the opinion of the attorney general
[commission], is most useful for requestors to know and for
employees of governmental bodies who receive or respond to requests
for public information to know.
SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 552.231, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The written statement must include:
(1) a statement that the information is not available
in the requested form;
(2) a description of the form in which the information
is available;
(3) a description of any contract or services that
would be required to provide the information in the requested form;
(4) a statement of the estimated cost of providing the
information in the requested form, as determined in accordance with
the rules established by the attorney general [General Services
Commission] under Section 552.262; and
(5) a statement of the anticipated time required to
provide the information in the requested form.
SECTION 5. Subsection (b), Section 552.2615, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) A request described by Subsection (a) is considered to
have been withdrawn by the requestor if the requestor does not
respond in writing to the itemized statement by informing the
governmental body within 10 business days after the date the
statement is sent to the requestor that:
(1) the requestor will accept the estimated charges;
(2) the requestor is modifying the request in response
to the itemized statement; or
(3) the requestor has sent to the attorney general
[Texas Building and Procurement Commission] a complaint alleging
that the requestor has been overcharged for being provided with a
copy of the public information.
SECTION 6. Section 552.262, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.262. RULES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL [GENERAL
SERVICES COMMISSION]. (a) The attorney general [General Services
Commission] shall adopt rules for use by each governmental body in
determining charges for providing copies of public information
under this subchapter and in determining the charge, deposit, or
bond required for making public information that exists in a paper
record available for inspection as authorized by Sections
552.271(c) and (d). The rules adopted by the attorney general
[General Services Commission] shall be used by each governmental
body in determining charges for providing copies of public
information and in determining the charge, deposit, or bond
required for making public information that exists in a paper
record available for inspection, except to the extent that other
law provides for charges for specific kinds of public information.
The charges for providing copies of public information may not be
excessive and may not exceed the actual cost of producing the
information or for making public information that exists in a paper
record available for inspection. A governmental body, other than
an agency of state government, may determine its own charges for
providing copies of public information and its own charge, deposit,
or bond for making public information that exists in a paper record
available for inspection but may not charge an amount that is
greater than 25 percent more than the amount established by the
attorney general [General Services Commission] unless the
governmental body requests an exemption under Subsection (c).
(b) The rules of the attorney general [General Services
Commission] shall prescribe the methods for computing the charges
for providing copies of public information in paper, electronic,
and other kinds of media and the charge, deposit, or bond required
for making public information that exists in a paper record
available for inspection. The rules shall establish costs for
various components of charges for providing copies of public
information that shall be used by each governmental body in
providing copies of public information or making public information
that exists in a paper record available for inspection.
(c) A governmental body may request that it be exempt from
part or all of the rules adopted by the attorney general [General
Services Commission] for determining charges for providing copies
of public information or the charge, deposit, or bond required for
making public information that exists in a paper record available
for inspection. The request must be made in writing to the attorney
general [General Services Commission] and must state the reason for
the exemption. If the attorney general [General Services
Commission] determines that good cause exists for exempting a
governmental body from a part or all of the rules, the attorney
general [commission] shall give written notice of the determination
to the governmental body within 90 days of the request. On receipt
of the determination, the governmental body may amend its charges
for providing copies of public information or its charge, deposit,
or bond required for making public information that exists in a
paper record available for inspection according to the
determination of the attorney general [General Services
Commission].
(d) The attorney general [General Services Commission]
shall publish annually in the Texas Register a list of the
governmental bodies that have authorization from the attorney
general [General Services Commission] to adopt any modified rules
for determining the cost of providing copies of public information
or making public information that exists in a paper record
available for inspection.
(e) The rules of the attorney general [General Services
Commission] do not apply to a state governmental body that is not a
state agency for purposes of Subtitle D, Title 10.
SECTION 7. Section 552.269, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.269. OVERCHARGE OR OVERPAYMENT FOR COPY OF PUBLIC
INFORMATION. (a) A person who believes the person has been
overcharged for being provided with a copy of public information
may complain to the attorney general [Texas Building and
Procurement Commission] in writing of the alleged overcharge,
setting forth the reasons why the person believes the charges are
excessive. The attorney general [Texas Building and Procurement
Commission] shall review the complaint and make a determination in
writing as to the appropriate charge for providing the copy of the
requested information. The governmental body shall respond to the
attorney general [Texas Building and Procurement Commission] to any
written questions asked of the governmental body by the attorney
general [commission] regarding the charges for providing the copy
of the public information. The response must be made to the
attorney general [Texas Building and Procurement Commission]
within 10 business days after the date the questions are received by
the governmental body. If the attorney general [Texas Building and
Procurement Commission] determines that a governmental body has
overcharged for providing the copy of requested public information,
the governmental body shall promptly adjust its charges in
accordance with the determination of the attorney general [Texas
Building and Procurement Commission].
(b) A person who overpays for a copy of public information
because a governmental body refuses or fails to follow the rules for
charges adopted by the attorney general [Texas Building and
Procurement Commission] is entitled to recover three times the
amount of the overcharge if the governmental body did not act in
good faith in computing the costs.
SECTION 8. The section heading to Section 552.274,
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 552.274. REPORTS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL [GENERAL SERVICES
COMMISSION] AND STATE AGENCIES ON COST OF COPIES.
SECTION 9. Subsections (a) and (b), Section 552.274,
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The attorney general [General Services Commission]
shall:
(1) biennially update a report prepared by the
attorney general [commission] about the charges made by state
agencies for providing copies of public information; and
(2) provide a copy of the updated report to each state
agency not later than March 1 of each even-numbered year.
(b) Not later than December 1 of each odd-numbered year,
each state agency shall provide the attorney general [General
Services Commission] detailed information, for use by the attorney
general [commission] in preparing the report required by Subsection
(a), describing the agency's procedures for charging and collecting
fees for providing copies of public information.
SECTION 10. Subsection (d), Section 405.031, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) The fees established by the attorney general [State
Purchasing and General Services Commission] under Chapter 552[,]
apply to uncertified copies of records in the secretary of state's
office.
SECTION 11. Subsection (d), Section 402.081, Labor Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The commission may charge a reasonable fee for making
available for inspection any of its information that contains
confidential information that must be redacted before the
information is made available. However, when a request for
information is for the inspection of 10 or fewer pages, and a copy
of the information is not requested, the commission may charge only
the cost of making a copy of the page from which confidential
information must be redacted. The fee for access to information
under Chapter 552, Government Code, shall be in accord with the
rules of the attorney general [General Services Commission] that
prescribe the method for computing the charge for copies under that
chapter.
SECTION 12. (a) On the effective date of this Act:
(1) except as provided by Paragraph (F), Subdivision
(1), Subsection (a), Section 552.009, Government Code, as amended
by this Act, all powers and duties of the Texas Building and
Procurement Commission under the public information law, Chapter
552, Government Code, are transferred to the attorney general;
(2) all appropriations to the Texas Building and
Procurement Commission for the purpose of performing those duties,
all personnel of the Texas Building and Procurement Commission who
are employed to perform those duties, and all records and other
property of the Texas Building and Procurement Commission used to
perform those duties are transferred to the attorney general;
(3) all rules, forms, and signs adopted or prescribed
by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission or its predecessor
under Chapter 552, Government Code, are continued in effect as if
they were rules, forms, or signs adopted or prescribed by the
attorney general until they are repealed or otherwise changed by
the attorney general; and
(4) a reference in law to the Texas Building and
Procurement Commission, the General Services Commission, the State
Purchasing and General Services Commission, or the State Board of
Control in relation to the performance of the transferred duties is
considered to be a reference to the attorney general.
(b) The validity of an authorization granted, determination
made, or other action taken by the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission or its predecessor under Chapter 552, Government Code,
is not affected by the transfer of powers and duties under this Act.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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