79R3946 JD-D
By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1812
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to oral requests for public information.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 552.2215 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.2215. ORAL REQUESTS FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a) A
request for public information may be oral or in writing. An oral
request for public information may be made in person or by telephone
but must be made directly to the officer for public information or
an individual specifically authorized by that officer to accept an
oral request for public information on behalf of the officer.
(b) The Texas Building and Procurement Commission, in
consultation with the attorney general, shall by rule prescribe the
contents of a form to be used by an officer for public information
in memorializing an oral request for public information. At a
minimum, the form must contain:
(1) the full name of the requestor;
(2) a daytime telephone number at which the requestor
can be reached;
(3) a specific description of the information
requested with sufficient specificity to enable the officer for
public information to ascertain what is requested;
(4) a statement as to whether the requestor seeks to
inspect, duplicate, or to inspect and duplicate the requested
information;
(5) the mailing address to which any requested copies
of public information are to be sent;
(6) the day of the week, date, and time that the oral
request was received by the officer or designated individual; and
(7) the printed name and signature of the officer for
public information or designated individual who received the
request.
(c) If the information sought is of a type or category that
requires the requestor to verify the requestor's identity, before
the information may be produced and as soon as practicable, the
officer for public information or designated individual shall
inform the requestor of that fact.
(d) In addition to accepting oral requests in person or by
telephone, a governmental body or an officer for public information
may establish an automated public information request telephone
line that is answered by an automated voicemail or answering
machine, prompts a caller to provide the information described by
Subsections (b)(1)-(5), and automatically stores the information
provided by the caller and the day of the week, date, and time the
telephone call was received.
(e) On request, the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission shall provide sufficient copies of the form prescribed
by Subsection (b) to a governmental body or an officer for public
information. The commission may impose and collect a reasonable
amount for the costs of printing and providing the forms.
SECTION 2. Sections 552.301(a), (b), (d), and (e),
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A governmental body that receives a written or oral
request for information that it wishes to withhold from public
disclosure and that it considers to be within one of the exceptions
under Subchapter C must ask for a decision from the attorney general
about whether the information is within that exception if there has
not been a previous determination about whether the information
falls within one of the exceptions.
(b) The governmental body must ask for the attorney
general's decision and state the exceptions that apply within a
reasonable time but not later than the 10th business day after the
date of receiving the written or oral request.
(d) A governmental body that requests an attorney general
decision under Subsection (a) must provide to the requestor within
a reasonable time but not later than the 10th business day after the
date of receiving the requestor's written or oral request:
(1) a written statement that the governmental body
wishes to withhold the requested information and has asked for a
decision from the attorney general about whether the information is
within an exception to public disclosure; and
(2) a copy of the governmental body's written
communication to the attorney general asking for the decision or,
if the governmental body's written communication to the attorney
general discloses the requested information, a redacted copy of
that written communication.
(e) A governmental body that requests an attorney general
decision under Subsection (a) must within a reasonable time but not
later than the 15th business day after the date of receiving the
written or oral request:
(1) submit to the attorney general:
(A) written comments stating the reasons why the
stated exceptions apply that would allow the information to be
withheld;
(B) if applicable, a copy of the written request
for information;
(C) as applicable, a signed statement as to the
date on which the written request for information was received by
the governmental body or evidence sufficient to establish that
date, a copy of the form completed under Section 552.2215(b), or a
copy of the information stored under Section 552.2215(d); and
(D) a copy of the specific information requested,
or submit representative samples of the information if a voluminous
amount of information was requested; and
(2) label that copy of the specific information, or of
the representative samples, to indicate which exceptions apply to
which parts of the copy.
SECTION 3. Section 552.302, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.302. FAILURE TO MAKE TIMELY REQUEST FOR ATTORNEY
GENERAL DECISION; PRESUMPTION THAT INFORMATION IS PUBLIC. If a
governmental body does not request an attorney general decision as
provided by Section 552.301 and provide the requestor with the
information required by Section 552.301(d), the information
requested [in writing] is presumed to be subject to required public
disclosure and must be released unless there is a compelling reason
to withhold the information.
SECTION 4. Section 552.305(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) If release of a person's proprietary information may be
subject to exception under Section 552.101, 552.110, 552.113, or
552.131, the governmental body that requests an attorney general
decision under Section 552.301 shall make a good faith attempt to
notify that person of the request for the attorney general
decision. Notice under this subsection must:
(1) be in writing and sent within a reasonable time not
later than the 10th business day after the date the governmental
body receives the request for the information; and
(2) include:
(A) as applicable, a copy of the written request
for the information, if any, received by the governmental body, a
copy of the form completed under Section 552.2215(b), or a copy of
the information stored under Section 552.2215(d); and
(B) a statement, in the form prescribed by the
attorney general, that the person is entitled to submit in writing
to the attorney general within a reasonable time not later than the
10th business day after the date the person receives the notice:
(i) each reason the person has as to why the
information should be withheld; and
(ii) a letter, memorandum, or brief in
support of that reason.
SECTION 5. (a) Section 552.2215, Government Code, as added
by this Act, and Sections 552.301, 552.302, and 552.305, Government
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a request for public
information that is made on or after January 1, 2006. A request for
public information made before January 1, 2006, is governed by the
law in effect on the date the request was made, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2005, the Texas Building and
Procurement Commission by rule shall adopt the form required by
Section 552.2215(b), Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.