LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

March 1, 2005

TO:	Honorable Robert Duncan, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB543 by Shapleigh (Relating to the authority of a member, agency, or committee of the legislature to receive on request one copy of public information from a governmental body without charge.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would require that a governmental body provide one copy of public information that is requested by a member, agency, or committee of the legislature at no charge. The bill would take effect immediately if it were to receive the required two-thirds vote in each house; otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2005.

Under current statute, a state agency is required to provide one copy of public information to a legislative member, agency, or committee free of charge. The bill would amend the statute to expand the requirement to all governmental bodies that receive a legislative request for public information to provide a copy free of charge. This would provide a slight savings to legislative agencies, committees, or members' offices when seeking copies of public information from political subdivisions.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated, as the number of requests and number of pages of each request per governmental entity is expected to be minimal and have a correspondingly minimal cost in comparison to each entity's overall budget. 

Source Agencies:

LBB Staff:

JOB, SR, JB, DLBa