TO:	Honorable Robert Duncan, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB976 by Madden (Relating to allowing the Texas Building and Procurement Commission to deliberate in a closed meeting regarding business and financial considerations of a contract being negotiated.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted

The bill would amend the Government Code to create a statutory exception to the Open Meetings Act to allow the Texas Building and Procurement Commission to conduct a closed meeting under certain circumstances to deliberate business and financial issues relating to a contract being negotiated.  The bill would require the commission to vote unanimously that an open meeting would be detrimental to the negotiations and the attorney advising the commission to issue a written determination finding that an open meeting would be detrimental to the negotiations.  Because the bill would create an exception to the Open Meetings Act, a restriction to existing open meetings laws is anticipated.