By: Van Arsdale (Senate Sponsor - Williams) H.B. No. 1497
         (In the Senate - Received from the House March 26, 2007;
  April 3, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on State
  Affairs; May 8, 2007, reported favorably by the following vote:  
  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 8, 2007, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the consequences of the failure by a person requesting
  information under the public information law to timely respond to
  certain written communications from a governmental body.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 552.222, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
         (d)  If by the 61st day after the date a governmental body
  sends a written request for clarification or discussion under
  Subsection (b) or an officer for public information or agent sends a
  written request for additional information under Subsection (c) the
  governmental body, officer for public information, or agent, as
  applicable, does not receive a written response from the requestor,
  the underlying request for public information is considered to have
  been withdrawn by the requestor.
         (e)  A written request for clarification or discussion under
  Subsection (b) or a written request for additional information
  under Subsection (c) must include a statement as to the
  consequences of the failure by the requestor to timely respond to
  the request for clarification, discussion, or additional
  information.
         (f)  If the requestor's request for public information
  included the requestor's physical or mailing address, the request
  may not be considered to have been withdrawn under Subsection (d)
  unless the governmental body, officer for public information, or
  agent, as applicable, sends the request for clarification or
  discussion under Subsection (b) or the written request for
  additional information under Subsection (c) to that address by
  certified mail.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 552.222(d), (e), and (f), Government
  Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a request for information
  that is received by a governmental body or an officer for public
  information on or after the effective date of this Act. A request
  for information that was received before the effective date of this
  Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the request was
  received, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
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