By: Wentworth  S.B. No. 889
         (In the Senate - Filed February 26, 2007; March 7, 2007,
  read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
  April 4, 2007, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 4, 2007,
  sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 889 By:  Williams
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the charges for certain public information maintained
  by a governmental body.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 552.261, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  The charge for providing a copy of public information
  shall be an amount that reasonably includes all costs related to
  reproducing the public information, including costs of materials,
  labor, and overhead. Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), if
  [If] a request is for 50 or fewer pages of paper records, the charge
  for providing the copy of the public information may not include
  costs of materials, labor, or overhead, but shall be limited to the
  charge for each page of the paper record that is photocopied, unless
  the pages to be photocopied are located in:
               (1)  two or more separate buildings that are not
  physically connected with each other; or
               (2)  a remote storage facility.
         (a-1)  If in any calendar month a requestor has been provided
  at least 50 pages of responsive paper records in compliance with
  Subsection (a), in connection with a subsequent request by that
  requestor in that month to the same governmental body for one or
  more pages of public information in a paper record, the charge for
  providing the copy of the responsive public information may include
  costs of materials, overhead, the charge for each page of the paper
  record that is photocopied at the rate of 10 cents a page, and any
  other cost or expense incurred in locating, compiling, and
  photocopying the public information to comply with the request or
  to provide the copies.  This subsection does not apply to police
  blotters maintained by a criminal justice agency that are compiled
  chronologically and required by law or long-standing practice to be
  available to the public.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (a), Section 552.2615, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  If a request for a copy of public information will
  result in the imposition of a charge under this subchapter that
  exceeds $40, or a request to inspect a paper record will result in
  the imposition of a charge under Section 552.271 or 552.2715 that
  exceeds $40, the governmental body shall provide the requestor with
  a written itemized statement that details all estimated charges
  that will be imposed, including any allowable charges for labor or
  personnel costs. If an alternative less costly method of viewing
  the records is available, the statement must include a notice that
  the requestor may contact the governmental body regarding the
  alternative method. The governmental body must inform the
  requestor of the responsibilities imposed on the requestor by this
  section and of the rights granted by this entire section and give
  the requestor the information needed to respond, including:
               (1)  that the requestor must provide the governmental
  body with a mailing, facsimile transmission, or electronic mail
  address to receive the itemized statement and that it is the
  requestor's choice which type of address to provide;
               (2)  that the request is considered automatically
  withdrawn if the requestor does not respond in writing to the
  itemized statement and any updated itemized statement in the time
  and manner required by this section; and
               (3)  that the requestor may respond to the statement by
  delivering the written response to the governmental body by mail,
  in person, by facsimile transmission if the governmental body is
  capable of receiving documents transmitted in that manner, or by
  electronic mail if the governmental body has an electronic mail
  address.
         SECTION 3.  Section 552.263, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 552.263.  BOND FOR PAYMENT OF COSTS OR CASH PREPAYMENT
  FOR [PREPARATION OF COPY OF] PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a)  An officer
  for public information or the officer's agent may require a deposit
  or bond for payment of anticipated costs for making the public
  information available for inspection or for the preparation of a
  copy of public information, as applicable, if the officer for
  public information or the officer's agent has provided the
  requestor with the required written itemized statement detailing
  the estimated charge for providing the copy and if the charge for
  making the public information available for inspection or providing
  the copy of the public information specifically requested by the
  requestor is estimated by the governmental body to exceed:
               (1)  $100, if the governmental body has more than 15
  full-time employees; or
               (2)  $50, if the governmental body has fewer than 16
  full-time employees.
         (b)  The officer for public information or the officer's
  agent may not require a deposit or bond be paid under Subsection (a)
  as a down payment for the inspection or copies of public information
  that the requestor may request in the future.
         (c)  An officer for public information or the officer's agent
  may require a deposit or bond for payment of unpaid amounts owing to
  the governmental body in relation to previous requests that the
  requestor has made under this chapter before making public
  information available for inspection or preparing a copy of public
  information in response to a new request if those unpaid amounts
  exceed $100.  The officer for public information or the officer's
  agent may not seek payment of those unpaid amounts through any other
  means.
         (d)  The governmental body must fully document the existence
  and amount of those unpaid amounts or the amount of any anticipated
  costs, as applicable, before requiring a deposit or bond under this
  section. The documentation is subject to required public
  disclosure under this chapter.
         (e)  For purposes of Subchapters F and G, a request to
  inspect or for a copy of public information is considered to have
  been received by a governmental body on the date the governmental
  body receives the deposit or bond for payment of anticipated costs
  or unpaid amounts if the governmental body's officer for public
  information or the officer's agent requires a deposit or bond in
  accordance with this section.
         (f)  A requestor who fails to make a deposit or post a bond
  required under Subsection (a) before the 10th day after the date the
  deposit or bond is required is considered to have withdrawn the
  request to inspect or for the copy of the public information that
  precipitated the requirement of the deposit or bond.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter F, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 552.2715 to read as follows:
         Sec. 552.2715.  CHARGE FOR MAKING AVAILABLE PUBLIC
  INFORMATION IN PAPER RECORDS IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
  Notwithstanding Section 552.271, if in any calendar month a
  requestor has been provided with at least 50 pages of responsive
  paper records in compliance with one or more requests for copies of
  public information or has had at least 50 pages of responsive paper
  records made available for inspection in compliance with one or
  more requests to inspect public information, in connection with a
  subsequent request in that month from the same requestor to the same
  governmental body to make available for inspection any public
  information that exists in a paper record, the governmental body
  may charge for making the responsive public information available
  for inspection.  The charge must be calculated at the rate of 10
  cents a page plus any other cost or expense incurred in locating,
  compiling, and producing the public information to comply with the
  subsequent request to inspect the public information.  This section
  does not apply to police blotters maintained by a criminal justice
  agency that are compiled chronologically and required by law or
  long-standing practice to be available to the public.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
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