By: Sheffield (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 726

(In the Senate - Received from the House April 13, 2011; April 20, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Administration; May 4, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 4, 2011, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the electronic distribution of information to legislators by state agencies.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 2052.002(a) and (c), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) To avoid waste in the duplication and distribution of state agency publications, a state agency that issues a publication relating to the work of the agency and distributes the publication to members of the legislature shall send to each member before distributing the publication an electronic [a written] notice to determine whether the member wants to receive the publication.

(c) A member who elects to receive the publication shall notify the state agency. The member may notify the agency electronically.

SECTION 2. Section 2052.0021(d), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) At the time a report required by law is ready for distribution outside the state agency, the agency shall send written notice to each member of the legislature that the report is available. The agency shall send the notice [by mail or, if it is acceptable to the member,] electronically. The notice must briefly describe the subject matter of the report and state:

(1) the manner in which the member may obtain the report electronically; and

(2) that the agency will send a printed copy of the report to the member at the request of the member.

SECTION 3. 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, 2011.

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