84R1352 PAM-D

By: Galindo H.B. No. 3235

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the right of officers of counties, county boards of school trustees, and county boards of education to obtain information, documents, and records.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 89, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 89.007 to read as follows:

Sec. 89.007. SPECIAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY OFFICERS OF COUNTIES, COUNTY BOARDS OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES, AND COUNTY BOARDS OF EDUCATION. (a) In this section:

(1) "County governmental body":

(A) means:

(i) a county commissioners court;

(ii) a deliberative body that has rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a department, agency, or political subdivision of a county;

(iii) a county board of school trustees;

(iv) a county board of education; or

(v) the part, section, or portion of a county, county board of school trustees, or county board of education described by Section 552.003(1)(A)(xii), Government Code, that is a governmental body for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code; and

(B) does not include:

(i) the judiciary; or

(ii) a private entity that spends or is supported wholly or partly by public funds.

(2) "County officer" means:

(A) an elected or appointed officer who supervises, manages, or controls a county governmental body; or

(B) a member of a board, a commission, a committee, or another body consisting of more than one individual elected or appointed to supervise, manage, or control a county governmental body.

(3) "Public information" has the meaning assigned by Section 552.002, Government Code.

(b) A county officer has a right of access to information that is for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, public information of the county governmental body that the county officer oversees.

(c) A county governmental body on request by the county officer who oversees the governmental body shall provide public information, including confidential information or information otherwise excepted from disclosure, to the county officer in accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code.

(d) A county governmental body, by providing public information under this section that is confidential or otherwise excepted from required disclosure under law, does not waive or affect the confidentiality of the information for purposes of state or federal law or waive the right of the county governmental body to assert exceptions to required disclosure of the information in the future. The county governmental body may require the requesting county officer or the employees of the requesting county officer who will view or handle information that is received under this section and that is confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure to sign a confidentiality agreement that covers the information and requires that:

(1) the information not be disclosed outside the office of the requesting county officer, or within that office for purposes other than the purpose for which it was received;

(2) the information be labeled as confidential;

(3) the information be kept securely; or

(4) the number of copies made of the information or the notes taken from the information that implicate the confidential nature of the information be controlled, with all copies or notes that are not destroyed or returned to the county governmental body remaining confidential and subject to the confidentiality agreement.

(e) An individual required by a county governmental body to sign a confidentiality agreement under Subsection (d) may seek a decision as provided by Subsection (f) about whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure. A confidentiality agreement signed under Subsection (d) is void to the extent that the agreement covers information that is finally determined under Subsection (f) to not be confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure.

(f) A county officer may seek a decision from the attorney general about whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure. The attorney general by rule shall establish procedures and deadlines for receiving information necessary to determine whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure and for receiving briefs from the requesting county officer, the county governmental body, and any other interested person. The attorney general shall promptly render a decision requested under this subsection, determining whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure, not later than the 45th business day after the date the attorney general receives the request for a decision under this subsection. The attorney general shall issue a written decision and provide a copy of the decision to the requesting county officer, the county governmental body, and any interested person who submitted necessary information or a brief to the attorney general under this subsection. The requesting county officer or the county governmental body may appeal a decision of the attorney general under this subsection to a district court in the county. A person may appeal a decision of the attorney general under this subsection to a district court in the county if the person claims a proprietary interest in the information affected by the decision or a privacy interest in the information that a confidentiality law or judicial decision is designed to protect.

(g) This section does not affect:

(1) the right of a county officer to obtain information from a county governmental body under other law;

(2) the procedures under which the information is obtained under other law; or

(3) the use that may be made of the information obtained under other law.

(h) This section does not grant authority to a county governmental body to withhold information from county officers.

SECTION 2. Section 89.007, Local Government Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a request for information by a county officer that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. A request for information made before the effective date of this Act is governed by the applicable law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

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, 2015.