BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1251

By: Sanford

Government Transparency & Operation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that open meetings of the boards of directors of certain development corporations lack transparency. C.S.H.B. 1251 seeks to provide transparency by requiring such open meetings to be recorded and archived online for public viewing.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1251 amends the Government Code to require the board of directors of a corporation organized under the Development Corporation Act that was authorized to be created by a home‑rule municipality with a population of 50,000 or more to make a video and audio recording of reasonable quality of each regularly scheduled open meeting that is not a work session or a special called meeting and to make available on the Internet an archived copy of each such recording.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1251 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

INTRODUCED	HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 501, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 501.0721 to read as follows: Sec. 501.0721.  INTERNET BROADCAST AND ARCHIVE OF OPEN MEETINGS.  In a manner that complies with Section 551.128(c), Government Code, a corporation shall broadcast over the Internet live video and audio of each open meeting held by the board of directors of the corporation.  Subsequently, the corporation shall make available through the corporation's Internet website archived video and audio for each meeting for which live video and audio was provided under this section.	SECTION 1.  Section 551.128(b-1), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (b-1)  A transit authority or department subject to Chapter 451, 452, 453, or 460, Transportation Code, an elected school district board of trustees for a school district that has a student enrollment of 10,000 or more, an elected governing body of a home-rule municipality that has a population of 50,000 or more, the board of directors of a corporation organized under Subtitle C1, Title 12, Local Government Code, that was authorized to be created by a home-rule municipality with a population of 50,000 or more, or a county commissioners court for a county that has a population of 125,000 or more shall: (1)  make a video and audio recording of reasonable quality of each regularly scheduled open meeting that is not a work session or a special called meeting; and (2)  make available an archived copy of the video and audio recording of each meeting described by Subdivision (1) on the Internet.
SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an open meeting held on or after the effective date of this Act.	SECTION 2. Same as introduced version.
SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.	SECTION 3. Same as introduced version.