BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 564

By: Campbell

Government Transparency & Operation

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note that cybersecurity has become a critical issue in recent years and contend that certain statutory amendments are needed to help protect Texans from these threats. S.B. 564 seeks to address this issue by setting out provisions relating to the applicability of open meetings requirements to certain meetings of a governing body relating to information technology security practices.

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

S.B. 564 amends the Government Code to expand from the governing board of the Department of Information Resources to a governmental body, as that term is defined for purposes of state open meetings law, the bodies for which state open meetings law expressly does not require an open meeting to be conducted to deliberate security assessments or deployments relating to information resources technology, certain network security information, or the deployment, or specific occasions for implementation, of security personnel, critical infrastructure, or security devices.

S.B. 564 changes from the security system of a state agency to the security system of a governmental entity the security system for which network security information is confidential under Texas computer network security system provisions relating to restricted information.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.