85R670 EES-F

By: Howard H.B. No. 370

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the availability on the Internet of personal financial statements filed by public officials.

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

SECTION 1. Section 572.032, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:

(a) Financial statements filed under this subchapter are public records. The commission shall maintain the statements in separate alphabetical files and in a manner that is accessible to the public during regular office hours and make the statements available to the public on the commission's Internet website.

(a-2) The commission shall redact the home address of an individual from a financial statement filed by the individual under this subchapter before making the statement available to the public on the commission's Internet website. This redaction is only for the purpose of making the statement available on the website, and the commission may not otherwise redact that information from the statement.

(c) After the second anniversary of the date the individual ceases to be a state officer, the commission may and on notification from the former state officer shall:

(1) destroy each financial statement filed by the state officer; and

(2) remove each financial statement filed by the state officer from the commission's Internet website.

SECTION 2. Section 145.007, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) If a municipality makes financial statements filed under this chapter available to the public on the municipality's Internet website, the clerk or secretary of the municipality shall redact the home address of an individual filing a statement before making the statement available on the website. This redaction is only for the purpose of making the statement available on the website, and the clerk or secretary of the municipality may not otherwise redact that information from the statement.

SECTION 3. Section 159.007, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) If a county makes financial statements filed under this subchapter available to the public on the county's Internet website, the county clerk shall redact the home address of an individual filing a statement before making the statement available on the website. This redaction is only for the purpose of making the statement available on the website, and the county clerk may not otherwise redact that information from the statement.

SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 159, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 159.0342 to read as follows:

Sec. 159.0342. REDACTION OF INFORMATION FROM REPORTS AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC ON INTERNET. If a county makes reports filed under this subchapter available to the public on the county's Internet website, the authority with whom the report is filed shall redact the home address of an individual filing a report before making the report available on the website. This redaction is only for the purpose of making the report available on the website, and the authority with whom the report is filed may not otherwise redact that information from the report.

SECTION 5. Section 159.055, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:

(e) If a county makes financial statements filed under this subchapter available to the public on the county's Internet website, the county clerk shall redact the home address of an individual filing a statement before making the statement available on the website. This redaction is only for the purpose of making the statement available on the website, and the county clerk may not otherwise redact that information from the statement.

SECTION 6. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the Texas Ethics Commission shall make the financial statements filed under Subchapter B, Chapter 572, Government Code, available on the commission's Internet website, as provided by the changes in law made by this Act.

SECTION 7. 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, 2017.