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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the production of public information under the public |
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information law. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 552.221, Government Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: |
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(e) A request is considered to have been withdrawn if the |
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requestor fails to inspect or duplicate the public information in |
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the offices of the governmental body on or before the 60th day after |
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the date the information is made available or fails to pay the |
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postage and any other applicable charges accrued under Subchapter F |
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on or before the 60th day after the date the requestor is informed |
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of the charges. |
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SECTION 2. Section 552.261, Government Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: |
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(e) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, all |
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requests received in one calendar day from an individual may be |
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treated as a single request for purposes of calculating costs under |
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this chapter. A governmental body may not combine multiple requests |
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under this subsection from separate individuals who submit requests |
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on behalf of an organization. |
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SECTION 3. Section 552.275, Government Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), (e), (g), (h), and (j) and |
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adding Subsections (a-1), (e-1), and (m) to read as follows: |
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(a) A governmental body may establish [a] reasonable |
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monthly and yearly limits [limit] on the amount of time that |
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personnel of the governmental body are required to spend producing |
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public information for inspection or duplication by a requestor, or |
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providing copies of public information to a requestor, without |
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recovering its costs attributable to that personnel time. |
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(a-1) For purposes of this section, all county officials who |
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have designated the same officer for public information may |
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calculate the amount of time that personnel are required to spend |
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collectively for purposes of the monthly or yearly limit. |
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(b) A yearly time limit established under Subsection (a) may |
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not be less than 36 hours for a requestor during the 12-month period |
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that corresponds to the fiscal year of the governmental body. A |
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monthly time limit established under Subsection (a) may not be less |
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than 15 hours for a requestor for a one-month period. |
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(d) If a governmental body establishes a time limit under |
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Subsection (a), each time the governmental body complies with a |
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request for public information, the governmental body shall provide |
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the requestor with a written statement of the amount of personnel |
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time spent complying with that request and the cumulative amount of |
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time spent complying with requests for public information from that |
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requestor during the applicable monthly or yearly [12-month] |
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period. The amount of time spent preparing the written statement |
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may not be included in the amount of time included in the statement |
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provided to the requestor under this subsection. |
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(e) Subject to Subsection (e-1), if [If] in connection with |
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a request for public information, the cumulative amount of |
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personnel time spent complying with requests for public information |
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from the same requestor equals or exceeds the limit established by |
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the governmental body under Subsection (a), the governmental body |
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shall provide the requestor with a written estimate of the total |
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cost, including materials, personnel time, and overhead expenses, |
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necessary to comply with the request. The written estimate must be |
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provided to the requestor on or before the 10th day after the date |
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on which the public information was requested. The amount of this |
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charge relating to the cost of locating, compiling, and producing |
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the public information shall be established by rules prescribed by |
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the attorney general under Sections 552.262(a) and (b). |
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(e-1) This subsection applies only to a request made by a |
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requestor who has made a previous request to a governmental body |
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that has not been withdrawn, for which the governmental body has |
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located and compiled documents in response, and for which the |
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governmental body has issued a statement under Subsection (e) that |
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remains unpaid on the date the requestor submits the new request. A |
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governmental body is not required to locate, compile, produce, or |
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provide copies of documents or prepare a statement under Subsection |
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(e) in response to a new request described by this subsection until |
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the date the requestor pays each unpaid statement issued under |
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Subsection (e) in connection with a previous request or withdraws |
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the previous request to which the statement applies. |
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(g) If a governmental body provides a requestor with the |
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written statement under Subsection (e) and the time limits |
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prescribed by Subsection (a) regarding the requestor have been |
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exceeded, the governmental body is not required to produce public |
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information for inspection or duplication or to provide copies of |
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public information in response to the requestor's request unless on |
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or before the 10th day after the date the governmental body provided |
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the written statement under that subsection, the requestor submits |
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[a statement in writing to the governmental body in which the
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requestor commits to pay the
lesser of:
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[(1)
the actual costs incurred in complying with the
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requestor's request, including the cost of materials and personnel
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time and overhead; or
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[(2)] payment of the amount stated in the written |
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statement provided under Subsection (e). |
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(h) If the requestor fails or refuses to submit payment [the
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written statement] under Subsection (g), the requestor is |
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considered to have withdrawn the requestor's pending request for |
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public information. |
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(j) This section does not apply if the requestor is an |
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individual who, for a substantial portion of the individual's |
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livelihood or for substantial financial gain, gathers, compiles, |
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prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, |
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investigates, processes, or publishes news or information for and |
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is seeking the information for dissemination by a news medium or |
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communication service provider, including: |
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(1) an individual who supervises or assists in |
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gathering, preparing, and disseminating the news or information; or |
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(2) an individual who is or was a journalist, scholar, |
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or researcher employed by an institution of higher education at the |
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time the person made the request for information [a radio or
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television broadcast station that holds a broadcast license for an
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assigned frequency issued by the Federal Communications
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Commission;
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[(2)
a newspaper that is qualified under Section
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2051.044 to publish legal notices or is a free newspaper of general
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circulation and that is published at least once a week and available
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and of interest to the general public in connection with the
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dissemination of news;
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[(3)
a newspaper of general circulation that is
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published on the Internet by a news medium engaged in the business
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of disseminating news or information to the general public; or
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[(4)
a magazine that is published at least once a week
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or on the Internet by a news medium engaged in the business of
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disseminating news or information to the general public]. |
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(m) In this section: |
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(1) "Communication service provider" has the meaning |
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assigned by Section 22.021, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. |
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(2) "News medium" means a newspaper, magazine or |
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periodical, a book publisher, a news agency, a wire service, an |
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FCC-licensed radio or television station or a network of such |
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stations, a cable, satellite, or other transmission system or |
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carrier or channel, or a channel or programming service for a |
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station, network, system, or carrier, or an audio or audiovisual |
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production company or Internet company or provider, or the parent, |
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subsidiary, division, or affiliate of that entity, that |
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disseminates news or information to the public by any means, |
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including: |
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(A) print; |
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(B) television; |
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(C) radio; |
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(D) photographic; |
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(E) mechanical; |
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(F) electronic; and |
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(G) other means, known or unknown, that are |
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accessible to the public. |
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SECTION 4. Section 552.3215(i), Government Code, is amended |
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to read as follows: |
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(i) If the district or county attorney determines not to |
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bring an action under this section, the complainant is entitled to |
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file the complaint with the attorney general before the 31st day |
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after the date the complaint is returned to the complainant. A |
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complainant is entitled to file a complaint with the attorney |
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general on or after the 90th day after the date the complainant |
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files the complaint with a district or county attorney if the |
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district or county attorney has not brought an action under this |
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section. On receipt of the written complaint, the attorney general |
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shall comply with each requirement in Subsections (g) and (h) in the |
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time required by those subsections. If the attorney general |
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decides to bring an action under this section against a |
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governmental body located only in one county in response to the |
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complaint, the attorney general must comply with Subsection (c). |
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SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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a request for information that is received by a governmental body or |
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an officer for public information on or after the effective date of |
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this Act. A request for information that was received before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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date the request was received, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |