LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 86TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

March 19, 2019

TO:	Honorable Dade Phelan, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB318 by Howard (Relating to the Internet broadcast of certain open meetings.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend Chapter 551 of the Government Code to require certain agencies to
broadcast open meetings live over the internet and make an archived broadcast available online
for two years. The bill would apply to agencies within the executive or legislative branch that
receive an annual appropriation of $40 million or more in General Revenue, including transfers,
and have 250 or more full-time equivalent employees. The bill would apply only to open meetings
that take place on or after September 1, 2021.

Many large agencies currently comply with provisions of the bill that require video broadcasting
and archiving of open meetings on the internet. It is assumed that most large agencies could
implement requirements of the bill within existing resources. The Department of Agriculture indicates that costs associated with implement provisions of the bill would be significant.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

300 Trusteed Programs Within the Office of the Governor, 303 Facilities Commission, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 320 Texas Workforce Commission, 323 Teacher Retirement System, 405 Department of Public Safety, 454 Department of Insurance, 458 Alcoholic Beverage Commission, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of, 551 Department of Agriculture, 580 Water Development Board, 608 Department of Motor Vehicles, 644 Juvenile Justice Department, 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 701 Texas Education Agency, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 802 Parks and Wildlife Department

LBB Staff:

WP, CMa, JQ, BRi, LCO, TBo, JSm, CP, ESt, JMO