By: Canales, Guerra, Fierro, Morales of Maverick H.B. No. 2683
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to remote and other meetings held under the open meetings
  law.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 551, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 551.008 to read as follows:
         Sec. 551.008.  PUBLIC ACCESS TO CERTAIN MEETINGS. (a) This
  section applies only to an open meeting of a governmental body at
  which at least a majority of the members of the body participate by
  a method other than by appearing in person at the meeting's physical
  location, including by telephone conference call or video
  conference call.
         (b)  The requirements prescribed by this section are in
  addition to other requirements of law applicable to an open
  meeting. Except as provided by this section, this section prevails
  to the extent of a conflict with another provision of law.
         (c)  A governmental body shall ensure that members of the
  public are able to listen to and, if applicable, speak at an open
  meeting to which this section applies by telephone.
         (d)  A governmental body that holds an open meeting to which
  this section applies shall:
               (1)  make the open meeting audible to the public by
  telephone and at each location described by Subsection (e)(2);
               (2)  if the meeting is broadcast live over the Internet
  or held wholly or partly by video conference call, provide public
  access to both audiovisual and audio-only feeds of the open meeting
  over the Internet or by using a free, widely available computer
  application; and
               (3)  if applicable, allow members of the public to
  address the governmental body as provided by Section 551.007:
                     (A)  by telephone; and
                     (B)  by video conference call if the meeting is
  held wholly or partly by video conference call.
         (e)  The notice of an open meeting to which this section
  applies must:
               (1)  comply with the requirements of this chapter;
               (2)  list each physical location where a member of the
  public may observe and participate in the meeting, including:
                     (A)  any location that is open to the public where
  a member of the governmental body intends to participate in the
  meeting; and
                     (B)  any facility provided by the governmental
  body for a member of the public to observe or speak at the meeting;
               (3)  include a toll free telephone number that members
  of the public may use to hear and, if applicable, speak at the
  meeting;
               (4)  include access information for any audiovisual or
  audio-only feeds required by Subsection (d)(2); and
               (5)  include instructions for a member of the public to
  speak at the meeting:
                     (A)  from a remote location; or 
                     (B)  while physically present at a location
  described by Subdivision (2).
         (f)  An open meeting to which this section applies shall be
  recorded. Except as otherwise provided by law, the recording shall
  be made available to the public not later than 24 hours after the
  adjourning of the meeting.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 551.023, Government Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 551.023.  RECORDING OR LIVESTREAMING OF MEETING BY
  PERSON IN ATTENDANCE.
         SECTION 3.  Section 551.023(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A person in attendance at an open meeting of a
  governmental body may:
               (1)  record all or any part of the [an open] meeting [of
  a governmental body] by means of a recorder, video camera, or other
  means of aural or visual reproduction; or
               (2)  stream live video and audio of all or any part of
  the meeting on the Internet, provided that such recording does not
  cause a distraction or disturbance to the proceedings of the
  meeting.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 551, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 551.024 to read as follows:
         Sec. 551.024.  INTERNET BROADCAST AND ARCHIVE OF OPEN
  MEETINGS. (a) This section applies only to a governmental body
  that is an agency within the executive or legislative branch of
  state government to which the total appropriation made in the
  General Appropriations Act from general revenue for any fiscal year
  beginning on or after September 1, 2021, including any amount of
  general revenue transferred to the governmental body under that Act
  for that fiscal year, is greater than $10 million and for which the
  bill pattern for the General Appropriations Act for the same fiscal
  year designates 100 or more full-time employees.
         (b)  A governmental body that becomes subject to this section
  under Subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall comply with this
  section in each following fiscal year.
         (c)  A governmental body subject to this section shall
  broadcast over the Internet live video and audio of each open
  meeting of the governmental body. The governmental body shall
  provide access to the broadcast on the governmental body's Internet
  website.
         (d)  Not later than the seventh day after the date an open
  meeting is broadcast under this section, the governmental body
  shall make available through the governmental body's Internet
  website archived video and audio of the open meeting.  The
  governmental body shall maintain the archived video and audio of
  the open meeting on the governmental body's Internet website until
  the second anniversary of the date the archived video and audio was
  first made available on the website.
         (e)  The governmental body shall provide on the governmental
  body's Internet website the same notice of the open meeting that the
  governmental body is required to post under Subchapter C. The
  notice must be posted on the governmental body's Internet website
  within the time required for posting notice under Subchapter C.
         (f)  The governmental body may use for an Internet broadcast
  of an open meeting of the governmental body a room made available to
  the governmental body on request in any state building, as defined
  by Section 2165.301.
         (g)  The governmental body is exempt from the requirements of
  this section to the extent a catastrophe, as defined by Section
  551.0411, or a technical breakdown prevents the governmental body
  from complying with this section. Following the catastrophe or
  technical breakdown, the governmental body shall make all
  reasonable efforts to make the required video and audio of the open
  meeting available in a timely manner.
         (h)  The governmental body shall consider contracting
  through competitive bidding with a private individual or entity to
  broadcast and archive an open meeting subject to this section to
  minimize the cost of complying with this section.
         SECTION 5.  Section 551.041, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 551.041.  NOTICE OF MEETING REQUIRED. (a) A
  governmental body shall give written notice of the date, hour,
  place, and subject of each meeting held by the governmental body.
         (b)  The notice must include:
               (1)  an agenda of the specific subjects to be
  considered in the open meeting so that the public is aware of the
  subjects for public deliberation; and
               (2)  to the extent foreseeable at the time the notice is
  posted, the subjects to be considered in a closed meeting.
         (c)  A governmental body may not conduct a closed meeting on
  a subject not included in the notice as prescribed by Subsection
  (b)(2) unless the body determines by official action during the
  open meeting for which the notice was posted that the necessity of
  considering the subject was not reasonably foreseeable at the time
  the notice was posted.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 551.128(b) and (c), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (b-1) and subject to
  the requirements of this section, a governmental body may broadcast
  an open meeting over the Internet. A governmental body shall
  broadcast an open meeting over the Internet, or shall hold an open
  meeting by telephone conference or videoconference, if the physical
  location of the meeting is not accessible to members of the public
  or is not large enough to accommodate all persons seeking to attend
  the meeting in person, including if the location has reduced
  capacity as the result of an emergency or urgent public necessity,
  as described by Section 551.045(b).
         (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (b-2), a governmental
  body that broadcasts a meeting over the Internet shall establish an
  Internet site and provide free and open access for members of the
  public to the broadcast from that site. The governmental body shall
  provide on the Internet site the same notice of the meeting that the
  governmental body is required to post under Subchapter C. The
  notice on the Internet must be posted within the time required for
  posting notice under Subchapter C.
         SECTION 7.  Section 551.024, Government Code, as added by
  this Act, applies only to an open meeting held on or after September
  1, 2023.
         SECTION 8.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a meeting of a governmental body held on or after the effective date
  of this Act.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.