LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 87TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 13, 2021

TO:	Honorable Chris Paddie, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3015 by Hernandez (Relating to a governmental body's response to a request for public information.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend Chapter 552 of the Government Code, relating to government responses to public information requests. Implementing the provisions of the bill would require a government body to notify a requestor, in writing, within 10 business days if there is no information subject to the request or if the information is being withheld based on a  previous determination and identify specific exceptions to public disclosure that apply. A requestor would be authorized to file a complaint with the Attorney General if a governmental body fails to respond to a request.

Costs associated with the bill would be dependent on the amount of any public information requests that would result in a complaint and the associated costs for producing information. It is assumed that these costs can be absorbed under existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

300 Trusteed Programs - Gov, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 305 General Land Office, 307 Secretary of State, 313 Department of Information Resources, 356 Texas Ethics Commission, 405 Department of Public Safety, 452 Dept of License & Reg, 529 Hlth & Human Svcs Comm, 608 Department of Motor Vehicles, 644 Juvenile Justice Department, 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 710 Texas A&M Univ System Admin, 720 UT Sys Admin

LBB Staff:

JMc, SMAT, SD, BRI