BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3525

By: Davis

Transportation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

When customers use airport parking facilities, confidential information is collected by the airport, including names, emails, phone numbers, toll tags, transaction information, travel dates, lengths of stay, flight information, and destinations. Current law protects some airport customer identifying information, such as addresses, email addresses, financial information, and passwords from disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA). But this protection does not extend to toll tag or trip information. If this information is released in response to a TPIA request, it could jeopardize the confidentiality of customer travel patterns and be used to identify and characterize individual customers. C.S.H.B. 3525 seeks to address this issue by excepting from disclosure under state public information law certain information regarding a person's use of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's parking facility.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3525 amends the Transportation Code to include among the list of personal identifying information collected by a joint municipal airport board or local government that is confidential and not subject to disclosure under state public information law, a person's use of an airport parking facility that includes the following:

· the person's name, email address, phone number, and zip code;

· the person's license plate number, toll tag number, and credit, debit, or other payment card number; or

· the dates the person's vehicle was parked in and exited the facility and the amount the person paid to park in the facility.

The bill applies only to a request for public information received by a governmental body or an officer for public information on or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3525 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Both the introduced and the substitute provide that certain personal information regarding a person's use of an airport parking facility collected by a joint municipal airport board is confidential and not subject to disclosure under state public information law. However the substitute also makes such information collected by a local government confidential and not subject to disclosure. The substitute changes references to "airport parking garage" in the introduced to "airport parking facility."