BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4219

By: Capriglione

Delivery of Government Efficiency

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under the Texas Public Information Act, a governmental body must provide public information in its records to requestors promptly and without delay and has up to 10 days to seek an attorney general decision regarding the withholding of records. However, the bill author has informed the committee that there is currently no practical way to enforce this requirement when a governmental body does not respond to records requests in a timely fashion or does not respond at all. H.B. 4219 seeks to address this issue by imposing a deadline by which a governmental body must notify a requestor of public information regarding the withholding of the information or a lack of information responsive to the request, requiring the applicable exceptions to the Texas Public Information Act the governmental body states to the attorney general in asking for a decision to be specifically stated, and providing for a written complaint process that a requestor may use regarding a failure to respond to a request.

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

H.B. 4219 amends the Government Code to require the officer for public information of a governmental body that determines it has no information responsive to a request for public information to notify the requestor in writing not later than the 10th business day after the date the request is received. The bill requires the officer for public information of a governmental body that determines the requested information is subject to a previous determination that permits or requires the governmental body to withhold the requested information, to do the following not later than the 10th business day after the date the request is received:

·       notify the requestor in writing that the information is being withheld; and

·       identify in the notice the specific previous determination the governmental body is relying on to withhold the requested information.

H.B. 4219 specifies that the exceptions to state public information law that a governmental body is required to state in a request for an attorney general decision regarding the withholding of public information are specific exceptions.

H.B. 4219 authorizes a requestor of public information to send a written complaint to the attorney general if a governmental body fails to respond to the requestor as required under state public information law. The complaint must include the original request for information and any correspondence received from the governmental body in response to the request. The bill provides for the following if the attorney general determines the governmental body improperly failed to comply with state public information law requirements in connection with a request for which such a complaint is made:

·       the attorney general is required to notify the governmental body in writing and require the governmental body's public information officer or the officer's designee to complete open records training not later than six months after receiving the notification;

·       the governmental body may not assess costs to the requestor for producing information in response to the request; and

·       if the governmental body seeks to withhold information in response to the request, the governmental body must do the following:

o   request an attorney general decision about whether the requested information is excepted from disclosure under state public information law not later than the fifth business day after the date the governmental body receives the written notification from the attorney general; and

o   release the requested information unless there is a compelling reason to withhold the information.

H.B. 4219 applies only to a request for information that is received by a governmental body or an officer for public information on or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.