Bill Text: TX HB3107 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the production of public information under the public information law.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [HB3107 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB3107-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 3107 |
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relating to the production of public information under the public | ||
information law. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 552.221, Government Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: | ||
(e) A request is considered to have been withdrawn if the | ||
requestor fails to inspect or duplicate the public information in | ||
the offices of the governmental body on or before the 60th day after | ||
the date the information is made available or fails to pay the | ||
postage and any other applicable charges accrued under Subchapter F | ||
on or before the 60th day after the date the requestor is informed | ||
of the charges. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 552.261, Government Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: | ||
(e) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, all | ||
requests received in one calendar day from an individual may be | ||
treated as a single request for purposes of calculating costs under | ||
this chapter. A governmental body may not combine multiple requests | ||
under this subsection from separate individuals who submit requests | ||
on behalf of an organization. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 552.275, Government Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), (e), (g), (h), and (j) and | ||
adding Subsections (a-1), (e-1), and (m) to read as follows: | ||
(a) A governmental body may establish [ |
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monthly and yearly limits [ |
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personnel of the governmental body are required to spend producing | ||
public information for inspection or duplication by a requestor, or | ||
providing copies of public information to a requestor, without | ||
recovering its costs attributable to that personnel time. | ||
(a-1) For purposes of this section, all county officials who | ||
have designated the same officer for public information may | ||
calculate the amount of time that personnel are required to spend | ||
collectively for purposes of the monthly or yearly limit. | ||
(b) A yearly time limit established under Subsection (a) may | ||
not be less than 36 hours for a requestor during the 12-month period | ||
that corresponds to the fiscal year of the governmental body. A | ||
monthly time limit established under Subsection (a) may not be less | ||
than 15 hours for a requestor for a one-month period. | ||
(d) If a governmental body establishes a time limit under | ||
Subsection (a), each time the governmental body complies with a | ||
request for public information, the governmental body shall provide | ||
the requestor with a written statement of the amount of personnel | ||
time spent complying with that request and the cumulative amount of | ||
time spent complying with requests for public information from that | ||
requestor during the applicable monthly or yearly [ |
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period. The amount of time spent preparing the written statement | ||
may not be included in the amount of time included in the statement | ||
provided to the requestor under this subsection. | ||
(e) Subject to Subsection (e-1), if [ |
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a request for public information, the cumulative amount of | ||
personnel time spent complying with requests for public information | ||
from the same requestor equals or exceeds the limit established by | ||
the governmental body under Subsection (a), the governmental body | ||
shall provide the requestor with a written estimate of the total | ||
cost, including materials, personnel time, and overhead expenses, | ||
necessary to comply with the request. The written estimate must be | ||
provided to the requestor on or before the 10th day after the date | ||
on which the public information was requested. The amount of this | ||
charge relating to the cost of locating, compiling, and producing | ||
the public information shall be established by rules prescribed by | ||
the attorney general under Sections 552.262(a) and (b). | ||
(e-1) This subsection applies only to a request made by a | ||
requestor who has made a previous request to a governmental body | ||
that has not been withdrawn, for which the governmental body has | ||
located and compiled documents in response, and for which the | ||
governmental body has issued a statement under Subsection (e) that | ||
remains unpaid on the date the requestor submits the new request. A | ||
governmental body is not required to locate, compile, produce, or | ||
provide copies of documents or prepare a statement under Subsection | ||
(e) in response to a new request described by this subsection until | ||
the date the requestor pays each unpaid statement issued under | ||
Subsection (e) in connection with a previous request or withdraws | ||
the previous request to which the statement applies. | ||
(g) If a governmental body provides a requestor with the | ||
written statement under Subsection (e) and the time limits | ||
prescribed by Subsection (a) regarding the requestor have been | ||
exceeded, the governmental body is not required to produce public | ||
information for inspection or duplication or to provide copies of | ||
public information in response to the requestor's request unless on | ||
or before the 10th day after the date the governmental body provided | ||
the written statement under that subsection, the requestor submits | ||
payment of [ |
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provided under Subsection (e). | ||
(h) If the requestor fails or refuses to submit payment [ |
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considered to have withdrawn the requestor's pending request for | ||
public information. | ||
(j) This section does not apply if the requestor is an | ||
individual who, for a substantial portion of the individual's | ||
livelihood or for substantial financial gain, gathers, compiles, | ||
prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, | ||
investigates, processes, or publishes news or information for and | ||
is seeking the information for: | ||
(1) dissemination by a news medium or communication | ||
service provider, including: | ||
(A) an individual who supervises or assists in | ||
gathering, preparing, and disseminating the news or information; or | ||
(B) an individual who is or was a journalist, | ||
scholar, or researcher employed by an institution of higher | ||
education at the time the person made the request for information; | ||
or | ||
(2) creation or maintenance of an abstract plant as | ||
described by Section 2501.004, Insurance Code [ |
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(m) In this section: | ||
(1) "Communication service provider" has the meaning | ||
assigned by Section 22.021, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. | ||
(2) "News medium" means a newspaper, magazine or | ||
periodical, a book publisher, a news agency, a wire service, an | ||
FCC-licensed radio or television station or a network of such | ||
stations, a cable, satellite, or other transmission system or | ||
carrier or channel, or a channel or programming service for a | ||
station, network, system, or carrier, or an audio or audiovisual | ||
production company or Internet company or provider, or the parent, | ||
subsidiary, division, or affiliate of that entity, that | ||
disseminates news or information to the public by any means, | ||
including: | ||
(A) print; | ||
(B) television; | ||
(C) radio; | ||
(D) photographic; | ||
(E) mechanical; | ||
(F) electronic; and | ||
(G) other means, known or unknown, that are | ||
accessible to the public. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 552.3215(i), Government Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(i) If the district or county attorney determines not to | ||
bring an action under this section, the complainant is entitled to | ||
file the complaint with the attorney general before the 31st day | ||
after the date the complaint is returned to the complainant. A | ||
complainant is entitled to file a complaint with the attorney | ||
general on or after the 90th day after the date the complainant | ||
files the complaint with a district or county attorney if the | ||
district or county attorney has not brought an action under this | ||
section. On receipt of the written complaint, the attorney general | ||
shall comply with each requirement in Subsections (g) and (h) in the | ||
time required by those subsections. If the attorney general | ||
decides to bring an action under this section against a | ||
governmental body located only in one county in response to the | ||
complaint, the attorney general must comply with Subsection (c). | ||
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
a request for information that is received by a governmental body or | ||
an officer for public information on or after the effective date of | ||
this Act. A request for information that was received before the | ||
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the | ||
date the request was received, and the former law is continued in | ||
effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 3107 was passed by the House on April | ||
20, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 1 present, not | ||
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
No. 3107 on May 25, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, | ||
2 present, not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 3107 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
amendments, on May 23, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays | ||
0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |