Bill Text: TX SB729 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to maintenance and production of electronic public information under the public information law.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to Business & Commerce [SB729 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB729-Introduced.html
| 87R5664 BEF-F | ||
| By: Johnson | S.B. No. 729 | |
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| relating to maintenance and production of electronic public | ||
| information under the public information law. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 552.002(a-2), Government Code, is | ||
| amended to read as follows: | ||
| (a-2) The definition of "public information" provided by | ||
| Subsection (a) applies to and includes: | ||
| (1) any electronic communication created, | ||
| transmitted, received, or maintained on any device if the | ||
| communication is in connection with the transaction of official | ||
| business; and | ||
| (2) data dictionaries and other indicia of the type or | ||
| category of information held in each field of a database. | ||
| SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 552, Government Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 552.2285 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 552.2285. ELECTRONIC PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a) In this | ||
| section "electronic public information" means public information | ||
| that is produced and maintained in an electronic spreadsheet or | ||
| database that is searchable or sortable. | ||
| (b) A governmental body's use of an electronic | ||
| recordkeeping system may not erode the public's right of access to | ||
| public information under this chapter. The contents of electronic | ||
| public information, including information covered by Section | ||
| 552.002(a-2), is significant and not merely used as a tool for the | ||
| maintenance, manipulation, or protection of property. | ||
| (c) If a request for public information applies to | ||
| electronic public information and the requestor requests the | ||
| electronic public information in a searchable or sortable format, | ||
| the governmental body shall provide an electronic copy of the | ||
| requested electronic public information in the searchable or | ||
| sortable format requested using computer software the governmental | ||
| body has in its possession. If the requestor prefers, the | ||
| governmental body shall provide a copy of electronic public | ||
| information in the form of a paper printout. | ||
| (d) A governmental body may not refuse to provide a copy of | ||
| electronic public information on the grounds that exporting the | ||
| information or redacting excepted information will require | ||
| inputting range, search, filter, report parameters, or similar | ||
| commands or instructions into the governmental body's computer | ||
| system if the commands or instructions can be executed with | ||
| computer software used by the governmental body in the ordinary | ||
| course of business to access, support, or otherwise manage the | ||
| information. | ||
| (e) A requestor may request that a copy of electronic public | ||
| information be provided in the format in which the information is | ||
| maintained by the governmental body or in a standard export format | ||
| such as a flat file electronic American Standard Code for | ||
| Information Interchange (ASCII) if the governmental body's | ||
| computer programs support exporting the information in that format. | ||
| The governmental body shall provide the copy in the requested | ||
| format or in another format acceptable to the requestor. The | ||
| governmental body shall provide the copy on suitable electronic | ||
| media. | ||
| (f) If electronic public information is maintained by a | ||
| governmental body in a format that is: | ||
| (1) searchable but not sortable, the governmental body | ||
| shall provide an electronic copy of the information in a searchable | ||
| format that complies with this section; or | ||
| (2) sortable, the governmental body shall provide an | ||
| electronic copy of the information in a sortable format that | ||
| complies with this section. | ||
| (g) A governmental body shall use reasonable efforts to | ||
| ensure that a contract entered into by the governmental body for the | ||
| creation and maintenance of electronic public information does not | ||
| impair the public's ability to inspect or copy the information or | ||
| make the information more difficult for the public to inspect or | ||
| copy than records maintained by the governmental body. | ||
| (h) This section applies to public information for which a | ||
| third party is the custodian for the governmental body. | ||
| (i) This section does not affect the applicability to | ||
| electronic public information of a confidentiality provision or | ||
| other exception from required disclosure. | ||
| (j) Subchapter F applies to an electronic copy or paper | ||
| printout of electronic public information. | ||
| SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
| a request for public information received by a governmental body on | ||
| or after the effective date of this Act. A request received before | ||
| that date is governed by the law in effect when the request was | ||
| received, and the former law is continued in effect for that | ||
| purpose. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
