Bill Text: TX SB1579 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to procedures under the public information law, including expedited responses and charges for bad faith requests.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-15 - Referred to State Affairs [SB1579 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB1579-Engrossed.html

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By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1579

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures under the public information law, including
expedited responses and charges for bad faith requests.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 552.2615(g), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) The time deadlines imposed by this section do not affect
the application of a time deadline imposed on a governmental body
under Subchapter G or K.
SECTION 2. Section 552.263(e), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) For purposes of Subchapters F, [and] G, and K, a request
for a copy of public information is considered to have been received
by a governmental body on the date the governmental body receives
the deposit or bond for payment of anticipated costs or unpaid
amounts if the governmental body's officer for public information
or the officer's agent requires a deposit or bond in accordance with
this section.
SECTION 3. Section 552.302, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.302. FAILURE TO MAKE TIMELY REQUEST FOR ATTORNEY
GENERAL DECISION; PRESUMPTION THAT INFORMATION IS PUBLIC. If a
governmental body does not request an attorney general decision as
provided by Section 552.301 or in response to an appeal under
Subchapter K and provide the requestor with the information
required by Sections 552.301(d) and (e-1) or Section 552.405(b),
the information requested in writing is presumed to be subject to
required public disclosure and must be released unless there is a
compelling reason to withhold the information.
SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 552.310 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.310. CHARGES FOR BAD FAITH REQUEST. (a) The
attorney general may impose a $1,000 charge to process a request for
an attorney general decision made by a governmental body that the
attorney general determines has made the request in bad faith.
(b) The attorney general may impose on a governmental body a
$500 charge for each business day that occurs after the date the
attorney general issues a written determination that the
governmental body made a request for an attorney general decision
in bad faith and before the date the governmental body provides to
the requestor all information withheld in connection with the bad
faith request.
SECTION 5. Section 552.321(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A requestor or the attorney general may file suit for a
writ of mandamus compelling a governmental body to make information
available for public inspection if the governmental body refuses to
request an attorney general's decision as provided by Subchapter G
or Section 552.405 or refuses to supply public information or
information that the attorney general has determined is public
information that is not excepted from disclosure under Subchapter
C.
SECTION 6. Section 552.352, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
Subsection (a) that the defendant released information under
Subchapter K and did not release confidential information
intentionally, as defined by Section 6.03, Penal Code.
SECTION 7. Section 552.353(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
Subsection (a) that the officer for public information reasonably
believed that public access to the requested information was not
required and that:
(1) the officer acted in reasonable reliance on a
court order or a written interpretation of this chapter contained
in an opinion of a court of record or of the attorney general issued
under Subchapter G;
(2) the officer requested a decision from the attorney
general in accordance with Subchapter G or Section 552.405, and the
decision is pending; or
(3) not later than the 10th calendar day after the date
of receipt of a decision by the attorney general that the
information is public, the officer or the governmental body for
whom the defendant is the officer for public information filed a
petition for a declaratory judgment against the attorney general in
a Travis County district court seeking relief from compliance with
the decision of the attorney general, as provided by Section
552.324, and the cause is pending.
SECTION 8. Chapter 552, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter K to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER K. EXPEDITED RESPONSE PROCEDURE
Sec. 552.401. APPLICABILITY. (a) This subchapter does not
apply to a request for information that may involve a person's
privacy or property interest under Section 552.305.
(b) This subchapter applies to a governmental body only if:
(1) the governmental body's officer for public
information or the officer's designee holds an active training
certificate issued under Section 552.406; and
(2) the governmental body's authorization to respond
to a request for information under this subchapter is not revoked
under Section 552.407 on the date the request is received.
Sec. 552.402. REQUEST FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL DECISION NOT
REQUIRED. Subject to Section 552.404, a governmental body that
receives a written request for information and complies with the
requirements of this subchapter may withhold any information it
makes a good faith determination is excepted from required public
disclosure under this chapter without the necessity of requesting a
decision from the attorney general under Subchapter G.
Sec. 552.403. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS. (a) A governmental
body that withholds information under this subchapter must respond
to the requestor not later than the 10th business day after the date
the governmental body receives a written request for that
information by providing the requestor with:
(1) a list of the exceptions under Subchapter C and, if
applicable, the judicial decisions or constitutional or statutory
laws the governmental body determines are applicable to the
information being withheld;
(2) all information the governmental body determines
is not excepted from disclosure, including, if applicable,
partially redacted information with the redacted portions clearly
marked and labeled with the exceptions the governmental body relied
on to redact the information;
(3) a description of the volume and type of
information withheld; and
(4) a notice form promulgated by the attorney general
that includes, at a minimum:
(A) a unique identification number assigned by
the governmental body;
(B) a description of the appeal procedure;
(C) an appeal form the requestor must use to
appeal the withholding of information under this subchapter;
(D) a reference to the requestor's rights under
this chapter;
(E) the name of the individual who has received
training under Section 552.406; and
(F) a confirmation from the individual named in
Paragraph (E) that the individual reviewed and approved the
response.
(b) The governmental body shall retain, at a minimum, an
electronic or paper copy of the notice it provides to the requestor
under Subsection (a)(4) for the length of time the governmental
body retains the request for information.
Sec. 552.404. APPEAL. (a) On receipt of a response by a
governmental body under Section 552.403, the requestor may appeal
the withholding of information in the response not later than the
30th calendar day after the date the requestor receives the
response.
(b) The requestor must submit the appeal to the governmental
body that responded under Section 552.403 on the appeal form
provided to the requestor under Section 552.403(a)(4).
(c) The appeal is considered a new request and is subject to
the procedural requirements of Section 552.405.
(d) A governmental body may not seek to narrow or clarify an
appeal made under this section under Section 552.222(b).
(e) A governmental body may not respond to a requestor under
Section 552.232 in response to an appeal made under this section.
(f) Notwithstanding Sections 552.024(c)(2), 552.1175(f),
552.130(c), 552.136(c), and 552.138(c), a governmental body must
request an attorney general decision to withhold information
described by those provisions in response to an appeal.
Sec. 552.405. REQUEST FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL DECISION IN
RESPONSE TO APPEAL. (a) Except as provided by this subchapter:
(1) an appeal made under Section 552.404 is subject to
the provisions of this chapter; and
(2) an attorney general's decision requested under
this section is considered to be a decision under Subchapter G.
(b) A governmental body that receives an appeal under
Section 552.404 shall, within a reasonable time, but not later than
the fifth business day after the date the governmental body
receives the appeal, submit to the attorney general:
(1) a request for an attorney general's decision;
(2) a copy of the original written request for
information;
(3) a signed statement as to the date on which the
written response required by Section 552.403 was provided to the
requestor, or evidence sufficient to establish that date;
(4) a copy of the appeal form received by the
governmental body;
(5) a signed statement as to the date on which the
appeal was received by the governmental body, or evidence
sufficient to establish the date;
(6) the exceptions that apply and written comments
stating the reasons why the stated exceptions apply that would
allow the information to be withheld;
(7) if the governmental body provided partially
redacted information to the requestor in its initial response under
Section 552.403, an unredacted copy of the information the
governmental body provided to the requestor with the copy clearly
marked indicating the released portions and the withheld portions
labeled with the exceptions the governmental body relied on to
withhold the information; and
(8) a copy of the specific information the
governmental body seeks to withhold, or representative samples of
the information, labeled to indicate which exceptions apply to
which parts of the copy.
(c) A governmental body that receives an appeal under
Section 552.404 shall, within a reasonable time, but not later than
the fifth business day after the date the governmental body
receives the appeal, send a copy of the comments submitted under
Subsection (b)(6) to the requestor. If the written comments
disclose or contain the substance of the information requested, the
copy of the comments provided to the requestor must be a redacted
copy.
Sec. 552.406. TRAINING. (a) The public information
officer for a governmental body that responds to a request under
this subchapter or the officer's designee must have completed in
the four years preceding the response a course of training of not
less than 16 hours regarding the responsibilities of the
governmental body under this subchapter.
(b) The attorney general shall ensure that the training is
made available. The attorney general shall maintain at least one
updated course of training that is available in an online
presentation format. The online training may be broken into
separate sections. The online training must provide a means to
verify that the trainee observed and comprehended the full online
training session or, if applicable, each section of the training.
(c) At a minimum, the training must include instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements
for the governmental body's use of this subchapter and related law;
(2) the applicability of this subchapter to
governmental bodies;
(3) the procedures and requirements for complying with
an appeal under this subchapter;
(4) the role of the attorney general under this
subchapter; and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to
comply with this subchapter.
(d) The office of the attorney general shall provide a
certificate to a person who completes the training required by this
section and keep records of the training certificates issued. A
governmental body shall maintain the training certificate of any
individual who provides a confirmation under Section
552.403(a)(4)(F) and make the certificate available for public
inspection.
Sec. 552.407. REVOCATION. (a) If the attorney general
determines that a governmental body failed to comply with the
requirements of this chapter, the office of the attorney general,
in its sole discretion, may revoke the governmental body's
authorization to respond under this subchapter or the training
certificate issued to an individual responsible for the
governmental body's failure.
(b) The attorney general shall create a notice of revocation
form. The attorney general shall inform a governmental body that
the attorney general has revoked the governmental body's
eligibility under Subsection (a) or an individual that the attorney
general has revoked the individual's training certificate by
sending the notice of revocation form by certified mail or by
another written method of notice that requires the return of a
receipt.
(c) The notice of revocation provided to a governmental body
must inform the governmental body of the length of time the
revocation is in effect. The length of time the governmental body's
revocation is in effect may not exceed six months from the date the
governmental body receives the notice of revocation form.
(d) The notice of revocation form provided to an individual
must inform the individual that the attorney general has revoked
the individual's training certificate under Subsection (a). The
individual must repeat the course of training under Section 552.406
to obtain a new training certificate.
(e) If an individual is employed by a governmental body when
the governmental body's authorization to respond under this
subchapter is revoked under Subsection (a), and the individual
obtains employment at a different governmental body with
authorization to respond under this subchapter, the individual may
not provide a confirmation under Section 552.403(a)(4)(F) until the
revocation period for the initial governmental body has expired.
(f) The office of the attorney general shall publish on its
Internet website:
(1) a list that provides the first and last names of
individuals who hold an active training certificate issued under
Section 552.406, the date each individual's training was completed,
and the date each individual's training certificate expires; and
(2) a list of the governmental bodies that are not
authorized to respond to a request under this subchapter because
their authorization has been revoked under Subsection (a).
Sec. 552.408. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF SUBCHAPTER. (a)
For the state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2023, the
attorney general shall collect data detailing the number of:
(1) requests for decisions in response to appeals the
attorney general receives under Section 552.405;
(2) individuals who complete training under Section
552.406;
(3) governmental bodies that have their authorization
to respond under this subchapter revoked under Section 552.407; and
(4) individuals who have their training certificates
revoked under Section 552.407.
(b) Not later than February 1, 2025, the attorney general
shall make the data collected under Subsection (a) available on the
attorney general's Internet website for open records.
(c) This section expires September 1, 2025.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a request for information that is received by a governmental body 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 that was in effect on the date the request was received,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.