84R1352 PAM-D
 
  By: Galindo H.B. No. 3235
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the right of officers of counties, county boards of
  school trustees, and county boards of education to obtain
  information, documents, and records.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 89, Local Government Code, is amended by
  adding Section 89.007 to read as follows:
         Sec. 89.007.  SPECIAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY
  OFFICERS OF COUNTIES, COUNTY BOARDS OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES, AND COUNTY
  BOARDS OF EDUCATION. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "County governmental body":
                     (A)  means:
                           (i)  a county commissioners court;
                           (ii)  a deliberative body that has
  rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a
  department, agency, or political subdivision of a county;
                           (iii)  a county board of school trustees;
                           (iv)  a county board of education; or
                           (v)  the part, section, or portion of a
  county, county board of school trustees, or county board of
  education described by Section 552.003(1)(A)(xii), Government
  Code, that is a governmental body for purposes of Chapter 552,
  Government Code; and
                     (B)  does not include:
                           (i)  the judiciary; or
                           (ii)  a private entity that spends or is
  supported wholly or partly by public funds.
               (2)  "County officer" means:
                     (A)  an elected or appointed officer who
  supervises, manages, or controls a county governmental body; or
                     (B)  a member of a board, a commission, a
  committee, or another body consisting of more than one individual
  elected or appointed to supervise, manage, or control a county
  governmental body.
               (3)  "Public information" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 552.002, Government Code.
         (b)  A county officer has a right of access to information
  that is for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, public
  information of the county governmental body that the county officer
  oversees.
         (c)  A county governmental body on request by the county
  officer who oversees the governmental body shall provide public
  information, including confidential information or information
  otherwise excepted from disclosure, to the county officer in
  accordance with Chapter 552, Government Code.
         (d)  A county governmental body, by providing public
  information under this section that is confidential or otherwise
  excepted from required disclosure under law, does not waive or
  affect the confidentiality of the information for purposes of state
  or federal law or waive the right of the county governmental body to
  assert exceptions to required disclosure of the information in the
  future. The county governmental body may require the requesting
  county officer or the employees of the requesting county officer
  who will view or handle information that is received under this
  section and that is confidential under law or otherwise excepted
  from disclosure to sign a confidentiality agreement that covers the
  information and requires that:
               (1)  the information not be disclosed outside the
  office of the requesting county officer, or within that office for
  purposes other than the purpose for which it was received;
               (2)  the information be labeled as confidential;
               (3)  the information be kept securely; or
               (4)  the number of copies made of the information or the
  notes taken from the information that implicate the confidential
  nature of the information be controlled, with all copies or notes
  that are not destroyed or returned to the county governmental body
  remaining confidential and subject to the confidentiality
  agreement.
         (e)  An individual required by a county governmental body to
  sign a confidentiality agreement under Subsection (d) may seek a
  decision as provided by Subsection (f) about whether the
  information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
  confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure.  A
  confidentiality agreement signed under Subsection (d) is void to
  the extent that the agreement covers information that is finally
  determined under Subsection (f) to not be confidential under law or
  otherwise excepted from disclosure.
         (f)  A county officer may seek a decision from the attorney
  general about whether the information covered by the
  confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
  excepted from disclosure.  The attorney general by rule shall
  establish procedures and deadlines for receiving information
  necessary to determine whether the information covered by the
  confidentiality agreement is confidential under law or otherwise
  excepted from disclosure and for receiving briefs from the
  requesting county officer, the county governmental body, and any
  other interested person.  The attorney general shall promptly
  render a decision requested under this subsection, determining
  whether the information covered by the confidentiality agreement is
  confidential under law or otherwise excepted from disclosure, not
  later than the 45th business day after the date the attorney general
  receives the request for a decision under this subsection.  The
  attorney general shall issue a written decision and provide a copy
  of the decision to the requesting county officer, the county
  governmental body, and any interested person who submitted
  necessary information or a brief to the attorney general under this
  subsection.  The requesting county officer or the county
  governmental body may appeal a decision of the attorney general
  under this subsection to a district court in the county.  A person
  may appeal a decision of the attorney general under this subsection
  to a district court in the county if the person claims a proprietary
  interest in the information affected by the decision or a privacy
  interest in the information that a confidentiality law or judicial
  decision is designed to protect.
         (g)  This section does not affect:
               (1)  the right of a county officer to obtain
  information from a county governmental body under other law;
               (2)  the procedures under which the information is
  obtained under other law; or
               (3)  the use that may be made of the information
  obtained under other law.
         (h)  This section does not grant authority to a county
  governmental body to withhold information from county officers.
         SECTION 2.  Section 89.007, Local Government Code, as added
  by this Act, applies only to a request for information by a county
  officer that is made on or after the effective date of this Act.  A
  request for information made before the effective date of this Act
  is governed by the applicable law in effect immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2015.