The Texas Legislative Council (TLC) maintains Texas Legislature Online as a public service. This policy describes the TLC's privacy and security practices regarding information collected from visitors to the site, including what information is collected and how that information is used. This policy applies to all pages beginning with the domains: capitol.texas.gov, www.legis.state.tx.us, www.capitol.state.tx.us, tlc.texas.gov, and www.tlc.state.tx.us.

Please note that all information collected or maintained by the TLC is subject to the provisions of the Texas public information law (Chapter 552, Texas Government Code).

Use and Release of Information

Server Logs/Log Analysis Tools
The TLC uses server logs and log analysis tools to create summary statistics about website usage to improve site management. The statistics are used for purposes such as assessing what information is of most interest to users, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. The TLC does not report or use this information in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information and does not release the information to any outside parties unless required to do so under applicable law.

The following information is collected for this analysis:

User/client hostname — Hostname (or IP address, if DNS is disabled) of the user/client requesting access
HTTP header, "user-agent" — Type of browser used, the browser version, and the operating system it is running on
HTTP header, "referrer" — Page from which the user/client accessed the current page
System date — Date and time of the user/client request
Full request — Exact request the user/client made
Status — Status code the server returned to the user/client
Content length — Length, in bytes, of the document sent to the user/client
Method — Request method used
Universal Resource Identifier (URI) — Location of a resource on the server
Query string of the URI — Anything after the question mark in a URI
Protocol — Transport protocol and version used

The TLC monitors network traffic for site security purposes and to ensure that the site remains available to all users.

Unauthorized Attempts
Unauthorized attempts to upload information, change information on this site, or otherwise cause damage are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under Texas Government Code Section 323.015 or Texas Penal Code Chapter 33 (Computer Crimes) or 33A (Telecommunications Crimes). Except as may be required for authorized law enforcement investigations, no attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. The TLC does not use raw data logs for any other purposes.

E-Mail
State agencies may not sell or release the e-mail addresses of members of the public that have been provided to communicate electronically with a governmental body without the affirmative consent of the affected member of the public. Personally identifiable information contained in a question or comment sent to the TLC in an e-mail message or submitted in an online form is used by the TLC only to respond to the request. The TLC may redirect the message to another government agency or person who is in a better position to answer the question.

Web-Based Forms
The TLC uses web-based forms to collect subscription information, process bill search criteria, and provide a method to contact legislators. Personally identifiable information collected from these forms has a specified use (for example, subscriptions require an e-mail address in order for the recipients to receive their information), and the TLC uses the information only for that purpose. Each web-based form that requests personal information contains a link to this privacy policy.

An individual who submits information in electronic format through this website is entitled, on request, to receive and review the information the TLC collects about the individual and to have the TLC correct the information. To do this, please contact the TLC web administrator using the contact form.

Cookies
The TLC website may use cookies to provide interactive pages, such as web-based search forms. The TLC does not use the information for other purposes.

For Additional Information

Additional information regarding privacy and security policies is provided in the Privacy and Security Policy Guidelines at the Texas Department of Information Resources website. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also provides personal privacy information for educating consumers and businesses about the importance of personal privacy.