Requires water district open meetings to be recorded and posted on the districts website. If there is no website, the recording must be available to the public at the regular office of the district.
Government entities must post online employee contracts and compensation.
Prompt Response: Tightens rules for open records requests to benefit requestors (shorten response time, creates searchable database of decisions)..
Amended on floor of House: vexatious requestor (Moody’s bill) and business days (Canales bill) successfully tacked on.
Refiled from last session (HB 4576). Adds a newspaper notice.
Attorney Fee Bill.
Waiting until the last minute to release records while legal bills mount for requestors is a government delaying tactic. This bill would allow recovery of attorney fees and costs of litigation.
Retains current language - 1/4 page legal notice
Same as HB 31, HB 1376, and SB 263
Contains new newspaper notice language. Watch for amendments
Companion is SB 1067
The problem is "motions denied as untimely" and "motions denied due to the application of exemptions"
Recommended for local and uncontested even though there was public testimony in opposition!
Companion HB 2781 by Leach. AntiSLAPP. Publishers and Sunshine Coalition led by Prather have fought both HB 2781 and SB 896 this every step of the way.
Senate committee tacked SB 896 onto HB 3129.
Companion SB 896 by Hughes. AntiSLAPP - Not a bill that our publishers will testify against - this one will be handled by our lawyers.
Removes newspaper notice requirements for school related competitive bidding; requires notice on the Comptroller's state business daily.
The new language “except as provided by (g-1)” and then the new (g-1) section itself combine to make newspaper notice optional. It looks like they simply list the info in the Texas Register, or possibly the Comptroller's state business daily.