Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives you the right to
access government records; and an officer for public information
and the officer's agent may not ask why you want them. All
government information is presumed to be available to the
public. Certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of
the information.
Governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information
that is not confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory,
or by judicial decision, or information for which an exception
to disclosure has not been sought.
Rights of Requestors
You have the right to:
- Prompt access to information that is not confidential
or otherwise protected;
- Receive treatment equal to all other requestors, including
accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) requirements;
- Receive certain kinds of information without exceptions,
like the voting record of public officials, and other information;
- Receive a written statement of estimated charges, when
charges will exceed $40, in advance of work being started
and opportunity to modify the request in response to the
itemized statement;
- Choose whether to inspect the requested information (most
often at no charge), receive copies of the information or
both;
- A waiver or reduction of charges if the governmental body
determines that access to the information primarily benefits
the general public;
- Receive a copy of the communication from the governmental
body asking the Office of the Attorney General for a ruling
on whether the information can be withheld under one of
the accepted exceptions, or if the communication discloses
the requested information, a redacted copy;
- Lodge a written complaint about overcharges for public
information with the General Services Commission. Complaints
of other possible violations may be filed with the county
or district attorney of the county where the governmental
body, other than a state agency, is located. If the complaint
is against the county or district attorney, the complaint
must be filed with the Office of the Attorney General.
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Responsibilities of Governmental Bodies
All governmental bodies responding to information requests
have the responsibility to:
- Establish reasonable procedures for inspecting or copying
public information and inform requestors of these procedures;
- Treat all requestors uniformly and shall give to the requestor
all reasonable comfort and facility, including accommodation
in accordance with ADA requirements;
- Be informed about open records laws and educate employees
on the requirements of those laws;
- Inform requestors of the estimated charges greater than
$40 and any changes in the estimates above 20 percent of
the original estimate, and confirm that the requestor accepts
the charges, or has amended the request, in writing before
finalizing the request;
- Inform the requestor if the information cannot be provided
promptly and set a date and time to provide it within a
reasonable time;
- Request a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General
regarding any information the governmental body wishes to
withhold, and send a copy of the request for ruling, or
a redacted copy, to the requestor;
- Segregate public information from information that may
be withheld and provide that public information promptly;
- Make a good faith attempt to inform third parties when
their proprietary information is being requested from the
governmental body;
- Respond in writing to all written communications from
the General Services Commission regarding charges for the
information. Respond to the Office of the Attorney General
regarding complaints about violations of the Act.
Procedures to Obtain Information
- Submit a request by mail, fax, email or in person according
to a governmental body's reasonable procedures.
- Include enough description and detail about the information
requested to enable the governmental body to accurately
identify and locate the information requested.
- Cooperate with the governmental body's reasonable efforts
to clarify the type or amount of information requested.
A. Information to be released
- You may review it promptly, and if it cannot be produced
within 10 working days the public information officer will
notify you in writing of the reasonable date and time when
it will be available.
- Keep all appointments to inspect records and to pick up
copies. Failure to keep appointments may result in losing
the opportunity to inspect the information at the time requested.
B. Cost of Records
- You must respond to any written estimate of charges within
10 days of the date the governmental body sent it or the
request is considered automatically withdrawn.
- If estimated costs exceed $100.00 (or $50.00 if a governmental
body has fewer than 16 full time employees) the governmental
body may require a bond, prepayment or deposit.
- You may ask the governmental body to determine whether
providing the information primarily benefits the general
public, resulting in a waiver or reduction of charges.
- Make a timely payment for all mutually agreed charges.
A governmental body can demand payment of overdue balances
exceeding $100.00, or obtain a security deposit, before
processing additional requests from you.
C. Information that may be withheld due to an exception
- By the 10th business day after a governmental body receives
your written request, a governmental body must:
- request an Attorney General opinion and state which
exceptions apply;
- notify the requestor of the referral to the Attorney
General; and
- notify third parties if the request involves their
proprietary information.
- Failure to request an Attorney General opinion and notify
the requestor within 10 business days will result in a presumption
that the information is open unless there is a compelling
reason to withhold it.
- Requestors may send a letter to the Attorney General arguing
for release, and may review arguments made by the governmental
body. If the arguments disclose the requested information,
the requestor may obtain a redacted copy.
- The Attorney General must issue a decision no later than
the 45th working day from the day after the attorney general
received the request for a decision. The attorney general
may request an additional 10 working day extension.
- Governmental bodies may not ask the Attorney General to
"reconsider" an opinion.
D. To request information from the Texas State Library
and Archives Commission
- Please contact: Peggy D. Rudd, Director and Librarian,
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
- You may send your request by mail to: P.O. Box 12927,
Austin, TX 78711
- By e-mail to: Dir_Lib@tsl.state.tx.us
- By fax to:512-463-5436
- In person at: Lorenzo de Zavala State Library and Archives
Building, 1201 Brazos, Room 205, Austin, TX
For complaints regarding failure to release public information
please contact your local County or District Attorney
at: 512-473-9415 (Travis County Attorney) or 512-473-9400
(Travis County District Attorney)
You may also contact the Office of the Attorney General,
Open Records Hotline, at 512-478-6736 or toll-free at
1-877-673-6839.
For complaints regarding overcharges, please contact
the General Services Commission at
512-475-2497.
If you need special accommodation pursuant to the Americans
With Disabilities Act (ADA), please contact our ADA coordinator,
Edward Seidenberg at 512-463-5459.
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