Site Policies

Disclaimer

This site may include facts, views, opinions or recommendations of individuals or organizations not affiliated with the Governor's Office. The Governor's Office does not endorse, guarantee, or warrant, either express or implied, the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of facts, views, opinions or recommendations on this website. The visitor uses this site and information provided on this site "as is," without warranty of any kind. This site may point or link to other Internet sites located on servers maintained by third parties, which may be of interest to the site visitor. The Governor’s Office makes no representations or warranty of any kind as to accuracy or any other aspect of the information contained on such Internet servers of site, and does not endorse the content, products, services, or viewpoints contained within these linked sites, and assumes no responsibility for their content.

All photographs and videos are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Permission to reproduce from this website for noncommercial purposes is freely granted. This permission statement must be included in any noncommercial reproduction. Commercial use of any reproduction of any portion of this website is strictly prohibited.

Policies

• Privacy and Security Policy
• Accessibility Policy
• Open Records Policy

Additional information about state web site policies can be found in Texas Administrative Code Section 206 - State Web Sites.

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Privacy and Security Policy

The Governor's Office analyzes server logs for statistical purposes only and does not use this information to personally identify users. Information and comments collected from web forms are subject to public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act. Non-governmental email addresses are not subject to disclosure unless the affected member of the public affirmatively consents to the disclosure of his or her e-mail address.

An individual is entitled, upon request, to the following:

• Know if information has been collected about that individual;
• The receipt and review of the information collected under sections 552.021 and 552.023 of the Government Code;
• The correction of inaccurate information under section 559.004 of the Government Code.

All of the above are subject to any applicable exceptions.

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Accessibility Policy

The Governor's Office web site exists in a form that is accessible to a broad range of access devices.

The Governor's Office web site has been engineered using the recommendations of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) including XHTML Transitional 1.0, CSS 2.0, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. This web site meets the definition of generally accessible Internet site as defined in Texas Administrative Code Section 206 - State Web Sites.

Numerous features have been added to enhance the accessibility of this web site.

The Governor's Office is open to suggestions on how the accessibility of this web site can be improved. Please contact the Web Administrator to offer suggestions or comments.

Open Records Policy

The Public Information Act

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

• 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.

Responsibilities of Governmental Bodies

• 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.

Request Documents from the OOG:

If you want to view or obtain copies of agency records, please send a written request by hand delivery, mail, fax, OR e-mail to the following:

By Hand Delivery:
Office of the Governor
State Insurance Building
Public Information Request
General Counsel Division
1100 San Jacinto
Austin, TX 78701
                                   
By Mail:
Office of the Governor
Public Information Request
General Counsel Division
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711

By Fax:
512-463-1932

By E-mail:
publicrecords@governor.state.tx.us

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.

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:
  1. request an Attorney General opinion and state which exceptions apply;
  2. notify the requestor of the referral to the Attorney General; and
  3. 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.

Complaints

For complaints regarding failure to release public information please contact your local County or 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.