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 been sought.
Rights of Requestors
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Responsibilities of Governmental Bodies
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You have the right to:
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All governmental bodies responding to information
requests have the responsibility to:
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- Prompt access to information that is not confidential or
otherwise protected;
- Receive treatment equal to all other requestors, including
accommodation in accordance with 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 itemized statement of estimated charges,
when charges exceed will $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 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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- 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 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 withold, and send
a copy of the request for ruling, or 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.
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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
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B. Information that may be withheld due to an exception
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- 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
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- 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 to
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 render
a decision no later than the 45th working day after the
attorney general received the request for
a decision.
- Governmental bodies may not
ask the Attorney General to "reconsider" an opinion.
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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 to be 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.
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To request information from this governmental body, please contact:
You may send your request
By mail to:
Texas Department of Public Safety
Public Information Office
Attn: Open Records
P.O. Box 4087
Austin, TX 78773-0170
By e-mail to: pio@txdps.state.tx.us
By fax to: (512) 424-2649
In person at: Public Information Office, Headquarters, Bldg.
A, 5805 North Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas
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 (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, Commander,
Human Resources at
(512) 424-2000.