New Texas Open Government Laws Now in Effect

posted on 9.02.2025

Several positive Open Government laws went into effect on Monday, Sept. 1, including one bill that TAB and other members of the Texas Sunshine Coalition’s package of Open Government reforms advocated for in the 89th Texas Legislature, regular session.

HB 4219 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, requires a government agency to notify a TPIA requestor in writing (within 10 business days of receiving a TPIA request) if that governmental body determined that no such records exist. TAB and other members of the Texas Sunshine Coalition have tried to pass a so-called “required response” bill since the 2017 legislative session.

The law also requires the requestor to be notified in writing if a government agency determines that the requested information may be withheld due to a previous attorney general determination. If a government agency fails to respond, a requestor may file a written complaint with the attorney general. If the AG’s office determines the agency acted improperly, it can order release of the information (at no cost to the requestor) and require the applicable public information officer or their designee to complete open records training. 

HB 1522 by Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville, requires all government agencies, from county commissioners’ courts to city councils and school boards to post meeting notices and meeting agendas at least three business days in advance of the scheduled meeting date. Previously it had been 72 hours, allowing governmental bodies to post on weekends or over public holidays, potentially limiting citizen involvement in the meeting. The law also requires posting of any budget three business days in advance of a meeting in which it will be discussed or acted upon.

The new law already has impacted local government. In August, the Harlandale ISD decided to move its meetings from Mondays to Wednesdays to provide enough time to properly post the meeting agenda. Harlandale also committed to posting notice for the Wednesday meetings on Thursdays prior to the following week’s meeting. 

SB 413 by Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, requires school board meeting minutes to record each board member's attendance at meetings and that individual’s vote on any item voted upon during a meeting including resolutions. The minutes must be posted on the ISD's website no later than seven days after the meeting.

HB 1893 by Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, clarifies that license plate numbers depicted in video or mentioned in audio recordings made by law enforcement are not confidential. This measure could enable newsrooms to acquire law enforcement video more quickly after filing a Texas Public Information Act request. That’s because law enforcement agencies will not be spending time nor resources redacting license plate numbers from police footage, such as dash or body cam video, before releasing it.

HB 3526 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, requires the state’s Bond Review Board to develop and maintain on its website a publicly accessible and searchable database of information on each bond proposed or issued by Texas local governments. The information must be in a table format that is easy to read and understand.

HB 4214 by Rep. Pat Curry, R-Bruceville, is a commonsense measure that requires all government bodies subject to the Texas Public Information Act to annually notify the attorney general of the physical mailing address and electronic mail address designated by that governmental body for receiving written requests for public information. The attorney general is tasked with creating and maintaining a publicly accessible database of that information on its website. 

Questions? Contact TAB’s Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944. 
 

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