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This and other various states' freedom of information acts, can be found under
files maked as FOIA#x.zip  where x = a number
These files were originally made available on the
Fathernet BBS [phone] until the Sysop decided that he was
would take credit for the work of others. Whether or not they can
still be found there is unknown. The National Organization of Men
appears to be little more than a client recruiting device for particular
counsel, rather than a forum for accurate information and change.

Additional FOIA files are available at:
Communication Specialties (212)
The Invention Factory BBS (212)
Computers and Dreams  BBS [phone]

You are actively encouraged to disseminate these files to as many
BBS systems as is possible. You are also encouraged to collect all
of the State Freedom of Information Acts from such files and
offer to print them for distribution to those who do not have access
to the electronic networks through whatever organizations you may have.

After all, it's your government - if you can take it back.


                         TEXAS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION



Art 6252-17a.  Access by public to information in custody of
governmental agencies and bodies

Declaration of policy

Section 1. Pursuant to the fundamental
philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative
government which holds to the principle that government is the
servant of the people, and not the master of them, it is  hereby
declared to be the public policy of the State of Texas that all
persons are, unless otherwise expressly provided by law, at all
times entitled to full and complete information regarding the
affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent
them as public officials and employees. The people,  in delegating
authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide
what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them
to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may
retain control over the instruments they have created. To that end,
the provisions of this Act shall be  liberally construed with the
view of carrying out the above declaration of public policy.

Definitions      Sec. 2. In this Act:

 NOTICE: FIRST OF TWO VERSIONS OF SUBDIVISION (1) Effective until
voter approval of Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., S.J.R. No. 15

(1) "Governmental body" means:

(A) any board, commission,
department, committee, institution, agency, or office within the
executive or legislative branch of the state government, or which
is created by either the executive or legislative branch of the
state government, and which is under the direction of one or more
elected or appointed members;

(B) the commissioners court of
each county and the city council or governing  body of each city in
the state;

(C) every deliberative body having rulemaking or
quasi-judicial power and classified as a department, agency, or
political subdivision of a county or city;

(D) the board of
trustees of every school district, and every county board of school
trustees and county board of education;

(E) the governing board of every special district;

(F) the part, section, or portion of every organization, corporation,
commission, committee, institution, or agency which is supported in
whole or in  part by public funds, or which expends public funds.
Public funds as used herein shall mean funds of the State of Texas
or any governmental subdivision thereof;

(G) the Judiciary is not included within this definition.

NOTICE: SECOND OF TWO VERSIONS OF SUBDIVISION

(1) Effective upon voter approval of Acts
1991, 72nd Leg., S.J.R. No. 15

(1) "Governmental body" means:
    (A) any board, commission, department, committee, institution,
agency, or office within the executive or legislative branch of the
state government, or which is created by either the executive or
legislative branch of the state government, and which is under the
direction of one or more elected or appointed members;

(B) the commissioners court of each county and the city council or
governing  body of each city in the state;

(C) every deliberative body having rulemaking or quasi-judicial power and
classified as a department, agency, or political subdivision of a
county or city;

(D) the board of trustees of every school district, and
every county board of school trustees and county board of education;

(E) the governing board of every special district;

(F) the governing body of every nonprofit corporation organized
under Chapter 76, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st Called Session,
1933 (Article 1434a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), that provides
a water supply or wastewater service, or both, and that is exempt
from ad valorem taxation under Section 11.30, Tax Code;

(G) the part, section, or portion of every organization, corporation,
commission, committee, institution, or agency which is supported in
whole or in  part by public funds, or which expends public funds.
Public funds as used herein shall mean funds of the State of Texas
or any governmental subdivision thereof;

(H) the Judiciary is not included within this definition.

(2) "Public records"
means the portion of all documents, writings, letters, memoranda,
or other written, printed, typed, copied, or developed materials
which contains public information.

Public information
Sec. 3. (a) All information collected,
assembled, or maintained by or for governmental bodies, except in
those situations where the governmental body does not have either
a right of access to or ownership of the information, pursuant to
law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official
business is public information and available to the public during
normal business hours of any governmental body, with the following
exceptions only:

(1) information deemed confidential by law,
either Constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision;

(2) information in personnel files, the disclosure of which would
constitute  a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and
transcripts from institutions of higher education maintained in the
personnel files of professional public school employees; provided,
however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt
from disclosure the degree obtained and the curriculum on such
transcripts of professional public school employees, and further
provided that all information in personnel files of an individual
employee within a governmental body is to be made available to that
individual
employee or his designated representative as is public information
under this Act;

(3) information relating to litigation of a
criminal or civil nature and settlement negotiations, to which the
state or political subdivision is, or may  be, a party, or to which
an officer or employee of the state or political subdivision, as a
consequence of his office or employment, is or may be a party, that
the attorney general or the respective attorneys of the various
political subdivisions has determined should be withheld from
public inspection;

(4) information which, if released, would
give advantage to competitors or bidders;

(5) information
pertaining to the location of real or personal property for public
purposes prior to public announcement of the project, and
information pertaining to appraisals or purchase price of real or
personal property for public purposes prior to the formal award of
contracts therefor;

(6) drafts and working papers involved in
the preparation of proposed legislation;

(7) matters in which the duty of the Attorney General of Texas or an
attorney of a political subdivision, to his client, pursuant to the
Rules and Canons of Ethics of the State Bar of Texas are prohibited
from disclosure, or which by order of a court are prohibited from
disclosure;

(8) records of law enforcement agencies and
prosecutors that deal with the detection, investigation, and
prosecution of crime and the internal records and  notations of
such law enforcement agencies and prosecutors which are maintained
for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement and
prosecution;

(9) private correspondence and communications of
an elected office holder relating to matters the disclosure of
which would constitute an invasion of privacy;

(10) trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a
person and privileged or confidential by statute or judicial
decision;

(11) inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or
letters which would not be available by law to a party in
litigation with the agency;

(12) information contained in or
related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared
by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the
regulation or supervision of financial institutions,
and/or securities, as that term is defined in the Texas Securities
Act;

(13) geological and geophysical information and data
including maps concerning wells, except information filed in
connection with an application or  proceeding before any agency or
an electric log confidential under Subchapter M, Chapter 91,
Natural Resources Code;

(14) student records at educational
institutions funded wholly, or in part, by state revenue; but such
records shall be made available upon request of educational
institution personnel, the student involved, that student's parent,
legal guardian, or spouse or a person conducting a child abuse
investigation required by Section 34.05, Family Code;

(15) birth and death records maintained by the Bureau of Vital
Statistics of  the Texas Department of Health, except that:

(A) a birth record is public information and available to the
public on and after the 50th anniversary of the date on which the
record is filed with the Bureau of Vital Statistics or local
registration official; and

(B) a death record is public
information and available to the public on and after the 25th
anniversary of the date on which the record is filed with the
Bureau of Vital Statistics or local registration official;

(16) the audit working papers of the State Auditor;

(17) information relating to:
  (A) the home addresses or home
telephone numbers of each official or employee or each former
official or employee of a governmental body except as otherwise
provided by Section 3A of this Act, or of peace officers as defined
by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1965, as amended, or
by Section 51.212, Texas  Education Code; or
  (B) the home
addresses, home telephone numbers, or social security numbers of
employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, or the home
or employment addresses or telephone numbers or the names or social
security numbers of their  family members;

(18) information
contained on or derived from triplicate prescription forms filed
with the Department of Public Safety pursuant to Section 481.075,
Health and Safety Code;

(19) photographs that depict a peace
officer as defined by Article 2.12,
Code of Criminal Procedure, or a security officer commissioned
under Section 51.212, Education Code, the release of which would
endanger the life or physical safety of the officer unless:

  (A) the officer is under indictment or charged with an offense by
information; or
  (B) the officer is a party in a fire or police
civil service hearing or a case in arbitration; or
  (C) the
photograph is introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding;

 (20) rare books and original manuscripts which were not created or
maintained in the conduct of official business of a governmental
body and which are held by any private or public archival and
manuscript repository for the purposes of historical research;

 (21) oral history interviews, personal papers, unpublished
letters, and organizational records of nongovernmental entities,
which were not created or maintained in the conduct of official
business of a governmental body and which  are held by any private
or public archival and manuscript repository for the purposes of
historical research, to the extent that the archival and
manuscript repository and the donor of the interviews, papers,
letters, and records may agree to limit disclosure of the item;

  (22) curriculum objectives and test items developed by
educational institutions that are funded wholly or in part by state
revenue and test items developed by licensing agencies or
governmental bodies; and

  (23) the names of applicants for the
position of chief executive officer of institutions of higher
education, except that the governing body of the institution of
higher education must give public notice of the name or names of
the finalists being considered for the position at least 21 days
prior to the meeting at which final action or vote is to be taken
on the employment of the individual.
    (b) This section does not
authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of
records to the public, except as specifically stated in this
section. This section is not authority to withhold information from
individual members or committees of the legislature to use for
legislative purposes.
    (c) The officer for public records may
in any instance within his discretion  make public any information
protected under the exceptions contained within Section 3,
Subsection (a), that is not deemed confidential by law. A
photograph exempt from disclosure under Subsection (a)(19) of this
section may also be made public, but only if the peace officer or
security officer gives written consent to the disclosure.
    (d)
It is not intended that the officer for public records or the
officer's agent may be called upon to perform general research
within the reference and research archives and holdings of state
libraries.
    (e) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3) of this
section, the state or a political subdivision is considered to be
a party to litigation of a criminal nature until the applicable
statute of limitations has expired or until the defendant has
exhausted all appellate and postconviction remedies in state and
federal court.
    (f) This section does not authorize withholding
from the public or limiting the availability to the public of a
written determination letter, technical advice memorandum, or
ruling that concerns a tax matter and that is issued by a
governmental body with taxing authority.

   Election on disclosure
   Sec. 3A. (a) Each employee or
official of a governmental body and each
former employee or official of a governmental body, shall choose
whether or not  to allow public access to the information in the
custody of the governmental body relating to the person's home
address and home telephone number. Each official and employee and
each former official and employee shall state that person's choice
to the main personnel officer of the governmental body in a signed
writing not later than the 14th day after the date on which the
employee  begins the employment with the governmental body, the
official is elected or appointed, or the former employee or
official ends service with the governmental body. If the official's
or employee's or the former official's or employee's choice is to
not allow public access to the information, the information is
protected as provided by Section 3 of this Act. If an employee or
official or a  former employee or official fails to report within
the period established by this section, the information is subject
to public access.
      (b) If, during the course of the employment
or the term of the office, or if, after leaving service with the
governmental body the person wishes to close or open public access
to the information, that individual may request in writing that the
main personnel officer of the governmental body close or open
access, as the case may be, to the information.
Special right of access to confidential information

Sec. 3B. (a) A person or the authorized representative of a person
has, beyond the right of the general public, a special right of
access to and to copies of any records held by a governmental body
that contain information relating to the person that is protected
from public disclosure by laws intended to protect that person's
privacy interests. The fact that the information is deemed
confidential by privacy principles under this Act does not grant
the governmental body the right to deny access to the person, or
the person's representative, to whom the information relates.
However, laws and provisions of this Act, other than ones intended
to protect that person's privacy interests, may still form the
basis for denial of access to the person or the person's
representative to whom the information relates.
         (b) Consent
for the release of information excepted from disclosure to the
general public but available to a specific person under Subsection
(a) of this section must be in writing and signed by the specific
person or the person's authorized representative. A person under 18
years of age may consent to the release of information under this
subsection only with the additional written authorization of the
person's parent or guardian. A person who has been adjudicated
incompetent to manage the person's personal affairs or for whom an
attorney ad litem has been appointed may consent to the release of
information under this subsection only by the written authorization
of the designated legal  guardian or attorney ad litem.

          (c) A release of information pursuant to Subsection (a) of this
section is not a prohibited release of information to the public
under Subsection (a) of Section 10 of this Act.
          (d) A person
who receives information obtained under this section may disclose
the information to others only to the extent consistent with the
authorized purposes for which consent to release the information
was obtained.
          (e) If a governmental body determines that
information covered by a special right of access under this section
is excepted from disclosure under any other exception under
Subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act, the governmental body
shall, before disclosing the information, submit a written request
for a decision to the attorney general under the procedures
described in Section 7 of  this Act. If a decision is not so
requested, the governmental body shall release the information to
the person with a special right of access under this section
within 10 days of receiving the request for information.

             Application for public information      Sec. 4. On
application for public information to the officer for public
records in a governmental body by any person, the officer for
public records
shall promptly produce such information for inspection or
duplication, or both,  in the offices of the governmental body. If
the information is in active use or  in storage and, therefore, not
available at the time a person asks to examine it, the officer for
public records shall certify this fact in writing to the applicant
and set a date and hour within a reasonable time when the record
will  be available for the exercise of the right given by this Act.
Nothing in this Act shall authorize any person to remove original
copies of public records from  the offices of any governmental
body.


Examination of public information

 Sec. 4A. (a) A person requesting public information must complete
the examination of the information within 10 days after the date
the custodian of the information makes it available to the person.

    (b) The officer for public records shall extend the initial
examination period by an additional 10 days if, within the initial
period, the person requesting the information files with the
officer for public records a written request for additional time.
The officer for public records shall extend an additional
examination period by another 10 days if, within the additional
period, the person requesting the information files with the
officer for public  records a written request for more additional
time.

(c) The time during which a person may examine information may be
interrupted by the officer for public records if the information is
needed for use by the governmental body. The period of interruption
is not considered to be a part of  the time during which the person
may examine the information.


           Officer for public records described

           Sec. 5. (a) The chief administrative
officer of the governmental body shall be the officer for public
records, except that in counties each elected county officer shall
be the officer for public records and the custodian, as defined by
Section 201.003, Local Government Code, of the records created or
received by that county officer's office. Each department head
shall be an agent of the officer for public records for the
purposes of complying with this Act. It shall be the duty of the
officer for public records, subject to penalties provided in  this
Act, to see that the public records are made available for public
inspection and copying; that the records are carefully protected
from deterioration, alteration, mutilation, loss, or unlawful
removal; and that public records are repaired, renovated, or
rebound when necessary to maintain them properly. When records are
no longer currently in use, it shall be within the discretion of
the governmental body, or the elected county officer if the records
are those of an elective county office, to determine a period of
time
for which said records will be preserved subject to state laws
governing the destruction and other disposition of state and local
government records.

     (b) Neither the officer for public records
nor his agent shall make any inquiry of any person who applies for
inspection or copying of public records beyond the purpose of
establishing proper identification and the public records  being
requested or establishing whether the officer for public records is
authorized under Subsection (e) of Section 4A of this Act to refuse
to honor the request for the records. The officer for public
records or his agent shall give, grant, and extend to the person
requesting public records all reasonable comfort and facility for
the full exercise of the right granted by this Act.
    (c) The
officer for public records or the officer's agent shall treat each
request for information uniformly without regard to the position or
occupation of the person making the request or the person on whose
behalf the request is made or because the individual is a member of
the media.

            Specific information which is public

Sec. 6. Without limiting the meaning of other sections
of this Act, the following categories of information are
specifically made public information:

(1) reports, audits, evaluations, and investigations made of, for,
or by, governmental bodies upon completion;

(2) the names,
sex, ethnicity, salaries, title, and dates of employment of all
employees and officers of governmental bodies;

(3) information
in any account, voucher, or contract dealing with the receipt or
expenditure of public or other funds by governmental bodies, not
otherwise made confidential by law;

(4) the names of every
official and the final record of voting on all proceedings in
governmental bodies;

(5) all working papers, research
material, and information used to make estimates of the need for,
or expenditure of, public funds or taxes by any governmental body,
upon completion of such estimates;

(6) the name, place of
business, and the name of the city to which local sales and use
taxes are credited, if any, for the named person, of persons
reporting or paying sales and use taxes under the Limited Sales,
Excise, and Use Tax Act;

(7) descriptions of an agency's central and field organization and
the established places at which, the employees (and in the case of
a uniformed service, the members) from whom, and the methods
whereby, the public may obtain  information, make submittals or
requests, or obtain decisions;

(8) statements of the general
course and method by which an agency's functions are channeled and
determined, including the nature and requirements of all formal and
informal procedures available;

(9) rules of procedure,
descriptions of forms available or the places at which forms may be
obtained, and instructions as to the scope and contents of all
papers, reports, or examinations;

(10) substantive rules of
general applicability adopted as authorized by law, and statements
of general policy or interpretations of general applicability
formulated and adopted by the agency;

(11) each amendment, revisions, or repeal of 7, 8, 9 and 10 above;

(12) final
opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as
orders, made in the adjudication of cases;

(13) statements of policy and interpretations which have been
adopted by the  agency;

(14) administrative staff manuals and
instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;

(15) information currently regarded by agency policy as open to the
public.


               Tax rulings and opinions

Sec. 6A. A written determination letter, technical advice
memorandum, or ruling that concerns a tax matter and that is issued
by a governmental body with taxing authority shall be indexed by
subject matter by the governmental body. The index and the document
itself shall be made available to the public upon request, subject
to the provisions of Section 3 of this Act.


    Attorney general opinions

    Sec. 7. (a) If a governmental
body receives a written request for information which it considers
within one of the exceptions stated in Section 3 of this Act, but
there has been no previous determination that it falls within one
of the exceptions, the governmental body within a reasonable time,
no later than ten
calendar days, after receiving a written request must request a
decision from the attorney general to determine whether the
information is within that exception. If a decision is not so
requested, the information shall be presumed  to be public
information.

    (b) The attorney general shall forthwith render
a decision, consistent with standards of due process, to determine
whether the requested information is a public record or within one
of the above stated exceptions. The specific information requested
shall be supplied to the attorney general but shall not be
disclosed to the public or the requesting party until a final
determination has  been made by the attorney general or, if suit is
filed under the provisions of this Act, until a final decision has
been made by the court with jurisdiction over the suit. In a suit
filed under this Act, the court may order that the information at
issue be discovered only pursuant to a protective order until a
final determination is made. If the governmental body wishes to
withhold information, it must submit written comments setting forth
the reasons why the information should be withheld. Any member of
the public may submit written comments setting forth the reasons
why the information should or should not be released. The attorney
general shall issue a written opinion based upon the determination
made on the request.

(c) In cases in which a third party's privacy or property interests may be
implicated, including but not limited to Subdivisions (1), (4),
(10), and (14) of Subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act, the
governmental body may decline to release the information in order
to request an attorney general opinion. A person whose interests
may be implicated or any other person may submit in writing to the
attorney general the person's reasons for withholding or releasing
the information. In such cases, the governmental body may, but is
not  required to, submit its reasons why the information should or
should not be withheld.

                    Writ of mandamus

Sec. 8. (a) If a governmental body refuses to request
an attorney general's decision as provided in this Act, or to
supply public information or information which the attorney general
has determined to be a public record, the person requesting the
information or the attorney general may seek a writ of mandamus
compelling the governmental body to make the information available
for public inspection.

         (b) In an action brought under this
section or Subdivision (3) of Subsection  (c) of Section 10, the
court may assess costs of litigation and reasonable attorney's fees
incurred by a plaintiff or defendant who substantially prevails. In
exercising its discretion, the court shall consider whether the
conduct of
the governmental body had a reasonable basis in law and whether the
litigation was brought in good faith.

                    Cost of copies of public records

Sec. 9. (a) The cost to any person
requesting noncertified photographic reproductions of public
records comprised of pages up to legal size shall not be excessive.
The State Purchasing and General Services Commission shall from
time  to time determine guidelines on the actual cost of standard
size reproductions and shall periodically publish these cost
figures for use by governmental bodies in determining charges to be
made pursuant to this Act. The cost of obtaining a  standard or
legal size photographic reproduction shall be in an amount that
reasonably includes all costs related to reproducing the record,
including costs of materials, labor, and overhead unless the
request is for 50 pages or less of  readily available information.

    (b) Charges made for access to public records comprised in any
form other than up to standard sized pages or in computer record
banks, microfilm records,  or other similar record keeping systems,
shall be set upon consultation between  the officer for public
records and the State Purchasing and General Services Commission,
giving due consideration to the expenses involved in providing the
public records making every effort to match the charges with the
actual cost
of providing the records. The costs of providing the record shall
be in an amount that reasonably includes all costs related to
providing the record, including costs of materials, labor, and
overhead.

     (c) It shall be the policy of all governmental
bodies to provide suitable copies of all public records within a
reasonable period of time after the date copies were requested.
Every governmental body is hereby instructed to make reasonably
efficient use of each page of public records so as not to cause
excessive costs for the reproduction of public records.

    (d)
The charges for copies made in the district clerk's office and the
county clerk's office may not be greater than the actual cost of
the copies as provided in Subsections (a) and (b) of this section
unless a certified record, the cost for which is set by law, is
requested.

    (e) No charge shall be made for one copy of any
public record requested from  state agencies by members of the
legislature in performance of their duties.

    (f) The charges
for copies made by the various municipal court clerks of the
various cities and towns of this state shall be as otherwise
provided by ordinance.

    (g) Public records shall be furnished without charge or at a
reduced charge if the governmental body determines that waiver or
reduction of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing
the information can be considered as primarily benefiting the
general public.

    (h) If a governmental body refuses or fails to
provide copies of public records at the actual cost of reproducing
the records as provided in Subsections (a) and (b) of this section,
a person who overpays shall be entitled to recover  three times the
amount of the overcharge; provided, however, that the governmental
body did not act in good faith in computing the costs.


        Distribution of confidential information prohibited

        Sec. 10.
(a) Information deemed confidential under the terms of this Act
shall not be distributed.

(b) An officer for public records,
or his agent, commits an offense if, with  criminal negligence, he
or his agent fails or refuses to give access to, or to permit or
provide copying of, public records to any person upon request as
provided in this Act.

(c) It is an affirmative defense to
prosecution under Subsection (b) of
this section that the officer for public records reasonably
believed that the public records sought were not required to be
made available to the public and that he:
   (1) acted in
reasonable reliance upon a court order or a written interpretation
of this Act contained in an opinion of a court of record or of the
attorney general issued under Section 7 of this Act;
   (2)
requested a decision from the attorney general in accordance with
Section 7 of this Act, and that such decision is pending; or
   (3) within 10 calendar days of the receipt of a decision by the
attorney general that the information is public, filed a petition
for a declaratory judgment, a writ of mandamus, or both against the
attorney general, in a Travis  County district court seeking relief
from compliance with such decision of the attorney general, and
that the petitions are pending.

   (d) It is, further, an
affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) of this
section that a person or entity has, within 10 calendar days of the
receipt by a governmental body of a decision by the attorney
general that the information is public, filed a cause of action
seeking relief from compliance with the decision of the attorney
general, and that the cause is pending.

(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection(b)
of this  section that the defendant is the agent of an officer
for public records and that the agent reasonably relied on the
written instruction of the officer for public records not to
disclose the public records requested.

   (f) Any person who
violates Section 10(a) or 10(b) of this Act shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by
confinement in the county jail not to exceed six (6) months or
fined in an amount not to exceed $ 1,000, or by both such fine and
confinement. A violation  under this section constitutes official
misconduct.


Bond for payment of costs for preparation of public records or cash                                  prepayment

    Sec. 11. A bond for payment of costs for the preparation of
such public records, or a prepayment in cash of the anticipated
costs for the preparation of such records, may be required by the
officer for public records or the officer's agent as a condition
precedent to the preparation of such record where the record is
unduly costly and its reproduction would cause undue hardship to
the department or agency if the costs were not paid.

Penalties
Sec. 12. Any person who wilfully destroys,
mutilates, removes without permission as provided herein, or alters
public records shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
shall be fined not less than $ 25 nor more than  $ 4,000, or
confined in the county jail not less than three days nor more than
three months, or both such fine and confinement.

Procedures for inspection of public records
Sec. 13. Each
governmental body may promulgate reasonable rules of procedure  by
which public records may be inspected efficiently, safely, and
without delay.


               Interpretation of this Act

Sec. 14. (a) This Act does not prohibit any governmental
body from voluntarily making part or all of its records available
to the public, unless expressly prohibited by law; provided that
such records shall then be available  to any person.

(b) This
Act does not authorize the withholding of information or limit the
availability of public records to the public, except as expressly
so provided.

(c) This Act does not give authority to withhold information from
individual  members or committees of the Legislature of the State
of Texas to use for legislative purposes.      (d) This Act shall
be liberally construed in favor of the granting of any request for
information.

(e) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
require the release of information contained in education records
of any educational agency or institution except in conformity with
the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974, as enacted by Section 513 of Public Law 93-380,  codified as
Title 20 U.S.C.A. Section 1232g, as amended.

(f) This Act does
not affect the scope of civil discovery under the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure. The exceptions from disclosure under this Act do
not create new privileges from discovery.
         Severability      Sec. 15. If any provision of this Act or
the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held
invalid, such invalidity shall not affect

other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this
end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.

Art 6252-17b.  Agency records regarding license holders

                                    Definitions      Sec. 1. In
this article, "agency," "license," and "contested case" have the
meanings assigned by Section 3, Administrative Procedure and Texas
Register

Act (Article 6252-13a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
    Maintenance and accessibility of license records      Sec. 2.
Each licensing agency shall keep within its files records
concerning  each license holder regulated by it. The agency shall
maintain the file in a manner which permits public access to:
(1) all the information in the file relating to any license holder
regulated  by the agency, including information regarding a
contested case, unless the information is excepted by law from
public disclosure; and      (2) notice of information in the file
as defined by Section 3 of this article.
Removal of records from file      Sec. 3. (a) Whenever the
information in the agency file concerning the license status of one
or more licensees is removed, the agency shall:      (1) describe
the content of the removed record;