Journalists, policy groups back HB 4219 to require prompt replies on public-record requests

The Senate Committee on Business & Commerce heard public testimony on House Bill 4219, a bill aimed at tightening the response process under the Texas Public Information Act.

Sponsor remarks said the measure responds to repeated failures by local governments to reply to open-records requests and would require governmental bodies to notify requesters within 10 days if they have no responsive information or are withholding records based on a prior determination. The bill would also create an avenue for written complaints to the attorney general and require public information officers to complete open-records training within six months when the attorney general finds a failure to comply.

Rachel Clow, a specialty producer with KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi, urged passage and described unresolved requests in Corpus Christi and San Patricio County. “This bill provides a straightforward solution by requiring governmental bodies to clearly communicate whether responsive documents exist within a reasonable time frame,” Clow said. She told the committee that in one local example a city secretary charged with felony counts continued to handle public-information requests and that multiple requests went unanswered for months.

John Benura, a policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, also supported the bill. He told the committee the measure creates incentives for government responsiveness by removing fees where a body fails to timely produce records and by allowing an appeal to the attorney general. “Taxpayers deserve an answer from their government,” Benura said.

No witnesses opposed the bill at the hearing; the committee left the bill pending after closing public testimony.