HBA-TYH H.B. 1016 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1016 By: Maxey State Affairs 7/8/1999 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to the 76th Legislature, upon completion of new reports, state agencies were often required to send paper copies of the reports to each member of the legislature. While this system has ensured that legislators are provided with thorough information, it has also involved unnecessary expenditure of human and physical resources. Reports covering issues that an individual legislator does not encounter in his or her official capacity may simply be thrown away or recycled soon after receipt. H.B. 1016 authorizes state agencies to first make reports available to the legislature through the Internet and then send paper copies to members only upon request. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 2052, Government Code, by adding Section 2052.0021, as follows: Sec. 2052.0021. DISTRIBUTION OF REPORTS TO LEGISLATORS. (a) Defines "state agency" as having the meaning assigned by Section 2052.002 (Distribution of Publications to Legislators). (b) Provides that a state agency report required by law may be made available to members of the legislature only in accordance with this section. (c) Requires a state agency to make each report required by law available to members of the legislature in an electronic format determined by the Texas Legislative Council. Requires the agency to promptly send a suitable printed copy of the report to a member of the legislature at the request of the member. (d) Requires the agency to send written notice regarding the availability of the report to each member of the legislature when a report required by law is ready for distribution outside the state agency. Requires the agency to send the notice by mail or, if acceptable to the member, electronically. Provides that the notice must briefly describe the subject matter of the report and state the manner in which the member may obtain the report electronically and that the agency will send a printed copy of the report to the member at the request of the member. (e) Provides that this section does not affect the duty of a state agency to directly send a printed copy of a report to an officer or committee of the legislature if other law specifically requires that the report be sent to that officer or committee, and that the agency is not required to comply with this section before sending the report to that officer or committee. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.