HBA-ALS H.B. 1264 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1264
By: McClendon
State Affairs
3/5/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, there is no law authorizing a governmental body to broadcast an
open meeting over the Internet.  Both the State of Colorado and the U.S.
Department of Energy have conducted experimental official government online
hearings, which provided objective documentation of the issues and invited
public comment on them over the Internet.  The purpose of this bill is to
allow governmental bodies to conduct open public meetings over the
Internet, and to set forth rules regulating this practice.   

H.B. 1264 provides a definition for "Internet" and allows a governmental
body to broadcast an open meeting over the Internet.  The bill requires a
governmental body that broadcasts a meeting over the Internet to establish
an Internet site that provides public access to the broadcast from that
site.  H.B. 1264 sets forth guidelines that must be followed by a
governmental body broadcasting an open meeting over the Internet which
relate to hearing notices, public comment, and audio recordings. In
addition, H.B.1264 bill requires the Department of Information Resources to
set specified minimum standards for audio and video signals broadcast over
the Internet. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Information Resources
in SECTION 1 (Section 551.128, Government Code) of this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 551, Government Code, by adding
Section 551.128, as follows: 

Sec.  551.128.  INTERNET BROADCAST OF MEETING.  (a) Defines "Internet."  

(b) Provides that a governmental body is not prohibited from broadcasting
an open meeting over the Internet, except as otherwise provided by this
section.   

(c) Requires a governmental body that broadcasts a meeting over the
Internet to establish an Internet site; provide access to the broadcast
site;  provide on the Internet site, the same notice of the meeting that is
required to be posted pursuant to Subchapter C (Notice of Meetings), no
later than one hour after notice is posted under Subchapter C; and provide
a way for the public to comment on issues discussed at the meeting over the
Internet.  

(d) Provides that a meeting broadcast over the Internet is subject to the
notice requirements applicable to other meetings.  

(e) Requires that each part of a meeting broadcast over the Internet be
visible and audible to the public over the Internet if it is a meeting that
is required to be open to the public. 

(f) Requires the governmental body to make an audio recording of the
meeting and to make it available to the public.   

 (g) Requires the Department of Information Resources (department), by
rule, to specify minimum standards for audio and video signals for a
meeting that is broadcast over the Internet. Provides that the quality of
the signals broadcast must meet those minimum standards, and be of
sufficient quality so that the public can observe the demeanor and hear the
voice of each participant during the open portion of the meeting. 

SECTION 2.  Amends the heading to Subchapter F, Chapter 551, Government
Code, as follows: 

SUBCHAPTER F.  New title:  MEETINGS USING TELEPHONE, VIDEOCONFERENCE, OR
INTERNET.  Deletes "by," "conference call or," and "call" from existing
title. 

SECTION 3.  Requires the department to form a task force to determine if a
governmental body can receive real-time testimony from a person watching
the broadcast of a meeting of the governmental body over the Internet.
Requires the department to report its findings to the legislature no later
than September 1, 2000. 

SECTION 4.Effective date: September 1, 1999. 

SECTION 5.Emergency clause.