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.