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Bill

SB 986

Relating to procedures under the public information law, including expedited responses and charges for bad faith requests.

89th Legislature (2025) Introduced by Paul Bettencourt

SB 986 enables Texas government agencies to expedite certain public records requests and charge fees for requests determined to be in bad faith under the state's public information law.

Referred to Delivery of Government Efficiency
#attorneygeneral(v2811) #openrecords(i0548)
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Bill Summary · SB 986

Legislative bill overview

SB 986 modifies Texas's public information law (the Public Information Act) to establish expedited response procedures for certain requests and allows government entities to charge fees for requests deemed to be made in bad faith. The bill aims to streamline public records requests while protecting agencies from frivolous or abusive filing patterns.

Why is this important

Public records access is fundamental to government transparency and accountability. This bill directly affects both citizens seeking government documents and the operational costs of public agencies. The provisions could either improve efficiency or potentially create barriers to legitimate public information requests, depending on how "bad faith" is defined and applied in practice.

Potential points of contention

  • Definition and determination of "bad faith": The bill's effectiveness depends heavily on how "bad faith" is defined. Overly broad definitions could discourage legitimate investigative requests, while narrow ones may fail to address actual abuse. Who decides what constitutes bad faith—individual agencies or courts—matters significantly.
  • Fee structure and deterrent effect: Charging fees for bad faith requests could deter both genuine misuse and legitimate repetitive requests from journalists, researchers, or watchdog organizations monitoring government compliance.
  • Expedited response timelines: While expedited processing sounds beneficial, it may pressure agencies to prioritize certain requests over others, potentially creating delays for non-expedited requests and raising fairness questions about access equity.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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