The Oldest Blog
A first amendment blog for school administrators and attorneys.
HB 3033 passed during the 88th Legislative Session, effective September 1, 2023, makes significant changes to the Texas Public Information Act (PIA), prompting a need for districts to update their procedures and for the board of trustees to take action.
Various provisions throughout the PIA require a governmental entity to act within a prescribed number of “business days.” The statute previously did not define the term “business days,” However, for years, the Attorney General’s Office interpreted the term “business days” to not include days the governmental entity was closed for business or holidays the governmental entity chose to observe. For school districts, this meant that closures such as fall break, winter break, and spring break were not counted as business days when calculating applicable deadlines.
This longstanding interpretation has now been changed by the legislature. Under HB 3033, the only days that do not count as business days are the following:
To take advantage of the 10 additional “non-business days” each calendar year, the board of trustees must officially designate these days. We recommend this action be done through a board resolution on an annual basis.
A few other important changes to be aware of include:
If you have questions about these new requirements or your district needs assistance developing a resolution, updating procedures, or training staff, please contact any member of our team.