The commission may ask state agencies and officers for help, and they must assist when asked. The commission and its staff may attend state agency meetings and inspect agency records, including some privileged or confidential materials, subject to the text’s limits.
Sec. 325.019. ASSISTANCE OF AND ACCESS TO STATE AGENCIES. (a) The commission may request the assistance of state agencies and officers. When assistance is requested, a state agency or officer shall assist the commission. (b) In carrying out its functions under this chapter, the commission or its designated staff member may attend any meetings and proceedings of any state agency, including any meeting or proceeding of the governing body of the agency that is closed to the public, and may inspect the records, documents, and files of any state agency, including any record, document, or file that is: (1) attorney work product; (2) an attorney-client communication; or (3) made privileged or confidential by law. (c) It is the intent of the legislature to allow the commission and its designated staff members to have access to all meetings or proceedings of a state agency being reviewed by the commission under this chapter and to all records, documents, and files of that agency. To the extent that this section conflicts with other law that purports to limit the commission's access to meetings or proceedings or to records, documents, and files, this section controls. If federal law prohibits a state agency from disclosing information in a record, document, or file to the commission, including information in a record, document, or file created as a result of or considered during a meeting or proceeding, the state agency may redact the protected information from the record, document, or file. (d) Communications, including conversations, correspondence, and electronic communications, between the commission or its staff and a state agency that relate to a request by the commission for assistance in conducting a review under this chapter are confidential. A state agency's internal communications related to a request for assistance by the commission are confidential, including any information prepared or maintained by the state agency at the request of the commission or its staff. With respect to a document, file, or other record prepared or maintained by the state agency that was created in the normal course of the agency's business and not at the request of the commission, the confidentiality created by this subsection applies only to information in the possession of the commission. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by: Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1279 (H.B. 1675), Sec. 7.02, eff. June 14, 2013. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 596 (S.B. 619), Sec. 7.06, eff. June 10, 2019.