Municipal financial statements filed under this chapter are public records, and the clerk or secretary must keep them public and organized; certain requester information must be logged, some records may be destroyed later, and address redaction is required on written request for certain judges or candidates.
Sec. 145.007. PUBLIC ACCESS TO STATEMENTS. (a) Financial statements filed under this chapter are public records. The clerk or secretary of the municipality shall maintain the statements in separate alphabetical files and in a manner that is accessible to the public during regular office hours. (b) Until the first anniversary of the date a financial statement is filed, each time a person, other than the clerk or secretary of the municipality or an employee of the clerk or secretary who is acting on official business, requests to see the financial statement, the clerk or secretary shall place in the file a statement of the person's name and address, whom the person represents, and the date of the request. The clerk or secretary shall retain that statement in the file until the first anniversary of the date the requested financial statement is filed. (c) The clerk or secretary of the municipality may, and on notification from a former officer or candidate shall, destroy any financial statements filed by the officer or candidate after the second anniversary of the date the person ceases to be an officer or candidate, as applicable. (d) On the written request of a municipal court judge of the municipality or a candidate for municipal court judge, the clerk or secretary of the municipality shall remove or redact the residence address of the municipal court judge, municipal court judge's family member, or candidate for the office of municipal court judge, from a financial statement filed under this chapter before the financial statement is made available to a member of the public. (e) In this section, "family member" has the meaning assigned by Section 31.006, Finance Code. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 249, Sec. 6.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 518 (S.B. 489), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2019. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 383 (S.B. 1134), Sec. 11, eff. September 1, 2021.