AI-assisted research summary: A responsible governmental entity must give notice of accepted proposals, make proposal and procurement records available as required, and hold public hearings before certain agreements are entered.
Sec. 2267.066. POSTING OF PROPOSALS; PUBLIC COMMENT; PUBLIC ACCESS TO PROCUREMENT RECORDS; FINAL VOTE. (a) Not later than the 10th day after the date a responsible governmental entity accepts a proposal submitted in accordance with Section 2267.053(b), the responsible governmental entity shall provide notice of the proposal as follows: (1) for a responsible governmental entity described by Section 2267.001(5)(A), by posting the proposal on the entity's Internet website; and (2) for a responsible governmental entity described by Section 2267.001(5)(B), by: (A) posting a copy of the proposal on the entity's Internet website; or (B) publishing in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the qualifying project is to be performed a summary of the proposal and the location where copies of the proposal are available for public inspection. (b) The responsible governmental entity shall make available for public inspection at least one copy of the proposal. This section does not prohibit the responsible governmental entity from posting the proposal in another manner considered appropriate by the responsible governmental entity to provide maximum notice to the public of the opportunity to inspect the proposal. (c) Trade secrets, proprietary information, financial records, and work product of a proposer are excluded from disclosure under Section 552.101 and may not be posted or made available for public inspection except as otherwise agreed to by the responsible governmental entity and the proposer. After submission by a responsible governmental entity of a detailed qualifying project proposal to the commission, the trade secrets, proprietary information, financial records, and work product of the proposer are not protected from disclosure unless expressly excepted from the requirements of Chapter 552 or considered confidential under other law. (d) The responsible governmental entity shall hold a public hearing on the proposal during the proposal review process not later than the 30th day before the date the entity enters into an interim or comprehensive agreement. The public hearing shall be held in the area in which the proposed qualifying project is to be performed. (e) On completion of the negotiation phase for the development of an interim or comprehensive agreement and before an interim agreement or comprehensive agreement is entered into, a responsible governmental entity must make available the proposed agreement in a manner provided by Subsection (a) or (b). (e-1) After making the proposed comprehensive agreement available as required by Subsection (e), the responsible governmental entity shall hold a public hearing on the final version of the proposed comprehensive agreement and vote on the proposed comprehensive agreement after the hearing. The hearing must be held not later than the 10th day before the date the entity enters into a comprehensive agreement with a contracting person. (f) A responsible governmental entity that has entered into an interim agreement or comprehensive agreement shall make procurement records available for public inspection on request. For purposes of this subsection, procurement records do not include the trade secrets of the contracting person or financial records, including balance sheets or financial statements of the contracting person, that are not generally available to the public through regulatory disclosure or other means. (g) Cost estimates relating to a proposed procurement transaction prepared by or for a responsible governmental entity are not open to public inspection. (h) Any inspection of procurement transaction records under this section is subject to reasonable restrictions to ensure the security and integrity of the records. (i) This section applies to any accepted proposal regardless of whether the process of bargaining results in an interim or comprehensive agreement. Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1334 (S.B. 1048), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011. Amended by: Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1153 (S.B. 211), Sec. 31, eff. June 14, 2013. Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1153 (S.B. 211), Sec. 32, eff. June 14, 2013. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1075 (H.B. 2475), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2015.