The Texas Public Information Act (the “Public Information Act” or the “Act”) gives the public the right to request access to government information. Below is a description of the basic procedures, rights and responsibilities under the Act. The Act is triggered when a person submits a written request to a governmental body. The request must ask for records or information already in existence. The Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions. In preparing a request, a person may want to ask the governmental body what information is available. A person may ask to view the information, get copies of the
information, or both. If a request is for copies of information, the governmental body may charge for the copies. If a request is only for an opportunity to inspect information, then usually the governmental body may not impose a charge on the requestor. However, under certain limited circumstances a governmental body may impose a charge for access to information. All charges imposed by a governmental body for copies or for access to information must comply with the rules prescribed by the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”), unless another statute authorizes a governmental body to set its own charges.